This resolution recognizes the importance of providing effective counsel to all who are accused, commends the important role played by the Office of Defense Services in fulfilling that mission, and recognizes March 18 as National Public Defense Day.
Food and drink establishments suffered great losses since March, 2020 due to the pandemic including millions of dollars in lost sales and the loss of an tens of thousands of jobs in this State. This Act extends the provisions contained in HB 349 from the 150th General Assembly until March 31, 2022 with the goal of continuing the efforts to try and mitigate the losses this industry has suffered. This bill extends the following provisions in HB 349: (1) Allowing an entity that has a valid on-premise license to sell alcohol to continue to alcoholic beverages as part of transactions for take-out, curbside, or drive-through food service so long as certain conditions are met; (2) Allowing a licensee to continue to use outdoor seating for serving of food and drinks so long as the licensee satisfies certain conditions; (3) Allowing the Commissioner to temporarily suspend a license only if the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that public's safety is at risk and there has been a violation of the law; and (4) Allowing the Commissioner to hold hearings by electronic, telephonic, or remote means.
This Senate Concurrent Resolution requests that the United States Congress propose and send to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment to make clear that Congress and the states have the power and authority to regulate and limit the amounts of money collected and spent in elections and for referendums and ballot measures.
House Bill No. 292 of the 149th General Assembly established a 3 year pilot program (“program”) to implement the recommendations in the 2015 Autism Educational Task Force report. The pilot program revised the Delaware Autism Program toward a system where the statewide Director works in collaboration with a team of experts to provide technical assistance and training to districts and educational entities. This Act makes the pilot program permanent and revises the program as follows: 1. Requires the Department of Education ("Department") to administer the program, including hiring the Director. 2. Revises the terminology in the qualifications for the Director to include autism spectrum disorder (“ASD”). 3. Requires the Department to hire 5 training specialists instead of the current hiring requirement that is based on the number of students with an educational classification of ASD. 4. Renames the Parent Advisory Committees to clarify that they are statewide. 5. Revises the responsibilities of the Peer Review Committee to conduct reviews without a request of the Department, to include behavioral procedures in the review, and at the request of the Department, review procedures and programming for students with other educational classifications served in the program. This Act takes effect on July 1, 2021. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act removes the broad exemption in the Freedom of Information Act for the University of Delaware and Delaware State University and creates the following specific exemptions for some records of public institutions: 1. Confidential letters or statements related to admission, employment, or honors. 2. Proprietary information related to study or research. 3. Personal fundraising strategies relating to and confidential financial and personal information about identifiable donors or prospective donors. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a charter issued to a corporation for educational purposes sustained in whole or part by the State, including the University of Delaware and Delaware State University.
This Act modifies the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards Act to do the following: (1) Continues increasing the required minimum percentage of electrical energy sales to Delaware end-use customers from renewable energy sources through 2035. (2) Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. (3) Eliminates “cost-cap” mechanism for freezing the RPS and replaces it with a market-based mechanism. (4) Clarifies the rulemaking authority for this Act.
This Act is the second leg of a constitutional amendment to add race, color, and national origin to § 21 of Article I of the Delaware Constitution to explicitly declare that protection against discrimination based on race, color, and national origin is one of Delaware's fundamental rights. The first leg of this constitutional amendment was Senate Bill 191 of the 150th General Assembly, published in Chapter 287 of Volume 82 of the Laws of Delaware. On passage of this second leg by this General Assembly this amendment will become part of the Delaware Constitution. Since the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, with Delaware ratifying it in 1901, at least 15 states have added a provision to their state constitution that prohibits the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on race, color, or national origin. In 2019, Delaware amended the state constitution to prohibit the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on sex, but no such prohibition exists as to race, color, or national origin. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly when the General Assembly amends the Delaware Constitution.
This concurrent resolution establishes the Delaware Corrections Investigation Task Force to investigate and make findings and recommendations regarding the treatment of inmates and the quality of healthcare provided to inmates in this State's correctional institutions. The Task Force shall complete its investigation and findings 90 days after the Task Force’s initial meeting and issue a final report containing a summary of its work, findings, and recommendations.
This Act is based on a Model Act to Prevent Excessive and Unconscionable Prices for Prescription Drugs developed by the National Academy for State Health Policy. It prohibits manufacturers from raising the price of prescription drugs outside of certain market conditions that might justify a price hike. It is specifically limited to the prices charged to consumers in the State of Delaware for generic and off-patent drugs. It authorizes the Attorney General to investigate price increases identified by State agencies above a certain threshold. Manufacturers or distributors may be fined up to $10,000 per day for sales which violate the Act. Each sale of a drug excessively and unconscionably priced constitutes a separate violation. A manufacturer or distributor is prohibited from withdrawing a generic or off-patent drug for sale in this State to avoid application of the Act.
This Act is the final leg of a constitutional amendment that would eliminate from the Delaware Constitution the limitations as to when an individual may vote by absentee ballot. This amendment to the Delaware Constitution provides that the General Assembly shall enact general laws providing the circumstances, rules, and procedures for absentee voting.
