This resolution recognizes the week of March 17 through March 23, 2024, as “National Agriculture Week” in Delaware
This bill seeks to correct a current bias in Delaware’s election law impacting the outcome of countless races throughout the state. Numerous academic analyses have concluded that there is a considerable benefit to a candidate’s name appearing first on the ballot. In one noteworthy legal proceeding on ballot position bias, the California Supreme Court held that “a significant advantage accrues to a candidate by virtue of a top ballot position.” The High Court further concluded that without incumbents running, approximately 5% of a candidate’s vote share could be attributed to their position on the ballot. California took action in 1975 to eliminate this flaw by randomizing the listing of candidates on its ballots. The Golden State uses a system where a randomized drawing of letters of the alphabet is conducted, with the resulting order of letters constituting a "randomized alphabet" that is used for determining the order of candidates' names on the ballot. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 15 states have enacted reforms to deal with ballot position bias. Delaware law currently mandates that one political party always appear in the first column on the machine ballots or on the first line of absentee ballots. This bill proposes eradicating ballot position inequity by adopting a randomized system modeled after the one successfully employed in California for nearly five decades.
This concurrent resolution establishes the Classroom Behavior and School Discipline Task Force.
This Act creates the Joint Committee on Oversight of Agency Regulations (“Committee”) to engage in review and oversight of regulations adopted by State agencies. Like laws in states such as Colorado and Utah, this Act does all of the following: (1) Requires that all regulations adopted by an agency between each November 1 and October 31 expire at 5:00 p.m. on the following June 30 unless the General Assembly enacts a law to remove the expiration of the regulation. (2) Establishes criteria for the Committee’s review of State agency regulations. (3) Establishes a process for the Committee’s review and oversight of State agency regulations, including the requirement of a staff report, public hearings, and Committee recommendations to the General Assembly. (4) If the Committee recommends a regulation not be allowed to expire, requires the Committee to draft and introduce a bill that removes the expiration of each regulation the Committee recommends not be allowed to expire. (5) The Committee Chair, Vice Chair, and members receive the same additional compensation as the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee.
This Act clarifies the process of obtaining a Nursery Inspection Certificate through the Nursery Industry License Application (NILA), which is now available online. This Act also cleans up and updates language used in relation to Nurseries and Nursery Stock. This Act provides for the proceeds of any fines or penalties imposed for violations under Chapter 13 to be deposited in a special fund account in the Department of Agriculture and used to support the nursery inspection programs of the Department of Agriculture.
This Concurrent Resolution recognizes January 9, 2024, as "Law Enforcement Appreciation Day" in the State of Delaware.
This concurrent resolution expresses the State of Delaware General Assembly’s concern for the loss of life in the Israel-Hamas war and calls on the legislature and the citizens of Delaware to recognize our common humanity and the shared strength of our diversity.
This bill creates a special license plate for Whitetails Unlimited.
This Act revises the existing crime of endangering the welfare of a child by providing or permitting a child to consume or inhale unprescribed controlled substances in the following ways: 1. Prohibits a person from intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly making controlled substances or prescription drugs available to a child through exposure, consumption, or inhalation. 2. Creates new penalties for endangering the welfare of a child through exposure, consumption, or inhalation of drugs. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to expand the scope of an existing crime within the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, or Justice of the Peace Court.
This act would require the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to obtain the consent of the General Assembly before promulgating any regulations restricting the sale of fuel-powered cars, trucks, and SUVs in Delaware. This Act does not change the emission standards fuel-powered vehicles must currently meet. The provisions of this bill would be retroactive to March 1, 2023.
