Rep. Danny Short

This Act recognizes the statutory authority of the Governor to act in the event of an emergency or disaster. During protracted emergencies and disasters, particularly those lasting more than 60 days, good governance requires participation by the General Assembly to approve renewal of Emergency Orders. This approval requirement may be waived only when it is not possible for both houses of the General Assembly to convene a quorum. The Governor retains the authority to terminate Emergency Orders without approval when the emergency or disaster has passed. Any new non-weather related emergency order issued within 6 months of the termination of a prior order and based upon substantially similar reasons shall be invalid unless approved by the General Assembly. Additionally, any non-weather related emergency order that requires the closure of any business, industry, religious, or non-profit facility must specifically delineate which type of business or facilities are to be closed.

This resolution congratulates the class 2021 Eagle Scouts for having attained the highest rank one can earn in the Boy Scouts of America.

This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the regular session of the General Assembly from extending beyond 5:00 p.m. on the last day of June, unless the session is recalled by the Governor or the presiding officers of both Houses. This changes the time beyond which a regular session of the General Assembly may not extend from midnight on June 30 to 5:00 p.m., which changes the time at which the presiding officers of both Houses must act to recall the General Assembly into special session. This means the General Assembly no longer has to remain in session until midnight to recall itself into special session. This Act does not change the date of or process for “final adjournment,” as defined in Opinion of the Justices, 175 A.2d 543, 545 (Del. 1961) (“‘[F]inal adjournment’ . . . means the adjournment sine die of the second regular session, or, in the absence of such adjournment, the extinguishment of the particular General Assembly by reason of expiration of the terms of office of the members.”). In addition, this Act contemplates that each House will continue its traditional practice of recessing to the call of the chair. 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 to amend the Delaware Constitution.

Senate Bill No. 9 establishes new formulas that a community owner is allowed use to increase rent in a manufactured home community. Senate Substitute No. 1 to SB 9 makes discrete changes to the provisions of SB 9, most of which clarify language or correct outdated references or technical errors. The 2 substantive changes expand eligibility for the lot rental assistance programs. The specific differences between this Act and SB 9 are noted below in the details of each Section of this Act. The requirements under this Act will be in effect for 5 years, during which time the current requirements for rent increases in manufactured home communities will be suspended. Under current law, rent increases in manufactured home communities have frequently been the subject of arbitration hearings and lengthy court cases. This Act seeks to dramatically reduce or eliminate these disputes by providing a choice of 3 methods that a community owner can use to establish the amount of a rent increase. In addition, when rent is increased based on 1 of the new calculations, this Act establishes clear standards and requirements, including requiring documentation that all of requirements have been satisfied. This Act applies to rent increases when notice is provided beginning the 1st day of the month following its enactment into law, and remains in effect until 5 years after its enactment. Under § 7052 of Title 25, rent in a manufactured home community can be increased in amount greater than the percentage increase of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the preceding 36 months if there have not been health or safety violations that persisted for more than 15 days, the rent increase is directly related to operating, maintaining, or improving the manufactured home community, and the rent increase is justified by 1 or more of the factors listed, which include, capital improvements, changes in taxes, utility charges, insurance costs, operating and maintenance expenses, repairs, and market rent. Rent increases under § 7052 are subject to additional requirements and the dispute resolution process under § 7053 of Title 25. Under this Act, § 7052 will not apply to rent increases while the new methods for calculating rent increases are in effect. Under this Act, a community owner may increase rent based upon the increase in the CPI-U for the preceding 24 months, based on market rent, or by agreement with a homeowner for a period of more than 1 year. In addition, a community owner may increase rent based upon the increase in the cost of specific expenses. Increases based on market rent or these additional expenses are subject to the requirements and dispute resolution process under § 7053. This Act requires that in order to increase rent, there cannot have been a health or safety violation that continued for more than 15 days as calculated under § 7051A of Title 25 or if there is a health or safety violation, the community owner must provide a surety bond or letter of credit in an amount sufficient to fund 100% of the rent increase in addition to written documentation of how the violation will be corrected by a specified date. If the violation is not corrected by that date, the surety bond or letter of credit will be used to refund the rent increase to homeowners. This Act also creates a limited eligibility lot rental assistance program for homeowners whose incomes are between 40% and 55% of the county median household income that applies to rent increases. Specifically, this Act does all of the following: Section 1. Moves definitions of the terms “CPI-U” and “market rent” to § 7003 of Title 25 because the terms are used in more than 1 section. This Act differs from SB 9 by updating the definition of “CPI-U” to reference the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington region. Section 2. Adds detailed notice requirements to § 7051 of Title 25 that require written notice of a rent increase at least 90 days, but not more than 120 days, before the first day the increased amount of rent is due and that this notice must be sent to each affected homeowner, the homeowners’ association, if 1 exists, and the Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Authority (DEHMRA). Section 2. Revises § 7052 so that it applies to rent increases that occurred or were noticed between the date § 7052 was enacted and the effective date of this Act. It makes corresponding changes to the subsection designations and repeals the definition of “market rent” because that definition will be in § 7003. Section 4. Establishes the requirements for rent increases for the 5 years after this Act takes effect, by creating the following: • § 7051A of Title 25, which establishes the prerequisites regarding health or safety violations that must be satisfied before rent can be increased including the requirement that if a health or safety violation has continued for more than 15 days as calculated under § 7051A of Title 25, the community owner must not only document that the violation will be correct by a specific date within 1 year, but must provide DEHMRA with a surety bond or letter of credit in an amount sufficient to fund 100% of the rent increase. If the violation is not corrected by that date, the surety bond or letter of credit will be used to refund the rent increase to homeowners. This Act differs from SB 9 by clarifying that “violation” includes requirements under federal, state, or county laws and that if the community owner does not correct the specified date, the rent increase does not take effect. • Creates § 7052A of Title 25, which establishes the following 3 ways that a community owner may establish a base rent increase: 1. Based upon the increase in the CPI-U for the preceding 24 months. 2. Based on market rent 3. By agreement with a homeowner for a period of more than 1 year. This Act differs from SB 9 by clarifying that § 7052A continues to apply to rent increased under the section after the section sunsets, revises the definition of the “24-month CPI-U” to mirror the language in § 7053 of Title 25, and clarifies the language explaining the rent increase calculation if based on a 24-month CPI-U that is equal to or below 7%. • Creates § 7052B of Title 25, which establishes the requirements under which a community owner may add an additional rent increase to an increase under § 7052A. The requirements include the specific allowed expenses that can be the basis of an additional rent increase, the time periods that are used in the calculations, the calculation used to determine if an additional rent increase is permitted, and how the dollar amount of an additional rent increase is calculated. A community owner must provide documentation of the cost of each of the allowed expenses on a website and must provide paper copies for review at the management office and upon request by a homeowner. Section 5. Makes the following corresponding changes to § 7053: 1. Repeals notice provisions that will be in § 7051 and applicable to all rent increases in manufactured home communities. 2. States that this section is applicable to rent increases under §§ 7052, 7052A(d), and 7052B of Title 25. 3. Revises subsection (j) so it includes the standards under §§ 7052A(d) and 7052B, if applicable. Section 6. Makes a technical correction to § 7054 of Title 25 so that it references § 7053 of Title 25 where it provides the deadline to appeal a decision of an arbitrator. Section 7. Revises the lot rental assistance program by doing the following: • Revises § 7022 of Title 25, the current lot rental assistance program, by doing the following: 1. This Act differs from SB 9 by because it further expands eligibility by requiring residency in the home for 5 consecutive years, reduced from SB 9 which required 7 consecutive years, instead of prior to July 1, 2006. 2. Increasing eligibility to households with income that is equal to or less than 40% of the county median income, from the current 30%. This Act differs from SB 9 by because it updates which agency that determines the county median household income. 3. Repealing subsections that are being transferred to a new § 7022A of Title 25 because the provisions also apply to the new limited eligibility lot rental assistance program. 4. Making technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. • Creates § 7022A of Title 25, which has the requirements that apply to the lot rental assistance programs under both §§ 7022 and 7022B of Title 25. These requirements are transferred from § 7022A with only technical corrections. • Creates § 7022B of Title 25, which creates a limited eligibility lot rental assistance program for homeowners whose incomes are between 40% and 55% of the median household income that applies to rent increases. Under this program, a homeowner’s rent is calculated on a sliding scale based on the amount of the household’s income. This Act differs from SB 9 by doing all of the following: 1. Expands eligibility for the limited eligibility lot rental assistance program to lot rent increases that take effect after the effective date of this Act. 2. Revises the eligibility requirements to correct a drafting error. 3. It further expands eligibility by requiring residency in the home for 5 consecutive years, reduced from SB 9 which required 7 consecutive years. 4. Corrects which agency determines the county median household income. 5. Clarifies how rent is calculated under the limited eligibility lot rental assistance program. Sections 8 through 10 require that if any of the following find a violation of a health or safety requirement in a manufactured home community, notice must be provided to local and state elected officials, the Department of Justice, and the Authority: 1. A county government. 2. The Department of Health and Social Services, for drinking water. 3. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. In addition, Sections 8 through 10 make technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including the correction of an internal reference in § 122(3)c.E. of Title 16. Section 11. Makes this Act effective on the first day of the month following its enactment into law.

This Act creates the Omnibus School Safety Fund (“Fund”) to provide funding to public and charter schools for certain school safety projects. This Act appropriates $65 million from the General Fund to the Fund in Fiscal Year 2023, which does not revert to the General Fund at the end of the Fiscal Year.

This Act decreases the Contractor Registration Fee for contractors who do not have a state contract and have 10 or less employees from $200 per year to $100 per year.

This Concurrent Resolution designates the week of May 8, 2022 to May 14, 2022 as National Charter Schools Week and commends Delaware's charter public schools for their efforts in educating Delaware students.

This Resolution expresses the General Assembly's strong support for the Delaware State University Women’s Lacrosse Team, and condemns the actions of the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office in Hinesville, Georgia against the Women’s Lacrosse Team. The Resolution further urges the Governor and General Assembly of Georgia to condemn the actions of the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, and to take measures to hold those responsible accountable, including providing training and instituting a policy against profiling based on race, ethnicity, religion, or gender.

This resolution honors USO Delaware for their important and inspiring work supporting military members and their families.

This Act does all of the following: (1) Creates a refundable tax credit for certain individuals who are self-employed in the operation of or employed by a child care or family care center to provide care or education to children. The amount of the refundable tax credit varies based on the educational attainment of the child care employee. (2) Indexes the increases in the amount of the refundable tax credit to the Consumer Price Index. (3) Requires the Department of Education to report annually to the General Assembly, Governor, and Delaware Early Childhood Council on the usage of this tax credit. (4) Requires the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee to review this Act in fiscal year 2029 to determine if there is a genuine need for the continuation of this Act and if this Act is satisfactorily and effectively meeting the need.