Rep. Gerald L. Brady

This Act revises the Delaware Nursing Home Resident's Quality Assurance Commission by doing all of the following: 1. Restores language regarding staffing and support from the Department of Justice that was repealed in error by House Bill No. 225 as amended by House Amendment No. 1 in the 149th General Assembly. 2. Revises membership to decrease the number of vacancies. 3. Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act extends the Automatic Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program and the Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Financial Education through December 31, 2024. The Automatic Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program and the Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Financial Education were established by 3 different Acts which each sunset after 2 years, based upon the effective date of each Act. The sunset periods have been extended for additional 2 year periods so that the Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Financial Education sunsets in September 2019; § 5062C and § 5062D of Title 10 sunset in January 2020; and § 5062A of Title 10 sunset in January 2019. In addition to providing a uniform date for the expiration of the entire Automatic Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program and the Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Financial Education, this Act makes the expiration date a new subsection of each statute, so that the effective period of the law is clear and easily identified.

This Act tightens the role and responsibilities of the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDDS) so that it more aptly aligns with the current state of the agency. This act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act allows the Division of Motor Vehicles to issue special Bicycle Friendly Delaware license plates.

This bill will add a new check-off donation box on the Delaware personal income tax return whereby individuals may choose to donate a portion of their tax refund, or designate an amount in addition to the tax they owe that will be transferred by the Division of Revenue to the Pediatric Cancer Research Fund held by the Delaware Community Foundation, who in turn will deposit the funds to the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation.

This Act creates a permit which allows an individual to park a vehicle, that would otherwise be prohibited because of weight, on a residential street in New Castle County if the vehicle complies with all other size requirements; is the individual's sole or primary mode of transportation; and the vehicle is either provided by the individual's employer or essential to the individual's business. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act eliminates the set bargaining unit classifications established in 19 Del. C. § 1311A(b) and allows exclusive representatives of bargaining units to work with the Secretary of the Department of Human Resources to organize or consolidate bargaining units in a manner in which they can agree for purposes of collective bargaining. It also eliminates the requirement that exclusive bargaining representatives of exclusive bargaining units form a coalition for collective bargaining. The Act eliminates the provision allowing for an employee organization to seek to be certified for unrepresented employees. The Act provides that parties may engage in collective bargaining for compensation in conjunction with or separately from collective bargaining for terms and conditions. It requires that the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements be staggered over time while providing that collective bargaining agreements currently in place remain in place until they expire by their own terms. While the Act allows for exclusive representatives to bargain for different pay rate increases, it prohibits the compensation of bargaining units from exceeding the pay ranges for each pay grade as established each year in the appropriations act. In addition, it retains the existing scope of bargaining contained in 19 Del.C. Section 1311A(a). Finally, this Act makes technical revisions to conform with the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Employment for formerly incarcerated individuals is a major barrier to transitioning and re-entering the community. The National Institute of Justice estimates that 60% of ex-offenders are jobless one year after their release. Improving access to employment opportunities for ex-offenders helps lower the State’s recidivism rates and will improve public safety and reduce taxpayer spending on prisons. This Act seeks to improve access to employment for formerly incarcerated individuals by establishing the Ex-Offender Employment Opportunity Tax Credit that offers a tax credit to employers hiring qualified ex-offenders in an amount equal to 10% of that individuals wages, with a maximum credit of $1500.

This Act facilitates electric vehicle and grid-integrated electric vehicle interconnection by including the Society of Automotive Engineers industrial safety standard, J3072, which sets safety requirements for electric vehicles that provide power from their batteries back to the electric grid. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act changes the employee classification of the Office of Highway Safety (OHS) director position from merit to exempt. The Department of Safety and Homeland Security (Department) is requesting the change to make the Department’s director position employee classifications consistent. The Department is seeking the change while the OHS Director position is vacant. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.