Rep. Debra Heffernan

In an effort to ensure the safety and wellbeing of dogs, this legislation improves shelter and tether standards in hazardous weather conditions, including clarifying restrictions on outdoor housing and tethering for dogs during hazardous weather conditions that pose a serious adverse risk to the health and safety of dogs. This bill also aims to improve public safety by prohibiting dogs from running at-large without a leash in public outdoor settings, with the exception of working dogs and permits dogs off leash on private property or where property owner has given the dog owner permission.

This bill permits the owner of a beer garden or food establishment to permit leashed dogs on licensed outdoor patios of food establishments and in beer gardens.

This bill requires all public and charter schools which have students in grades 6-12 to provide free feminine hygiene products in 50% of the bathrooms used by students who can have a menstrual cycle. This bill also requires schools to publish on its website and post in its common areas the locations of the bathrooms where the hygiene products are provided. Finally, this bill provides that each school must consult with its school nurse regarding the products to be provided.

This Act is a recommendation of the Jurisdiction Improvement Committee established by the Delaware Supreme Court Order of November 7, 2017. The Act provides for the Justice of the Peace Court and Family Court to have concurrent jurisdiction over truancy matters and allows for a means of transfer from the Justice of the Peace Court to the Family Court for cases in which the Family Court already has open proceedings regarding the child or child’s family. Concurrent jurisdiction allows for judicial economy in consideration of such matters while at the same time allowing the Family Court to focus their resources on the more significant filings. This Act mandates that school principals attempt to confer with a truant child’s parents/guardians in an effort to address the child’s lack of attendance prior to filing a complaint with a court. The Act returns to Family Court the consideration of criminal contempt of students in truancy proceedings and removes subsections that are redundant as a result of § 1007C of Title 10. This Act clarifies that children adjudicated truant within the Justice of the Peace Court would have the right to appeal the finding to the Family Court. For truancy matters which result in adjudications truant within the Family Court, appeal rights will remain as is specified in 10 Del. C. § 1051. This Act also removes the requirement of a bond for an appeal. Finally, this Act identifies the criteria for determining whether a complaint will remain in the Justice of the Peace Court or be transferred to Family Court.

This Act amends the Fiscal Year 2020 Bond and Capital Improvements Act to (1) reauthorize Appoquinimink School District project local shares; (2) redistribute Community Reinvestment Funds from the African American Heritage Institute to the Peoples Settlement Association and the Redding House Foundation; (3) redistribute Municipal Infrastructure Funds to the Ocean View Historical Society and amend the project description for the Town of Laurel; (4) reprogram Department of Correction funding from the Central Violation of Probation Conversion from Level IV to Level V Design and Construction to the JTVCC Perimeter Fence, Motor Pool Building Conversion to a Level V Vocational Skills Training Center, and Maintenance and Restoration; (5) revise the amount used for a feasibility study at Delaware State University and add authorization for renovations of a community building; (6) authorize the Department of Correction to use Maintenance and Restoration funding for drug treatment space, a design and location study for Plummer Community Correction Center, and a conversion of the Central Violation of Probation center; (7) authorize the use of City of Wilmington Education Initiatives funding for recreational equipment at Kirkwood Park for use by Stubbs Elementary School; (8) authorize the State via the Complete Count Commission to enter into a contractual agreement with a non-profit for census activities in Kent and Sussex counties; (9) transfer a Delaware National Guard vehicle storage facility to the City of Harrington; (10) authorize for a transfer of property from the Delaware National Guard to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control; (11) authorize a transfer of property from the Office of Management and Budget to the United States Government; (12) authorize additional reimbursements from the Community Transportation Fund; (13) authorizes the Department of Transportation to enter into contractual agreements with the Riverfront Development Corporation; (14) authorize the Department of Transportation to enter into agreements with the City of Wilmington and the Riverfront Development Corporation related to the redevelopment of South Market Street; (15) authorize the Brandywine School District to use minor capital improvement funds for site planning activities of the Charles W. Bush Early Education Center; (16) authorize the transfer of funds from the Office of Management and Budget to the Town of Laurel; and (17) allocate funding from the Delaware State Housing Authority to the Ministry of Caring.

This Act creates the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force to study and make findings and recommendations regarding whether Delaware should become the point of contact to conduct background checks for firearms transfers.

This Bill is the Fiscal Year 2021 Bond and Capital Improvements Act.

The Division of Developmental Disabilities Services Task Force was established under Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 62 of the 150th General Assembly. The Task Force has met regularly since August 2019, but needs additional time to complete its work. This Concurrent Resolution extends the due date of the Task Force's final report to July 31, 2020.

This bill establishes the crimes of possession of an unfinished firearm frame or receiver with no serial number, possession of and manufacturing a covert or undetectable firearm, possession of and manufacturing an untraceable firearm, and manufacturing or distributing a firearm using a three-dimensional printer. This bill also makes it a crime to possess a firearm frame or receiver with a removed, obliterated, or altered serial number.

Section 1 of this Act modifies Delaware’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to allow recipients to choose the most beneficial credit to be applied against their Delaware Personal Income Taxes. Under this Act, recipients can choose between a non-refundable credit of up to 20% of the value of the corresponding federal EITC or a refundable EITC credit of up to 4.5% of the value of the corresponding federal EITC. Section 2 of this Act makes the change to Delaware’s EITC effective for the tax year in which the Secretary of Finance provides the Registrar of Regulations with notice that the personal income tax release of the Integrated Revenue Administration System is implemented. This delay in effective date is necessary to ensure that tax law changes can be properly and efficiently implemented in the Division of Revenue’s modernized Integrated Revenue Administration System, which is currently under development. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.