Rep. Larry Lambert

This Act revises the Fair Housing Act to repeal the exception to discrimination based on source of income that allows a landlord to discriminate against tenants who participate in government-sponsored rental assistance programs. This exemption contributes to a lack of affordable housing in this State. There is currently a severe shortage of affordable housing for extremely low-income households in Delaware, with only 38 affordable rental units available for every 100 extremely low-income households. In addition, studies have shown that people who use government subsidies to move from high-poverty neighborhoods to communities with more opportunity have measurable health improvements and the children in these families earn more in adulthood than children who remain in high-poverty neighborhoods. Nine states and the District of Columbia have fair housing laws that protect against discrimination based on source of income that covers recipients of government subsidies.

This Act, which takes effect on January 1, 2022, clarifies that the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) has exclusive jurisdiction over a juvenile's care, custody, and control for any juvenile until at least the juvenile’s 18th birthday. Further, this Act stipulates that juveniles found guilty and sentenced for a Superior Court offense shall remain in the custody, care, and control of DSCYF until they turn 18. Juveniles with Superior Court terms of confinement which extend beyond their 18th birthday shall be transferred to the custody of the Department of Correction for the remainder of their sentence after they turn 18. This Act also clarifies that Family Court is permitted to retain jurisdiction in some cases, and Family Court may require DSCYF to provide services and supervision for non-incarcerated persons aged 18-21. Finally, the Act allows individuals charged in Family Court before they turn 18 to be held by DSCYF until they turn 19.

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.

This Concurrent Resolution requests that the budget bill prepared by the Joint Finance Committee keep the Senior Property Tax Credit at its statutorily enacted level of the lesser of 50%, or $500, rather than lower the maximum credit amount through epilogue language, until such time as a means-tested program can be implemented.

This Act prohibits the import, export, sale, transport, distribution, or propagation of any plant identified by the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, with the advice of the Delaware Native Species Commission, as an invasive plant. This Act also requires that plants identified as potentially invasive be sold with a tag that identifies the plant as potentially invasive. A violation of this Act may result in a civil penalty of $50 to $500, but only after the person has had the opportunity for an administrative hearing and the opportunity to come into compliance with this Act. This Act takes effect July 1, 2022.

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 bill establishes a 2-year residential drinking water purification system pilot program to be administered through the Department of Health and Social Services with funding through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.

Requesting the Division of Research, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Delaware Department of Technology & Information to cooperate in creating a detailed and implementable plan to stream audio and video of all floor and committee action of the House of Representatives and Senate; record all such material; and make these recordings available to the public via an online archive. The resolution further requests the 151st General Assembly and the governor to approve and act on the finished plan and authorize the funding needed to implement it.

This Act prohibits the seller of consumer goods or services from refusing to accept cash payment, except in limited circumstances. It creates graduated civil penalties for violations and provides consumers a private right of action to recover double damages, including consequential damages, for a second violation of the law and triple damages for subsequent violations. The Division of Consumer Protection has authority to enforce the law.

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.