Rep. Kevin Hensley

The National League of Families POW/MIA flag, is "a symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoners, missing, or unaccounted for in all U.S. wars" 36. U.S.C. 902. In 1989 the United States required the National League of Families POW/MIA flag be flown on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and Veterans Day. In 2012, Delaware required the National POW/MIA flag to be flown on National POW/MIA Recognition Day. This bill expands the dates on which the flag shall be flown, consistent with federal law and Delawareans' commitment to our veterans.

This bill addresses an on-going problem relating to background checks for employees, volunteers, and contractors of child-serving entities. Currently, a person working a child-serving entity who obtains the required background check must undergo another background check when that person obtains employment at another child-serving entity even if that background check had recently been completed. This put an undue burden on the employee and the State Bureau of Identification who run the background checks. This bill would allow an employee, volunteer, or contractor who is required to obtain a background check to authorize a child-serving entity to share the results of a background check with another child-serving entity so long as the authorization is in writing and provided to the Office of Child Care Licensing. This bill also requires the Department of Education to establish a procedure to allow employees, volunteers and contractors to authorize the sharing of background checks between child-serving entities.

This act names the Delaware portion of U.S. Route 301 between Route 1 and the Delaware Maryland State line as First Responders Memorial Highway.

This Act adds coverage for Medication Assisted Treatment ("MAT") for drug and alcohol dependencies to the mental health parity laws for health insurance. This Act requires health insurance carriers to provide coverage for prescription medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for MAT at no greater financial burden than for prescription medication for other illness or disease, without step therapy requirements, and at the lowest tier of the drug formulary. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Currently, non-resident pass-through entities, trusts, and estates are required to pay estimated income taxes anticipated to be due as a result of real estate transactions before each deed is recorded. The payment of estimated income taxes before each deed is recorded has become a burden on entities that transfer multiple parcels and on the Division of Revenue. In order to maximize time and improve personnel efficiencies within the Division of Revenue, this Act provides the Director with the ability to exempt nonresident pass-through entities involved in the sale or exchange of Delaware real estate from the requirement of remitting estimated income taxes due with each deed to the Recorder before the deed is recorded. This act only allows the Director to grant exemptions as to the timing of the payment of estimated income taxes; it does not allow the Director to grant exemptions from paying income taxes.

Title 9, Chapter 21 of the Delaware Code provides, upon the petition of a majority of property owners of any unincorporated community or village in New Castle County, that New Castle County Council may enter into a contract with any electric, gas, or other lighting company to light the streets or highways running through, bounding, and within the community or village. Communities have requested, and this Act would provide, a narrow expansion of Title 9 to provide for other lighting, including lighting for neighborhood entrance signs. This Act also makes technical corrections to the statutes involved to conform to the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This act will increase the numbers of Delaware nursing students eligible for the nursing incentive program by allowing Delawareans pursuing nursing careers at non-profit hospitals located in Delaware to be eligible for the program.

This act designates the Bellanca Cruisair as the official historical aircraft of Delaware.

This Act addresses the serious problem of individuals dumping large quantities of trash on public and private property, by: • Defining a “substantial quantity” of litter as being more than an amount contained in a standard garbage can. • Providing enhanced penalties for the unlawful dumping of a substantial quantity of litter. • Creating the Litter Investigation and Enforcement Fund (“LIEF”), funded through restitution paid by offenders of this chapter, to support investigations to identify those who violate this chapter. This Act clarifies that a public authority or agency is not required to provide litter receptacles in a park or recreation area that is designated as a carry-on and carry-out facility. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Substitute to Senate Bill No. 5 makes the following changes: • Clearly labels “littering” as a category of unlawful activity distinct from “dumping.” • Adds State parks, State forestry areas, State fish and wildlife areas, federal wildlife refuges, and lands within the State that are administered by the U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, to the list of areas that trigger enhanced penalties. • Establishes LIEF as a subaccount to the already-existing Special Law Enforcement Assistance Fund (“SLEAF”) under Subchapter II, Chapter 41, Title 11. • Requires disbursement of LIEF funds to follow the disbursement procedures already established for SLEAF. • Clarifies that the voluntary assessment alternative applies only to littering offenses. The penalty for dumping includes a mandatory community service obligation, so voluntary assessment cannot apply to dumping. • Updates language to allow courts to accept methods other than check or money order to make payments under this Act.

This bill removes the 3 year sunset provision that was part of House Bill No. 53, as amended, enacted on May 10, 2018 of the 149th General Assembly. This will allow the on-going use of certain ground-based and hand-held sparklers.