Sen. Stephanie Hansen

The purpose of this act is to open up The Delaware Student Excellence Equals Degree Act (SEED Act) to adult Delaware residents, who are not recent high school graduates. Currently, about 56% of Delawareans age 25-64 lack a post-secondary degree. This expansion of the SEED grant program will encourage adult learners to return to school to enhance their knowledge and skills and increase their job opportunities. Adult individuals with a high school diploma or less education were significantly impacted by Covid-19-related job loss. This legislation can help to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on those adults. Tennessee has instituted a similar program called the Tennessee Reconnect Act.

This Act makes the following changes to election law: (1) Increases the contribution or expenditure threshold for requiring a candidate for a public office, including a municipal office, to form a candidate committee, or file a statement of organization, with the State Election Commissioner from $2,000 to $5,000. (2) Changes the deadline to file campaign finance reports from 4:30 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. and makes clear that the reports are required to be filed electronically using the Department of Elections’ campaign finance reporting system. (3) Provides a deadline by which a candidate must withdraw to be removed from the general election ballot. 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 municipal charter.

This Act does the following: (1) Permits the State Elections Commissioner (“Commissioner”) to issue a citation to a reporting party who fails to file or deliver a required campaign finance report. (2) Requires the Commissioner to publish the name of a candidate who without reasonable cause failed to file a campaign finance report or has been assessed an administrative penalty. (3) Requires a reporting party who fails to file or deliver a required campaign finance report to take training on the Department of Elections’ electronic campaign finance reporting system. (4) Caps the amount of an administrative penalty that may be assessed by the Commissioner for a tardy campaign finance report. (5) Permits the Commissioner to authorize a payment plan for, waive administrative penalties under $500 owed by, or negotiate the total amount of administrative penalty owed by a reporting party, if the reporting party has filed or corrected a tardy report. Section 4 of this Act makes this authority retroactive to fines imposed by the Commissioner before the effective date of the Act. (6) Permits an administrative penalty to be paid by a political committee or political action committee, instead of by a reporting party. The Act makes this authority retroactive to fines imposed by the Commissioner before the effective date of the Act. (7) Increases the amount of time the Reports Appeals Subcommittee has to meet following the filing of an appeal. (8) Increases the stipend a member of the Reports Appeals Subcommittee may receive for attending a meeting from $50 to $100 and the total yearly stipend a member may receive from $250 to $500. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act creates a new Utilities Coordination Council, as recommended by the Utilities Coordination Working Group established by SCR No. 48 from the 150th General Assembly. The purpose of the Council is to review and recommend best practices for efficient utility relocations on transportation projects on Delaware's highways. Additionally, the Council will be responsible for implementation, accountability, and the resolution of any specific utility delays.

This bill will allow all surviving spouses of persons killed in the course and scope of employment to receive the same level of death benefits as the surviving spouses of those persons defined as “covered persons” in Section 6601(2), Title 18 of the Delaware Code, in the event that the surviving spouse remarries. This expansion of the death benefit beyond the surviving spouses of those persons specified in Section 6601(2) will result in all surviving spouses, who decide to remarry, being treated equally under Delaware’s Workers’ Compensation laws.

This Act requires that home health-care services for Medicaid long-term care services and support providers be reimbursed for services by Medicaid-contracted organizations at a rate equal to or more than the rate set by the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance for equivalent services. This rate floor system is currently used for reimbursement rates for home health-care nursing services paid for by Medicaid-contracted organizations. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Senate Joint Resolution requires the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to engage authoritative federal agencies to identify the administrative structure, legal structure, and resource needs to establish a State nontidal wetlands permitting program effectively shifting the permitting program from the federal to the State level. This Senate Joint Resolution also requires that a report containing the results of this review be completed and made public within 1 year.

This Act provides a phased in approach to further the reduction of single-use plastic bags. This Act increases the minimum thickness for a plastic bag to qualify as a reusable bag from 2.25 mils to 10 mils effective January 1, 2022 and makes the restrictions applicable to stores regardless of size effective July 1, 2022. This Act also makes corrections to existing law to make it conform to the standards of the Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act updates statutes relating to the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. It adds "Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit" to the definitions within the existing statute. In addition, it updates references in certain sections of the laws to reflect whether the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, or a unit or division within that Department, is responsible for certain duties as described in the Delaware Code. It also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act permits an individual to practice dentistry for the Division of Public Health (Division) under a provisional license. Delaware law provides several routes for entering practice on an interim basis until full licensure can be obtained, however, none of these routes specifically permit hiring by the Division with the intent to practice in a state-supported dental clinic. This Act will assist the Division in recruiting dentists to serve those in need. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.