In January of 2015, the Office of Civil Rights & Public Trust was created by the Attorney General to establish a centralized office within the Department of Justice for the investigation of matters concerning civil rights enforcement and the prosecution of matters concerning violations of the public trust. This office must remain an independent entity within the Department of Justice to avoid conflicts with other Department of Justice duties and thus effectively enforce laws protecting the public trust and civil rights. Thus, this Act creates the Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust within the Department of Justice which will be separate from the other Divisions within the Department of Justice and have a Director who reports directly to the Chief Deputy Attorney General, to avoid conflicts of interest with the work of the other Divisions. This Act also clarifies the current scope of the Department of Justice’s ability to investigate and bring civil rights actions to protect the civil rights of all Delawareans.
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This Concurrent Resolutions authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to expand regional rail connections.
A placard must be prominently displayed at all entrances of massage and bodywork establishments that have failed to obtain a valid license or have a license that is suspended, revoked, or expired. This bill provides that no placard can be removed unless the establishment is validly licensed and the removal of the placard is approved by the Division of Professional Regulation. This bill makes the unlawful removal of the placard a Class A misdemeanor, punishable of up to 1 year in jail and up to a $2300 fine.
This Act classifies pesticides containing a neonicotinoid as a restricted use pesticide and prohibits the use of a pesticide containing a neonicotinoid on land owned or maintained by the State. Neonicotinoids have been linked to impaired memory, movement, and death in bees, which are critical to crop production.
This Joint Resolution directs the Secretary of the Department of Transportation to report to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Controller General, Governor, and Director of the Office of Management and Budget by December 7, 2020, on the amount of funds needed to adequately repair and maintain subdivision streets.
This Act permits a school district to conduct on the last day of January an optional unit count of pupils who enrolled after the actual unit count was conducted and certified by the Department of Education. A school district will qualify for one-half of the value of the Division I and Division II state financial support for each additional unit under the optional unit count.
This Act clarifies Delaware’s driving under the influence (“DUI”) law related to intensive inpatient or outpatient drug and alcohol treatment for felony DUI offenders. The current law has resulted in differing interpretations regarding treatment; specifically, whether treatment must be completed while incarcerated (Level V) or at home confinement (Level IV), rather than at community supervision (Level III or Level II). This has resulted in extending incarceration for some offenders or requiring out-of-state offenders to reside in Delaware to complete the mandated drug and alcohol abstinence program and drug and alcohol treatment program under § 4177(d)(9) of Title 21. Specifically, this Act permits the Superior Court to sentence felony DUI offenders to commence intensive treatment at any level of supervision, including community supervision. This Act also requires offenders to complete treatment within 9 months of the date of sentence or the date of release from Level V or Level IV, unless the Superior Court has granted the offender an extension for good cause. If an offender does not complete the treatment as required, the Superior Court must impose the portion of the minimum sentence suspended by the Court for the offender’s participation in the program.
This Act revises the appointment process for members of the Common Interest Community Advisory Council who are from the Real Property Section of the Delaware State Bar Association. Under this Act, these members are appointed by a government official to comply with the requirements of the Delaware Constitution. This Act applies only to members who are appointed after the effective date of this Act, and does not invalidate any appointments made before the effective date of this Act. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
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.
This bill extends the amount of years an identification card is valid from four (4) to eight (8) years. This bill is necessary for the Division of Motor Vehicles to maintain consistent business processes. The driver license is currently valid for eight (8) years, and this change would maintain consistency with the driver license requirement.