Sen. Stephanie Hansen

This Act amends Title 21 to specify the requirements for an applicant to obtain or renew a motor vehicle dealer license and aligns the requirements with other state licensing requirements. The current law only requires the applicant to show they have and will comply with the laws of this state and other states. Due to the statute’s current ambiguity the Division of Motor Vehicles is often asked to review an applicant’s criminal history prior to submission of a full application which makes it difficult for the Division to determine if the applicant qualifies for licensure.

This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's ("JLOSC") review of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association ("DIAA"). As part of JLOSC's review of DIAA, JLOSC recommended the following updates to the DIAA statute, which this Act fulfills: - Establish term limits for certain DIAA Board members of no more than 3, 3-year terms for a total of 9 years. - Add language to address the removal of a board member for gross inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance. - Change DIAA Board member composition to add a third school district superintendent or assistant superintendent to create equitable representation among all 3 counties in this State; add a third nonpublic school representative; ensure that 1 of the 6 public members is a parent of a current or recent student athlete from a member school; and make the Department of Education member a voting member. - Clarify quorum and number of votes required to approve an act of the DIAA Board. - Authorize DIAA to pursue sponsorship opportunities and other non-tournament related revenue streams, and the purchase of general liability insurance relating to the rental of non-State venues for DIAA-sponsored events. - Clarify when a member's county of residence is a qualification versus the county in which the school the member is representing is a qualification. - Make technical corrections throughout DIAA's statute, to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Among the technical corrections is correction of references to the “state Board” when the references are intended to use the defined term “State Board” for the State Board of Education.

This Act is part of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's ("JLOSC") review of the Delaware Nursing Home Residents Quality Assurance Commission ("DNHRQAC") and the recommendations that JLOSC approved during its review. This Act specifies the matters that DNHRQAC must include in its annual report, and makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

The bill requires that third-party cost-sharing assistance utilized by patients is applied toward the enrollee's health insurance deductibles and any out-of-pocket limits. Additionally, the bill defines what constitutes a “cost-sharing requirement” as well as how to calculate the assistance when applying to patient’s deductibles and out-of-pocket limits. This bill applies to both carriers and pharmacy benefits managers with an effective date of January 1, 2024.

This Act makes it easier to properly clear title to real property after a person dies if the person held real property jointly with the right of survivorship. With more frequency, a deceased person may die as a resident in a county that is different from the county in which the deceased owned real property. This Act provides relief to those who are the surviving joint owner of a person who died in a county that is different than the county where the real property is located. The surviving joint owner of real property may not have anything to do with the deceased person’s estate, or the probate of it, making it difficult for the surviving joint owner to obtain exemplified copies from different states or countries, which results in the loss of valuable time and money to the surviving joint owner.

House Bill No. 293 requires that meetings of public bodies that are open to the public must provide an opportunity for public comment. Meetings of a public body of the General Assembly are excluded from the requirement to provide an opportunity for public comment because under § 9 of Art. II of the Delaware Constitution, the rules of proceedings for legislative meetings are established by the Senate and House of Representatives of each General Assembly. House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 293 differs from House Bill No. 293 by revising the limitations a public body may impose on public comment as follows: 1. It requires that the time for public comment provide a meaningful opportunity for the public to engage with the public body. 2. Allows a public body to impose reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on the length of the public comment period and the amount of time allotted for each person providing public comment. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and 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 municipal corporation.

This Act prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant declaw a cat as a condition for entering into or renewing a rental agreement. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This bill defines and regulates electric bicycles. Section 1 adds electric bicycles to the definitions contained in Title 21. Section 2 includes electric bicycle operators and passengers as vulnerable users when on a highway, crosswalk, road shoulder or sidewalk and prescribes rights and responsibilities attendant to the operation of electric bicycles. Section 3 adds electric bicycles to the definition of vehicle.

This bill provides a mechanism to grant pension increases to retired State Employees, retired Judges, and retired “New” State police. This bill dedicates a minimum of 2.33% of payroll to be deposited annually to the Post Retirement Fund. This bill also provides for a pension increase as determined by the Board of Pension Trustees.

According to a survey conducted by the American Bar Association, 90 percent of early-career lawyers have student loans, averaging $130,000. The same survey found that Black borrowers accumulated more debt to obtain their law degree compared to other borrowers of other racial/ethnic backgrounds, and that most young lawyers who borrowed for their education reported that their debt caused them to delay or forego pursuing traditional life milestones, such as purchasing a home, marriage, and starting a family. According to the survey, an overwhelming majority of borrowers – roughly 80 percent – indicated their debt influenced their choice of job or career in some way. Most borrowers reported that salary factored more heavily into their job selection than anticipated. Nearly a third of the sample indicated their position was less focused on public service or doing good than intended when they started law school. In Delaware, the Office of Defense Services, and the Department of Justice, the primary employers of attorneys working for the state, found that student loan debt was an enormous burden. Attorneys reported monthly payments between $500 and $1,000 and debts exceeding $100,000. The student loan crisis, coupled with sizable salary pay gaps between the state and private sector, has created recruitment and retention issues in the legal sector of state government and has made it difficult to provide improved access to justice. This Act establishes a Student Loan Repayment Program for attorneys employed with the State of Delaware working as attorneys. The program allows qualified applicants to apply for a payment from the State to the applicant’s lending agency to pay a portion of the applicant’s student loan debt. The purpose of the program is to improve recruitment and retention for legal service providers at a time when the state is having difficulty attracting attorneys passionate about public service. The amount of the award shall be no less than $2,500 and no more than $5,000 annually for 10 years. There is a salary cap of $110,000. The program will be administered by the Criminal Justice Council and overseen by a committee of stakeholders in the state’s legal system.