This bill creates a special license plate for Whitetails Unlimited.
This Act revises the State's Gold Alert Program to include missing children and increase dissemination of information to the public to better assist the State's search efforts. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
In 2017, the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), Public Law No. 115-97, suspended many itemized deductions from individual federal taxes until January 1, 2026, including the itemized deduction for costs to maintain membership in a labor organization. Senate Bill No. 72 created a tax credit for resident individuals equal to the annual cost, not to exceed $500, to the individual to maintain membership in a labor organization. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 72 made the annual cost to a resident individual to maintain membership in a labor organization an itemized tax deduction, not to exceed $500. Senate Amendment No. 1 to SS 1 for SB 72 sunset this itemized deduction when the federal tax deduction for costs to maintain membership in a labor organization is restored. Like SS 1 for SB 72, Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill No. 72 creates an itemized tax deduction for the annual cost to a resident individual to maintain membership in a labor organization. SS 2 for SB 72 differs from SS 1 for SB 72 as follows: 1. It does not allow an individual to take this deduction if the individual has taken a deduction on their federal income tax return for any cost to maintain membership in a labor organization. 2. It clarifies that this exemption does not include payments that are not deductible under federal law for amounts paid to or through a labor organization for employee benefits, pension contributions, other compensation, or that were used in connection with lobbying or political expenditures, or settlement or investigatory costs or assessments of a government entity. 3. Does not define “labor organization”, because under § 1101 of Title 30, it has the same meaning as when used in federal law in reference to federal income taxes. If an individual deducts any cost to maintain membership in a labor organization from their federal income tax return, that deduction flows through to the state return. By limiting this deduction to individuals who have not taken a deduction on their federal income tax return for any cost to maintain membership in a labor organization, SS 2 for SB 72 does not need to sunset, because if federal law restores or creates a similar deduction in the future and an individual uses that deduction, the individual cannot claim the same deduction again on their state income tax return. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act establishes a Delaware Educator Apprenticeship Program to be developed by the Department of Education. The Department of Education will work with the Department of Labor to create a program that places aspiring teachers in paid positions in schools, while the teacher candidates complete the training and schooling necessary to become a Delaware credentialed teacher. This program will complement the Grow Your Own Educator Program and teacher residency programs to create a low-cost pathway for aspiring teachers to earn their teaching credentials and will address the educator shortage in Delaware. A pilot program will be created for the 2023-24 school year between 1 institute of higher education and 1 district or charter school. The program shall be expanded if interest and funding is available for the 2024-25 school year and thereafter.
This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 87. Like Senate Bill No. 87, this Act does the following: (1) Clarifies that the exemption from the realty transfer tax for conveyances to or from an organization exempt from tax under § 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code when the purpose of the conveyance is to provide owner-occupied housing to low and moderate income households applies to rehabilitating residential properties and reselling the properties without profit and to constructing residences on properties and reselling the properties without profit. (2) Exempts any portion of a conveyance in which it is the grantee’s intent to construct affordable housing units and the conveyances are financed using funding provided by the federal government, this State, or a county or municipality of this State for the purpose of constructing affordable housing units, defined as a residential dwelling for a household whose income does not exceed 80% of the median income for the area as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. (3) Clarifies that individuals are first-time homebuyers if they intend to occupy the property being conveyed as their principal residence after the construction of a residence on the property to include circumstances where the residence cannot be built within 90 days after the property is purchased. (4) Corrects the first-time homebuyer definition related to individuals purchasing as joint tenants or cotenants to replace “none” with “neither” to conform the number of joint tenants or cotenants indicated by the indefinite pronoun to the number indicated by the use of “both” later in the sentence. (5) Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 87 by removing the exemption created by Senate Bill No. 87 for any portion of a conveyance financed through the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.
This Act prohibits food establishments from providing consumers with ready-to-eat food or beverages in polystyrene foam containers or with single-service plastic coffee stirrers, cocktail picks, or sandwich picks. It also prohibits food establishments from providing single-service plastic straws, unless requested by a consumer. These restrictions take effect on July 1, 2025. This Act provides the following exemptions to the prohibitions on single-service plastic implements and polystyrene foam containers: 1. The definition of "polystyrene foam food service packaging" excludes coolers or ice chests used for the processing or shipping of seafood and containers used to contain, transport, or package raw, uncooked, or butchered meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, fruits, or vegetables. 2. The prohibition on plastic straws does not apply to patients or residents of hospitals or long-term care facilities and for plastic straws that are attached to pre-packaged goods, such as juice boxes. 3. The restriction on providing ready-to-eat food in polystyrene foam food service packaging does not apply to any of the following: • Fire companies. • Health-care providers that provide long-term, acute, and outpatient health-care services. • Nonprofit organizations, including religious institutions. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
As of April 4, 2023, 74 people have been killed or injured by guns in schools this year in 13 separate school shootings. School shootings hit a record high in 2022 with 46 shootings, surpassing 2021’s record of 42 shootings. In 2022, 43,450 children experienced a school shooting. The purpose of this bill is to enable a police officer to act immediately when the officer sees or suspects that a person possesses a firearm in a Safe School and Recreation Zone. This Act establishes the crime of Possession of a firearm in a Safe School and Recreation Zone as a class E felony. This bill makes it a crime for a person to possess a firearm in a Safe School and Recreation Zone except a police officer or a constable or active-duty member of the armed forces who are acting in an official capacity within for the Safe School and Recreation Zone. The bill also exempts holders of a valid license to carry concealed weapons but only if the firearm is in a vehicle. The possession of a firearm under this bill does not apply if (1) the person is on private property which is not part of school grounds; (2) the firearm is in a locked container or locked firearms rack that is on or in a motor vehicle; or (3) when engaged in lawful hunting, firearms instruction, or firearm-related sports on public lands not belonging to a school. This bill provides that in addition to other penalties, a student who possesses a firearm in a Safe School and Recreation Zone, shall be expelled for a period of not less than 90 days, but the local school board or charter school board of directors may, on a case-by-case basis, modify the terms of the expulsion. This Act repeals the crime of Possession of a Weapon in a Safe School and Recreation Zone, but provides a Savings Clause which enables a prosecution for such crime if the offense occurred before the repeal is enacted.
This Act limits those individuals who may possess a firearm at a polling place on an Election Day to the following: (1) law enforcement officers, (2) commissioned security guards acting in their official capacity, (3) constables acting in their official capacity, and (4) active-duty members of the United States Armed Forces and Delaware National Guard acting in their official capacity. This Act is applicable to any in-person election held under Title 15, any local school election held under Title 14, and any municipal election held in accordance with the municipality's charter, ordinance, or code, and includes locations designated for early voting. This Act also provides an exemption for individuals who reside or visit private property adjacent to a polling place, or who are traveling from private property to another location.
This Act adds xylazine and it isomers, esters, ethers, salts and salts of isomers, esters and ethers to Schedule III of the Delaware Uniform Controlled Substances Act and expands the authorization for the distribution of testing strips to determine the presence of controlled substances. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the emergence of xylazine across the United States appears to be following the same path as fentanyl, starting in the Northeast and then spreading to the South and working its way into drug markets westward, and the low cost of xylazine contributes to xylazine’s increased presence in the nation’s illegal drug supply. Xylazine is approved only for veterinary use, xylazine is a non-opioid with increasing presence as an adulterant, often in conjunction with opioids, in the illicit drug supply. When used alone and in conjunction with other drugs, xylazine is implicated as a cause or contributing cause of death in the United States. When used in conjunction with an opioid, such as heroin or fentanyl, xylazine may worsen respiratory depression in the event of a drug overdose, and because xylazine is not an opioid, naloxone is not known to be effective at reversing overdoses, and there is no known antidote or reversal agent for xylazine overdose in humans. This Act also exempts testing strips from the drug paraphernalia statute and expands the limitations on liability for lay individuals and organizations that provide a drug testing strip to an individual who uses drugs to reduce the likelihood of the individual experiencing harm. This Act becomes effective upon the expiration of the Emergency Order issued by the Secretary of State placing Xylazine in Schedule III of the Uniform Controlled Substance Act or November 29, 2023, whichever is earlier.
This bill amends the Delaware Public Employment Relations Act by requiring that the Board, consistent with the Board’s Rules and Regulations, issue written decisions following hearings on unfair labor practice charges within 30 days of the close of the record.
