Sen. Nicole Poore

At this time, blood lead level screening and testing rates are well below what the Division of Public Health would expect them to be based upon the risk factors that determine when screening or testing is necessary. This bill simplifies the requirements and the process for healthcare providers and eliminates confusion that may be causing the low compliance rate for screening or testing, and defines terms used in the Act. This bill mandates screening, defined as capillary blood test, at 12 and 24 months of age. The bill clarifies insurance coverage for the costs of compliance with the Act. The Division of Public Health is also directed to report on elevated blood lead levels to the General Assembly annually and to develop regulations to implement and enforce the Act within 12 months of being enacted.

This Act increases the penalties for parking in an area designated for a vehicle being used by an individual with a disability. For a first offense this Act increases the monetary penalty from $100 to $200. For a subsequent offense, this Act increases the monetary penalty from $200 to $300. The offenses subject to these increased penalties are included without change in lines 4 through 27 to add context. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

The Department of Transportation is already authorized to issue multi-trip permits for pole and piling semitrailers and double-bottom vehicles, also known as “twin trailers,” on a monthly basis. This Act authorizes the Department to also issue the permits on an annual basis. The existing law provides that a monthly permit must be issued for a specified period; an annual permit, in contrast, is not limited to a specified period.

This bill will add a new check-off donation box on the Delaware personal income tax return whereby individuals may choose to donate a portion of their tax refund, or designate an amount in addition to the tax they owe that will be transferred by the Division of Revenue to the Pediatric Cancer Research Fund held by the Delaware Community Foundation, who in turn will deposit the funds to the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation.

This Act eliminates the set bargaining unit classifications established in 19 Del. C. § 1311A(b) and allows exclusive representatives of bargaining units to work with the Secretary of the Department of Human Resources to organize or consolidate bargaining units in a manner in which they can agree for purposes of collective bargaining. It also eliminates the requirement that exclusive bargaining representatives of exclusive bargaining units form a coalition for collective bargaining. The Act eliminates the provision allowing for an employee organization to seek to be certified for unrepresented employees. The Act provides that parties may engage in collective bargaining for compensation in conjunction with or separately from collective bargaining for terms and conditions. It requires that the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements be staggered over time while providing that collective bargaining agreements currently in place remain in place until they expire by their own terms. While the Act allows for exclusive representatives to bargain for different pay rate increases, it prohibits the compensation of bargaining units from exceeding the pay ranges for each pay grade as established each year in the appropriations act. In addition, it retains the existing scope of bargaining contained in 19 Del.C. Section 1311A(a). Finally, this Act makes technical revisions to conform with the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Employment for formerly incarcerated individuals is a major barrier to transitioning and re-entering the community. The National Institute of Justice estimates that 60% of ex-offenders are jobless one year after their release. Improving access to employment opportunities for ex-offenders helps lower the State’s recidivism rates and will improve public safety and reduce taxpayer spending on prisons. This Act seeks to improve access to employment for formerly incarcerated individuals by establishing the Ex-Offender Employment Opportunity Tax Credit that offers a tax credit to employers hiring qualified ex-offenders in an amount equal to 10% of that individuals wages, with a maximum credit of $1500.

This Act facilitates electric vehicle and grid-integrated electric vehicle interconnection by including the Society of Automotive Engineers industrial safety standard, J3072, which sets safety requirements for electric vehicles that provide power from their batteries back to the electric grid. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Resolution establishes the Utilities Coordination Working Group who are charged with recommending measures by January 1, 2020 to shorten the total time to coordinate and implement utility relocations on transportation projects on Delaware’s highways.

Delaware's statewide community college system, operated by Delaware Technical and Community College (“the College”), plays a critical role in the State's economy by providing workforce development, vocational training, and transfer education that connects Delawareans with good paying jobs within the State and region. This Act gives the College’s Board of Trustees the authority to issue bonds to finance the cost of major and minor capital improvements, deferred maintenance, and the acquisition of related equipment and educational technology and establishes the Community College Infrastructure Fund (“the Fund”) to pay the principal and interest on such bonds. Any promissory notes or bonds must be approved separately prior to issuance by the General Assembly in a bond and capital improvement act. This Act is a substitute for and differs from Senate Bill No. 50 by deleting the property tax component and instead provides that it is the intent of the General Assembly to appropriate at least $10 million for deferred maintenance for the next 5 years to be deposited to the Fund together with such other funds as may be deposited by the College from sources including, but not limited to, tuition and fees, private funds, non-state grants and federal support. This Act also provides a mechanism, but not an obligation, for the state to provide matching funds for minor capital improvement projects consistent with existing matching provisions for public education. This Act also makes technical corrections.

This bill updates the members of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Advisory Committee to include additional stakeholders, and directs the Committee to report to the General Assembly on the effectiveness of the Act, ways to improve the Act, and other measures that should be taken by the State of Delaware to prevent lead poisoning in children.