Sen. Marie Pinkney

This Act reflects a recommendation of the 2019 Comprehensive Reentry Plan and Progress Report which allows the Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole officers the flexibility to recommend to a court house arrest (Level IV home confinement) for any probation violator in appropriate circumstances. Under current law, Probation and Parole may not recommend house arrest (Level IV home confinement) for a person who violates probation if the person was initially convicted of a “violent crime.” Accordingly, recommendations pertaining to probation violations for persons convicted of a “violent crime” are limited to Levels 1-3 (a lower level of supervision) or Level V (incarceration) which may be excessive and costly. The Act also makes non-substantive changes to existing law to make it conform to the Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act authorizes the distribution of testing strips to determine the presence of fentanyl or fentanyl-related substances. Fentanyl testing strips could be distributed to the community along with opioid overdose reversal medication as a harm reduction strategy in the opioid addiction crisis. A number of states have authorized fentanyl testing strips distribution in recent years including Maryland, Rhode Island, the District of Columbia, and North Carolina. Twenty-seven states currently provide fentanyl testing strips through needle exchange programs. According to an April 2019 Delaware Health Alert published by the Department of Health and Social Services, fentanyl is a potent opioid that is increasingly being mixed into illicitly sold drugs, often without the buyer’s knowledge. In Delaware, fentanyl was involved in 72% of overdose deaths during 2018, up from 58% in 2017 according to the state’s Division of Forensic Science. During 2018, there were more fatal overdoses than any year on record with 400 deaths. This Act exempts fentanyl testing strips from the drug paraphernalia statute. This Act provides the limitations on liability for lay individuals and organizations in Section 1 of this Act because of the extraordinary epidemic of death that is occurring in Delaware as a result of fentanyl being mixed into illicit drugs. It is similar to liability exemptions under § 8135(b) of Title 10 and § 6801 of Title 16 of the Delaware Code for certain types of volunteers and Good Samaritans and is an exception to the general public policy against civil immunity.

This Act creates the position of Deputy Commissioner of Correction.

The National League of Families POW/MIA flag is a “symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoners, missing, or unaccounted for in all U.S. wars” 36. U.S.C. § 902. In 1989, the United States required the National League of Families POW/MIA flag be flown on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and Veterans Day. In 1991, Delaware enacted Senate Bill No. 87, Chapter 88 of Volume 68 of the Laws of Delaware, which required certain state buildings to fly the POW/MIA flag each day. Senate Bill No. 87 was not drafted as an amendment to the Delaware Code and so was not included in the Delaware Code. This Act codifies Senate Bill No. 87 into § 408 of Title 29 to conform § 408 with existing Delaware and federal law in recognition of this State's commitment to our Veterans. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

The Agricultural Lands Preservation Act allows existing farm structures that are no longer in use, but which existed when the farmland was placed in the preservation program, to be converted to use for public gatherings under specific limitations. Experience has shown that these existing limitations do not adequately allow for renovation and modernization of these farm structures to accommodate the public gathering uses. This Act provides flexibility so a farm owner may upgrade the otherwise unused farm structures, while continuing to provide protection regarding agricultural activities conducted on the farmland. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This resolution recognizes May 2021 as "Foster Care Month" in the State of Delaware.

This resolution recognizes June 5, 2021, as “HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day” and memorializes the date as the 40th anniversary of the official start of the HIV epidemic in the United States.

This Act creates the following new tax brackets: at $125,000, with a rate of 7.10%, at $250,000, with a rate of 7.85%, and at $500,000, with a rate of 8.6%.

This Concurrent Resolution creates an Aging-in-Place Working Group that will develop a plan to guide policies designed to promote successful aging-in-place for seniors in Delaware. The group will deliver preliminary recommendations to the General Assembly by March 30, 2022.

This Act is the result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee’s review of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (“DIAA”) and addresses out-of-season coaching for student athletes. The State Public Integrity Commission (“PIC”) has issued advisory opinions stating that a public school coach violates the State Employees’, Officers and Officials’ Code of Conduct (Chapter 58, Title 29) (“Code of Conduct”) if the coach provides out-of-season instruction for pay for returning members of the varsity or sub-varsity teams of the school where the coach works as a coach. See Commission Op. No. 02-02 and Commission Op. No. 02-60. The 149th General Assembly passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 79 (“SCR 79”), directing the Department of Education (“DOE”), with the assistance of DIAA, to promulgate regulations that permit coaches to coach student athletes out of season, with or without pay, with restrictions to safeguard the health of student athletes and minimize the risk of unethical behavior. SCR 79 directed the DOE to publish proposed regulations by October 1, 2018. In April 2021, as a result of DIAA’s ongoing work, the DIAA published proposed regulations addressing most of the criteria listed in SCR 79. One of the remaining hurdles to completing the proposed regulations has been the limitations imposed by the PIC advisory opinions. The purpose of this Act is to codify the General Assembly’s recognition that Delaware athletes are at a disadvantage when competing against youth from other states because Delaware coaches cannot coach their students out of season. Under this Act, out-of-season coaching does not violate the Code of Conduct if the coach and the organization providing the sport meet certain criteria that provide restrictions to minimize the risk of unethical activity. This Act recognizes that DIAA does not have the authority – or desire – to regulate non-DIAA organizations or coaches’ actions outside of DIAA programs. Rather, this Act tasks DIAA with setting the parameters that establish whether a specific instance of out-of-season coaching violates the Code of Conduct. Under this Act, the DIAA Board must submit proposed regulations to the Registrar of Regulations by August 15, 2021, to address any of the criteria under § 313(b) of Title 14 of this Act that are not already addressed in proposed or enacted regulations.