Sen. Bruce C. Ennis

This Act provides a senior discount for residents and non-residents 62 years of age and older, for a conservation access pass, and a life-time conservation access pass for Delaware residents, 65 years of age and older, consistent with current senior discounts for access fees to Delaware State Parks.

In order to lower the cost of energy and accelerate the adoption of community-based solar photovoltaic systems in the State, this bill eliminates current barriers to such systems and sets up a regulatory process to be implemented by the Public Service Commission with consumer protection provided by the Department of Justice. More specifically, this bill: 1. Allows for multiple types of ownership models, defined as “community-owned energy generating facilities," to exist and compete in the marketplace; 2. Increases the maximum size of these systems to 4 megawatts (MW); 3. Eliminates the requirement that all customers of a system must be located on the same distribution feeder; 4. Eliminates the requirement that all customers of a system must be identified before the system can be built; 5. Provides for the regulation of these systems by the Public Service Commission and sets forth the fee and requirements for a Certificate to Operate; 6. Provides compensation to the system owner for 10% or less of unsubscribed energy; 7. Requires each system owner to certify that it serves at least 15% low income customers; and 8. Provides that the Public Service Commission will engage in rule-making in consultation with the Consumer Protection Unit of the Delaware Department of Justice and promulgate rules and regulations by March 11, 2022.

This bill creates a special license plate for Autism Awareness and Acceptance.

Subchapter III, Chapter 68, Title 16 of the Delaware Code (“Subchapter III”) was originally enacted in 1982. In 1996, President Clinton signed the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1791 (“Bill Emerson Act”). The Bill Emerson Act preempts Subchapter III to the extent of any conflict, known as “partial preemption”. This Act makes Subchapter III consistent with the Bill Emerson Act by protecting a “gleaner” from civil or criminal liability as it relates to their donation of the gleaned food. Since the Bill Emerson Act only partially preempts state law on this subject, the State is free to provide greater protection than the Bill Emerson Act. Therefore, this Act does all of the following: 1. Extends to those who, in good faith, donate food to state agencies the same immunity from civil or criminal liability that is granted to those who, in good faith, donate food to nonprofit organizations. 2. Specifically includes within the definition of “food” both perishable food and wild game to makes it clear that food, in all of its forms, is covered by this Act. Thus, under this Act, those donating deer to the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Sportsmen Against Hunger program would be immune from civil or criminal liability as it relates to the donation. 3. Protects a person who, in good faith, provides services to a nonprofit organization or state agency related to the processing of wild game that is donated to a nonprofit organization or a state agency. This Act removes the exemption from liability for donation of prepared food from Title 10 so that the exemption no longer appears in both Title 10 and Title 16. The Act also clarifies the authority of Division of Public Health and Department of Agriculture relating to donated food.

This Act creates a tuition reimbursement program for volunteer firefighters, similar to already existing programs for law enforcement officers and National Guard members. Pursuant to this program, active volunteer firefighters may be reimbursed for tuition for 2 undergraduate level courses or one masters level course per semester at any Delaware college or university. The State Fire Prevention Commission is charged with promulgating rules and regulations and administering the program.

If a community owner proposes a rent increase that exceeds the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers in the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City area (CPI-U), then the Delaware Manufactured Home relocation Authority is mandated to hold a final meeting between the community owner and the affected homeowners, and the homeowners’ association to discuss the reasons for the proposed increase. This Act allows the following to attend the final meeting: (1) the homeowners’ designee; (2) the homeowner’s attorney; (3) The attorney for the homeowners’ association; (4) A representative from the Delaware Manufactured Home Owners Association; and (5) Elected Delaware officials.

This Act provides all law-enforcement officers the authority to enforce the existing labeling requirements for dumpsters that are in a public road or parking lot. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This act modifies the locations at which sheriff’s sales may be conducted to provide the sheriffs with needed flexibility and to modernize the sheriff’s sale process. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has revealed substantial inflexibility in 10 Del. C. § 4974 as currently adopted, forcing the sheriff of each of the three counties to either hold sheriff’s sales outdoors, find non-governmental venues in which to hold sheriff’s sales or cancel sheriff’s sales. Additionally, the New Castle County Sheriff is considering using an online auction process to conduct sheriff’s sales, as other counties throughout the United States have done, but § 4974 as currently adopted does not permit online sheriff’s sales. Finally, this act removes uncertainty regarding the meaning of the term “public building” as currently used in § 4974 by adopting a definition that is consistent with the Delaware Supreme Court’s definition of that term in Moore v. Wilmington Housing Authority, 619 A.2d 1166, 1174-75 (Del. 1993).

This Act corrects several technical and typographic errors in the Delaware Common Interest Ownership Act (the “DUCIOA”) and makes a number of non-controversial changes agreed upon by the Common Interest Community Advisory Council and representatives of builders, real estate sales professionals, association managers, and owners. Section 1. This section amends Section 2246 to correct the inadvertent omission of “not” in the Unit Property Act clarifying that exclusively nonresidential condominiums are not required to maintain a repair and replace reserve. Section 2. This section amends Section 81-116(a) to clarify the original intent of the DUCIOA, which exempts nonresidential common interest communities. Section 3. This section amends Section 81-119 by adding five sections of the DUCIOA to apply to pre-existing communities through section 81-119 as follows: §81-217 (i): consent of holders of security interest are deemed to have granted approval of amendments to the declaration if they do not refuse consent in writing after notice. §81-306: Bylaws. §81-308A: executive board meetings are open to members after the period of declarant control. §81-310: voting proxies and voting by ballot without a meeting permitted. §81-314: surplus funds remaining after payment of expenses and prepayment of reserves, returned to owners. This section also clarifies that a conflict between a preexisting document and DUCIOA in any common interest community is resolved in favor of the preexisting documents, whereas the prior language specified application only to condominium and cooperatives. Section 4. This section amends Section 81-217(i) to clarify a common ownership community’s ability to amend its governing documents. Section 5. This section amends Section 81-217(m) to add a new subsection which allows Declarants or the Council to correct typographical errors efficiently and easily, by deeming consent to amendments by security interest holders after notice. It follows the procedures in the DUCIOA for obtaining lenders’ consent to actions and amendments to apply to existing common interest communities. Section 6. This section amends Section 81-303(a) to clarify that under Delaware corporate law there is no distinction between the duties of a director or officer of a for-profit corporation and those of a director or officer of a non-profit corporation. Section 7. This section amends Section 81-303(c) to allow termination of the period of declarant control as permitted in the declaration. Section 8. This section amends Section 81-310(a) to expand the options and methods for owner voting. Section 9. This section amends Section 81-316(h) to add language that allows a community to charge a reasonable fee to provide required certifications regarding the community and limits the liability of a voluntary association for inadvertent errors. Section 10. This section amends Section 81-316(j)(1) to add a comma to correct a typographical error in the existing statute. It clarifies that mortgages can be foreclosed upon by law processes, equity processes, or as provided in the governing documents. Section 11. This section amends Section 81-318(e) to add language that clarifies the right of the association to charge a fee, in advance, to the unit owner when the unit owner has requested conversion, inspection, or copying of association records. Section 12. This section amends Section 81-324(a) to add language that clarifies that voting at a budget meeting may be by proxy as well as in person. Section 13 This section amends Section 81-408(a). Currently, the DUCIOA limits the right to cancel for failure to supply a public offering statement to purchasers of condominiums and cooperatives. Changes to this section conform subsection (a) to UCIOA and clarify the date for cancelation of purchase contracts. Section 14. This section amends Section 81-409(b) to limit the liability of the Association for inaccurate information provided by the property manager in fulfillment of the requirement to provide information to complete a resale certificate. In the alternative, it declares providing false information is a per se violation of the Consumer Fraud Act, which allows a private right of action to recover damages and punitive damages against “merchant” sellers.

This Act allows the parent or guardian of a military-connected student to preliminarily enroll the student by remote registration in a school district where the parent or guardian is in the active military of the United States or in full-time status during active service with a force of the Delaware National Guard, if the parent or guardian is being transferred to Delaware under military orders and is transferred to or is pending transfer to a military installation within Delaware.