Sen. Brian J. Bushweller

This legislation creates a fine for “Coal Rolling”, a practice that is often undetectable at the time of vehicle inspection due to the ability of an operator to change functions and increase emissions after passing inspection. Coal Rolling is the practice of modifying a diesel engine to increase the amount of fuel entering the engine in order to emit large amounts of black or grey sooty exhaust fumes into the air. It also may include the intentional removal of the particulate filter. Practitioners often additionally modify their vehicles by installing smoke switches and smoke stacks. In addition to the environmental concern of increased emissions, there is a safety component as the excessive emissions can impair a motorist’s visibility.

This Act amends Titles 14, 16, 17, 26, and 29 of the Delaware Code to prohibit the use of lead paints on outdoor structures such as bridges, water towers, playground equipment, highways, parking lots, and utility towers and poles, in order to protect public health from the dangers of such paints. More specifically, Section 1 of this Act substantively amends Title 16 to add a new Chapter 30M setting forth the general prohibition of use of lead paints on outdoor structures after specified effective dates. Section 2 of this Act amends Titles 17, 26, and 29 to reference back to the new Title 16 Chapter 30M prohibitions. Section 3 requires the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to develop regulations governing the removal of lead paint from outdoor structures consistent with this Act.

This Act amends § 918 of Title 5 of the Delaware Code, which sets forth limitations on pledging or hypothecating assets of banks and trust companies, to modernize these limitations to apply to the current practices of banks and trust companies while not affecting the safety and soundness of banks and trust companies. Section 1. This section amends § 918 of the Delaware Code (i) to clarify that the limitations in § 918 apply to pledges and hypothecations to secure guarantees, credit exposures, or other potential liabilities in addition to borrowings; (ii) to exclude from the limitations in § 918 any pledge, hypothecation, repledge, or rehypothecation by a bank or trust company supervised by a federal banking agency if the pledge, hypothecation, repledge, or rehypothecation is permitted under applicable federal law or regulations or orders promulgated thereunder by the federal banking agency; and (iii) to make technical changes to update § 918 to conform to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Manual.

This bill will increase the public transparency of education funding information by directing the Department of Education to: 1. Establish, in collaboration with stakeholders, a statewide approach for districts and charter schools for reporting expenditures at the school level and the school’s share of central office expenditures so that per-pupil expenditure data is consistent and comparable across the State. 2. Report per-pupil expenditure data with key information that provide context on differences in funding such as school type, student demographics, and student outcomes. 3. Provide optional trainings to increase understanding of the data. As a result, this bill is intended to enable all taxpayers, parents, and schools to understand their school spending and resources in order to make data-driven decisions for students.

This bill authorizes the creation of a Delaware Voluntary Property Assessed Clean Energy (D-PACE) program to establish a clean energy financing program for the installation of energy efficiency technologies and clean energy systems for qualifying commercial real properties statewide. PACE programs are authorized in more than 30 states nationwide. The financing will be secured by and payable from a voluntary assessment imposed on the property benefited by the qualifying energy improvement. The bill calls upon the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) to administer the program and establish a statewide financing program to aid counties in expanding clean energy projects in their jurisdictions. Projects under D-PACE can be financed through the SEU or other participating financial institutions.

This bill creates a special license plate for honorably discharged veterans of the United States military.

This bill allows first-time home buyers to pay their portion of the realty transfer tax at the rate that was in effect prior to the increase that took effect on August 1, 2017. The credit is calculated as 0.5% of the first $400,000 in home value, with a maximum allowable credit of $2,000. This legislation is retroactive for any first-time home buyer who entered into a transaction for the transfer of real estate on or after August 1, 2017. The seller in any transaction with a first-time buyer will still pay the current tax rate. The bill also removes a provision that applied to contracts entered into prior to 1971, since such provision is no longer relevant. For ease of application, the new definition of "first-time home buyer" is cross-referenced in the already existing Code provision directing the counties to exempt such buyers from any county-imposed realty transfer tax. This reduction in the tax rate for first-time home buyers will be effective for transactions entered into on or after the effective date of this Act.

This Act empowers each county to create regulations for the maintenance of for-profit cemeteries and to impose penalties upon those who do not abide by the maintenance regulations.

This Act includes “emergency medical technicians” within the definition of employee under the County/Municipal Police/Firefighter Pension Plan.

This Bill eliminates the prohibition against the mere possession of a body-gripping trap with a jaw spread in excess of 5 inches, while maintaining the prohibition against actually using one in Delaware. This modification is necessary because many licensed Delaware trappers legally trap in other states where such traps are legal and it also allows trap collectors to possess the larger traps while maintaining the prohibition against their actual use.