This Act allows the various at-large members of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council to be appointed for 3-year terms and be eligible for reappointment. This change is requested by the Council.
The Act amends Section 916 of Title 11 of the Code so that the statutory penalties for the crime of home improvement fraud increase as the amount of the loss to the victim increases, using the same scale applicable to Theft under Section 841 of Title 11 and New Home Construction Fraud under Section 917 of Title 11. Like Theft under Section 841 of Title 11, the amendment also provides for an increase in the level of the offense for amounts under $50,000 where the victim is 62 years of age or older or an "adult who is impaired" or a "person with a disability" as defined in the Code. The Act also amends the definition of "home improvement contract" to provide that a victim's payment can be in any form, not just money, and to clarify that a "home improvement contract" includes all agreements for labor, services and materials to be furnished and performed under the home improvement contract.
This Bill requires motor vehicle insurance policies, under the personal injury protection provisions (PIP), to provide coverage for up to $500 per injured person extricated from a motor vehicle by an emergency medical services vehicle. Emergency medical services vehicle is a vehicle duly licensed in Delaware that deploys rescue tools used by emergency rescue personnel to extricate the injured person from a vehicle. The Act also requires the Insurance commissioner to develop a uniform billing form for reimbursement and that volunteer fire and ambulance companies submit financial reports regarding expenses incurred in the use of rescue tools to the State Fire Prevention Commission.
This bill removes the expiration date and designates Maypole dancing as the official dance of Delaware.
This Act creates a one-time $100 tax credit per unit for any business purchasing and placing an automatic external defibrillator in service in the State.
The language set forth in this statute would remove barriers for inmates who are students with disabilities and who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) under state and federal law, when being considered for parole or a sentence modification. Requiring an inmate with an IEP to complete a GED or State of Delaware High School Diploma is counter-productive to the treatment and programming of this segment of the prison population and prohibits them from seeking the same benefits of parole or sentence modification afforded to those inmates who do not have an IEP. This amendment to the law allows an inmate the opportunity to earn a State of Delaware Diploma of Alternate Achievement Standards upon successful completion of the inmate's IEP.
This concurrent resolution commends the nominees and recipients for the 2018 Delaware Governor’s Awards: Recognizing State Employee Individuals, Teams, and Heroes.
This Act provides for a clear and established procedure and time frame during which public employees may revoke their membership in an employee organization. This Act allows public employers and employee organizations to manage membership status and authorizations in a manner that will meet public employee’s desires while not disrupting the public employer’s or employee organization’s operations. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act is designed to centralize and modernize Delaware’s system for licensing its citizens to carry concealed deadly weapons. The current statutory scheme dates as far back as the Code Revision of 1974 and was not designed to handle the volume of applicants and licensees that are being experienced today, a volume that has at times unfairly overwhelmed both the Courts and the Office of the Attorney General. In 2016, alone, the Attorney General was required to conduct 8,522 background investigations, a volume level never envisioned by the General Assembly in 1974, and a volume which, over the years has placed increasingly unsustainable demands upon both the Superior Court and the Attorney General. As importantly, this ever-increasing volume of applicants and license renewals and the system’s inability to respond in a timely manner has led to a volume of complaints from those who have been forced to wait up to eight months for their applications to be fully processed in the current system. This Act is designed to relieve the current pressures on the Superior Court and the Office of the Attorney General by creating a small, centralized, and financially self-sustaining organization within state government designed specifically to administer the licensing of individuals to lawfully carry concealed deadly weapons; and, for the first time, to effectually license and regulate the instructors who provide the statutorily required training for such individuals. Section 1 of the Act creates the Delaware Commission on Concealed Carry Licensing and provides for the professional staff and procedural mechanisms for licensing persons to carry concealed deadly weapons. The Commission is also charged with licensing and regulating the Personal Protection Firearms Instructors who provide the statutorily mandated training for concealed carry licensees. By creating an organization dedicated solely to these tasks, the Act is also (1) able to eliminate the current single date expiration system which is responsible for at least some of the current backlog, and allows for licenses to expire and renewals to be processed on a year-round basis; and (2) ensure that the required training is delivered according to statutory standards by instructors who have qualified to deliver that training. Section 2 of the Act amends the concealed carry statute to transfer responsibility for concealed carry licensing from the Superior Court and the Attorney General to the Commission on Concealed Carry Licensing created in Section 1 of the Act. This section also attempts to enhance language in the existing statute. This section also increases the application fees for concealed carry applicants from $65 to $95 for initial applications and $75 for renewals. The section also establishes a fee of $100 for each issuance of a temporary license. It also allows for the licensing of those residents of contiguous states who regularly work in Delaware and who are already licensed by their home state to be separately licensed in Delaware under the same strict criteria required of Delaware residents, establishing an initial application fee for such individuals of $150 and a renewal fee of $100. Section 2 also addresses the issue of concealed carry reciprocity; clarifying the recognition process and ensuring Delaware residents may not circumvent Delaware’s licensing process by utilizing non-resident licenses from other states with which Delaware has reciprocity. Finally, Section 2 makes a clear statement that currently employed law enforcement officers are exempt from the licensing requirements that pertain to other citizens. Section 2 also extends the period of time retiring law enforcement officers have to avail themselves of the existing streamlined licensing regime available to such officers from 90 days to 180 days. Section 3 of the Act allows for the establishment of the Commission and a period of time for the Commission to be fully staffed and operational before transferring authority and responsibilities from the Courts and the Attorney General to the Commission.
This addition to Section 303 provides the Commission with the flexibility to consider and approve a low income residential utility rate or discount for qualified low income customers (those approved to participate in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program), provided that such rate may not provide a discount over 25% of the average customer class usage. This permits those customers to receive utility distribution services at a lower cost. In the case of Delmarva Power the discount is estimated to be no more than $10 -15 per month.
