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.
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Under federal law, the cultivation of industrial hemp is only permitted for agricultural or academic research. There is federal legislation pending that may lift the restrictions on the cultivation of industrial hemp. Delaware law does not prohibit the cultivation of industrial hemp and Chapter 28 of Title 3 permits the cultivation of industrial hemp for agricultural or academic research to the maximum extent permitted by federal law. Industrial hemp is used in a wide range of products, including fibers, textiles, paper, construction and insulation materials, cosmetic products, animal feed, food, and beverages. Hemp comes from the same plant as marijuana, the Cannabis Sativa L but has a much lower amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound that causes the intoxication, than marijuana. The Department of Agriculture does not regulate industrial agriculture by specific crops, but instead, Title 3 has chapters on topics that impact agriculture broadly, regarding the regulation of areas such as pesticides, seeds, and grain inspection. This Act permits the Department of Agriculture to adopt any policies and regulations necessary to permit the cultivation of industrial hemp when federal law permits the cultivation of industrial hemp beyond agricultural or academic research and adds hemp to the definition of “grain” in Chapter 16 of Title 3. It requires a three-fifths vote because regulating industrial hemp may require the revision of regulations that would expand existing fees to hemp cultivation. This Act thus positions Delaware to immediately permit the industrial cultivation of hemp if and when the federal restrictions are repealed.
This bill adds glaucoma, chronic debilitating migraines, pediatric autism spectrum disorder, pediatric sensory processing disorder to the list of debilitating medical conditions which may qualify a person, upon certification by a physician, to be eligible for the use of medical marijuana in accordance with the terms of the Delaware Medical Marijuana Act.
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 requires paid tax preparers to sign any tax return or refund they file and be subject to a $50 civil penalty for any violation with a maximum penalty of $25,000 in any calendar year. The Act also permits a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin any paid tax preparer from understating a tax payer’s liability or taking an unreasonable position. The Act also permits a court to enjoin a paid tax preparer from, where required, failing to furnish a copy of a return or claim for refund, failing to sign a return or claim for refund, failing to furnish an identifying number, failing to retain a copy of the return, failing to be diligent or failing to correct information. The Act also permits an injunction if the paid tax preparer negotiates a check without permission, engages in any criminal conduct, guarantees payment of any specific tax refund amount, or engages in any other fraudulent or deceptive conduct.
This Act makes it unlawful for a person to manufacture, distribute, sell, offer for sale, possess, purchase, or use a concentrated alcoholic beverage. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
The Division of Small Business, Development and Tourism was created by 81 Del. Laws ch. 49 and placed in the Department of State. This enactment transferred certain responsibilities for economic development, formerly in the Delaware Department of Economic Development, to this Division. The purpose of this Act is to address administrative housekeeping matters involving this transfer of responsibilities for economic development. Specifically, this Act changes the name of the Division of Small Business, Development and Tourism to the Division of Small Business. The Division of Small Business will remain in the Department of State and be responsible for economic development activities transferred to the Division of Small Business, Development and Tourism in 81 Del. Laws ch. 49. This Act also does the following: (1) Sets a new date for the submission of the Comprehensive State Plan for Economic Development and unifies the economic development reporting requirements of the Division of Small Business. (2) Limits the terms of members of the Council on Development Finance (“Council”) appointed after July 1, 2018. (3) Eliminates the requirement that all Council members be physically present to constitute a quorum for meetings, to foster greater efficiency in making economic development recommendations to the Division of Small Business. (4) Further deletes reference to programs governed by prior acts of the General Assembly such as the Agriculture/Aquaculture Program, the Liberty Court Apartments project, and the Human Investment and Partnership Program, to the extent that these programs are no longer active. Finally this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act exempts the transfer of real estate acquired by foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure from nonresident income tax withholding requirements. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This bill amends various sections of the Delaware Uniform Commercial Code (the “Act”) to keep it current. The following is a section-by-section review of the proposed amendments of the Act. Section 1. This section amends Section 1-201(b)(27) of the Act to expressly include series of the other types of persons listed in such section as persons under the Act. Section 2. This section amends Section 9-102(a)(71) of the Act to expressly provide that a series of a registered organization constitutes a registered organization if the series is organized under the law of a single State and the statute of the State governing the series requires that a public organic record of the series be filed with the State. Section 3. This section provides that the proposed amendments shall become effective August 1, 2019.