In 2018, the General Assembly enacted House Bill No. 204 of the 149th General Assembly, Chapter 200, Volume 81 of the Laws of Delaware, ("HB 204"), with "the goal of modernizing the pretrial process, reducing reliance on monetary conditions, improving the efficiency and outcomes for the criminal justice system, and ensuring the safety of the community." HB 204 has resulted in the release of violent offenders into our communities, leading to more Delawareans being victimized. Therefore, this Act repeals HB 204, replacing HB 204's provisions with the law in effect before the enactment of HB 204 and bringing back greater safety for law abiding Delawareans and accountability for defendants. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law, and previous law being returned to the Delaware Code, to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Sponsored bills
This Resolution proclaims June 25th, 2020 as “Korean War Remembrance Day”.
This Concurrent Resolution recognizes the class of 2020’s challenge faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Delaware
This bill creates a pilot program for the Red Clay School District to utilize external camera systems on their school buses to catch motorists that illegally pass school buses and to punish these motorists by issuing them a civil penalty. The purpose of this bill is to protect children as they are in the process of boarding and exiting the school bus and to spread awareness of school bus traffic safety. At least 16 states have implemented similar legislation, including Pennsylvania in 2018. As Red Clay School District already has these cameras in operation, this program grants the authority to begin issuing violations to motorist that illegally pass school buses in their district.
In January of 2015, the Office of Civil Rights & Public Trust was created by the Attorney General to establish a centralized office within the Department of Justice for the investigation of matters concerning civil rights enforcement and the prosecution of matters concerning violations of the public trust. This office must remain an independent entity within the Department of Justice to avoid conflicts with other Department of Justice duties and thus effectively enforce laws protecting the public trust and civil rights. Thus, this Act creates the Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust within the Department of Justice which will be separate from the other Divisions within the Department of Justice and have a Director who reports directly to the Chief Deputy Attorney General, to avoid conflicts of interest with the work of the other Divisions. This Act also clarifies the current scope of the Department of Justice’s ability to investigate and bring civil rights actions to protect the civil rights of all Delawareans.
This Act eliminates the state's portion of the realty transfer tax for closings for first time home buyers with a purchase price of $250,000 or less. The bill applies to a home buyer whose gross income is less than $45,000 or in the case of natural person joint purchasers whose combined gross income is less than $75,000.
This Act allows the owner of a vehicle which has a “check engine” light illuminated to be able to pass the Division of Motor Vehicles’ (DMV) On-board Diagnostic (OBD) test emission inspection if a Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) certified emissions repair technician determines that the vehicle is operating within the manufacturer’s designed emission thresholds. If the DNREC technician cannot determine whether the vehicle will operate within the required thresholds, the technician may issue documentation to the vehicle owner which will require the DMV to disregard the OBD test and use an alternative test to determine if the vehicle will pass the emissions portion of the inspection. Because not all “check engine” lights relate to an emission problem, this bill will prevent unnecessary costly repairs while still maintaining the integrity of the emissions inspection process by using alternative tests when prudent.
Transporters of mobile homes must have a hauling permit under Title 21, Chapter 45 to transport mobile homes on public roadways. This bill eliminates the need to also obtain a temporary registration to transport the mobile home.
This Act classifies pesticides containing a neonicotinoid as a restricted use pesticide and prohibits the use of a pesticide containing a neonicotinoid on land owned or maintained by the State. Neonicotinoids have been linked to impaired memory, movement, and death in bees, which are critical to crop production.
This Act amends the Clean Indoor Air Act to allow cigar lounges. No one under the age of 21 years may enter a cigar lounge and a cigar lounge may not share indoor common space with other businesses unless there is a separate ventilation system that does not allow smoke from the cigar lounge to enter the nonsmoking spaces. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.