Sen. Brian Pettyjohn

This Act enhances the General Assembly’s oversight of regulations adopted by state agencies by doing all of the following: (1) Making clear that the Registrar of Regulations is required to provide notice of each regulation proposed by a state agency to each member of the appropriate standing committee of each House of the General Assembly and to provide any comments collected from members of the standing committee to the state agency. (2) Making clear that the Chair of a standing committee may also schedule a committee meeting during the regular session of the General Assembly to consider a rule, regulation, or amendment to a rule or regulation that impacts or is within the subject-matter jurisdiction of the committee. (3) Requiring the Chair of a standing committee to hold a committee meeting when a majority of the members of a standing committee of either House of the General Assembly believe in good faith that the rule, regulation, or amendment to a rule or regulation impacts or is within the subject-matter jurisdiction of the committee and the committee should meet to consider the rule, regulation, or amendment to a rule or regulation. (4) Making clear that a standing committee or joint committee may draft legislation to propose action by the General Assembly related to recommendations made by the committee. (5) Making clear that a standing committee or joint committee may request the President Pro Tempore of the Senate or Speaker of the House of Representatives to call from recess of a special session the Senate, the House of Representatives, or the General Assembly, as the case may be. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act provides a tuition waiver for victims of human trafficking who are enrolled in the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, or Delaware Technical Community College.

Of the 41 states with a state income tax, 27 states fully exempt military retirement pay from state income taxes and 12 states partially exempt military retirement pay. In 2022, Delaware increased the pension exclusion for military pensioners under 60 to $12,500. This Act phases in, over 3 years, an increased exemption for military pensions from state income taxation, regardless of age, so that in taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, the exemption will be $25,000 for all military pensioners.

This Act updates and streamlines the State Nutrient Management Program within the Department of Agriculture. It expands and clarifies information required to be included in the Nutrient Management Plan, including, among other things: (1) Field maps as arial photographs showing field identification boundaries, acres, location of surface waters, irrigation systems, and location of designated sensitive areas with associated nutrient application restrictions or setbacks; (2) Results of approved risk assessment tools for nitrogen, phosphorus, and erosion losses; and (3) Animal information including types, number, average sizes, annual manure generation, and any manure import or export. This Act further clarifies Phosphorus application rules based on Delaware Phosphorus Site Index Scores. It also clarifies that Nitrogen application rates cannot exceed the application rates published by the University of Delaware of the specific crop, unless an adaptive approach is used to adjust in-season nitrogen application rates based on recommendations from a certified consultant or a Commission-approved nitrogen application model. Finally, this Act streamlines the complaint and enforcement procedures for the State Nutrient Management Program by doing the following: (1) Removing jurisdiction from the Justice of the Peace Courts and authorizing the Commission, rather than the Secretary, to impose fines for violations of the Nutrient Management Program; and (2) Authorizing the Commission to create a hearing panel that will be subordinate to the Commission to review and hear complaints and make proposed orders to be reviewed by the Commission for a final decision.

This bill creates a special license plate to help underwrite Youth and Conservation Day for the Delaware Ducks Unlimited youth members known as Greenwings. Greenwings are younger Ducks Unlimited members who participate in the conservation, restoration, and management of wetlands and associated habitats for North American waterfowl. The purpose of this license plate is to raise money to educate our youth in the continued conservation of our habitats to benefit our wildlife and people. This plate is intended for use by individuals of all ages.

This Act creates a new offense of Aggravated Criminal Mischief with enhanced penalties (class D felony) applicable when an individual knowingly damages or tampers with critical utility infrastructure intending to disrupt utility services. In recent years, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI have issued repeated warnings about domestic terrorists and extremist groups targeting critical utility infrastructure. Bulletins issued through DHS’ National Terrorism Advisory System in 2022 warned of a heightened threat environment based, in part, on “continued calls for violence directed at U.S. critical infrastructure.” Physical and computerized attacks on electric utility equipment have reached a 10-year high in 2022. Recent attacks in Washington and North Carolina have caused substantial outages and damage to the power grids in both states.

This Act creates a professional loan-to-grant incentive program to encourage Delawareans to pursue careers in nursing at long-term care facilities. Funding for the incentive program is to be appropriated annually by the General Assembly, in an amount not less than $1 million. Qualifying nursing students who agree to fulfill a 4-year service obligation at a long-term care facility may apply for loans to assist with expenses associated with (a) prelicensure education at a (i) State Board of Nursing approved nursing education program that is authorized to prepare persons for licensure as a registered nurse or a (ii) State Board of Nursing approved practical nursing education program, or (b) a graduate-level education at an advanced practice registered nurse program accredited by a national accrediting body. Individuals who have been employed for at least 1 year as a nurse in a Delaware long-term care facility and who have obtained qualified educational loans are eligible to apply for loan repayment under this Act. Loan repayment will be subject to the availability of funds and will be allocated at the discretion of the Delaware Higher Education Office. An applicant may receive only 1 loan payment per year, not to exceed $5,000, and may not receive more than 4 loan repayments under this program. The program will be administered by the Delaware Higher Education Office.

This Bill is the Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Act.

This Concurrent Resolution extends the due date of the findings and recommendations report of the Firearm Definition Task Force from January 5, 2024, to March 8, 2024.

This Act appropriates $91,776,567 to provide one-time funded projects through the Office of Management and Budget.