Sen. Gerald Hocker

This Act reflects the Administrative Office of the Courts’ current managerial authority and budgetary control over the Judicial Information Center, the Office of State Court Collections Enforcement, and the law libraries. Title 10 § 1941 is repealed in its entirety as the use of the law libraries is no longer limited solely to judges. Spaces have been modernized to accommodate use by lawyers, self-represented litigants, and members of the public to conduct legal research and access other legal resources.

This Act makes necessary updates to Delaware Code provisions codifying procedures related to the General Assembly to bring these provisions into compliance with current practice and to make technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act makes the following substantive changes to these provisions: (1) In Section 8, repeals a procedure that, after the enactment of the Delaware Constitution of 1897, is no longer part of the legislative process. And, in Sections 17, 18, and 19 makes conforming repeals. (2) In Section 9, updates the amount of additional compensation paid to members of the General Assembly who are elected to leadership positions or appointed to serve on a joint committee, consistent with the amounts authorized under the most recent report of the Compensation Commission. (3) In Section 10, updates the amount of the stipend paid to members of the General Assembly consistent with the amount authorized under the most recent report of the Compensation Commission. (4) In Section 13, updates the process for appointing a bill clerk for the Senate and House of Representatives and the duties of the bill clerk. (5) In Section 14, removes the Passed Bill Committee (“Committee”), which has not existed since the mid-1960s. The Committee’s duties related to management and tracking of passed and enacted legislation are reassigned to the Secretary of the Senate and Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, who have these duties currently. The Committee’s duties related to engrossing legislation are reassigned to the Division of Research, which has these duties currently. The Division is authorized to correct manifest clerical, typographical, and grammatical errors discovered in the engrossment process and required to proofread the engrossment before release to ensure an accurate engrossment of the amendment to the legislation. (6) In Section 15 and 16, changes references to “print” or “printing” to “publish” or “publication” in recognition of 21st Century methods of distributing information. (7) In Section 22, replaces the requirement that a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution be approved by two-thirds of the members of the General Assembly with a requirement that it be approved by a simple majority vote. The two-third vote requirement is unconstitutional under the Delaware Constitution because it conflicts with Section 10 of Article II of the Delaware Constitution, which provides for the passage of legislation by the concurrence of a majority of members elected to each house. The General Assembly cannot alter the requirement of a majority vote without an amendment to the Delaware Constitution. See Section 512 of Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure (2020).

This Act renames the Claymont Regional Transportation at First State Crossing in Claymont, Delaware as the "Harris B. McDowell, III Transportation Center" after Senator Harris B. McDowell, III, the longest serving member of the Delaware General Assembly.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide incentives for resident Delaware taxpayers to donate organs and bone marrow for transplantation and for Delaware employers to grant paid time off to employees who donate organs and bone marrow for transplantation. To that end, the Act allows Delaware taxpayers to claim a tax credit of up to $10,000 of unreimbursed medical expenses, travel expenses, lodging expenses, and lost wages that are related to a donation of an organ or bone marrow by the taxpayer or a dependent of the taxpayer. The Act also gives a tax credit to Delaware employers who provide employees who donate an organ or bone marrow with paid time off for the purpose of the transplantation, in the amount of 25% of the employee’s gross wages paid to the employee during the time missed from work, not including any amount paid to the person by the employer as traditional paid time off, for a period of up to 30 days of missed work for each donation. For qualified expenses used for a tax credit under the Act, to the extent otherwise allowable under Title 30, no tax deduction is allowed for either the donor or the employer. This Act is a substitute for and differs from Senate Bill 301 by providing that expenses related to a donation of organ or bone marrow incurred in the taxable year before the transplantation took place must be claimed in the year transplantation took place. It also provides that lost wages, for purposes of the individual tax credit, do not include any amounts paid to the person as traditional paid time off, as other than traditional paid time off, as worker's compensation benefits, or pursuant to Chapter 37 of Title 19. Similarly, gross wages, for purposes of the employer tax credit, do not include any amount paid to the person by the employer as traditional paid time off. The Act also provides implementation dates for the individual tax credit and the employer tax credit. Finally, the Act includes minor changes made for purposes of clarification.

This Act renames the Blackbird State Forest’s Meadows Tract the “Ennis Tract” in honor of Senator Bruce C. Ennis. The Blackbird State Forest’s Meadows Tract covers 456 acres with open meadows, forested trails, and three ponds, and includes one of Delaware’s two forest education centers. The Meadows Tract is part of an ecologically critical zone connecting the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. The Blackbird State Forest is managed by the Department of Agriculture and is a popular destination for hiking, horseback riding, nature watching, camping, and hunting.

This Act adds victims of human trafficking to the Address Confidentiality Act. Under this program, certain crime victims are provided a substitute address by the Department of Justice so as to protect the participant’s actual address from public disclosure. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This act authorizes the application of funds from the Delaware School Safety and Security Fund, which is subject to available appropriations, for the retention of constables to be utilized by the LEAs.

The Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline and the Board of Nursing are responsible for establishing continuing education requirements for medical professionals licensed by these Boards. This Act adds a requirement that practitioners licensed by these Boards who treat adults must complete one hour of continuing education in each reporting period on the topic of diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. This bill also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This substitute bill makes a technical correction to the bill.

This Act increases opportunities for federally qualified health centers (“FQHC”) and government-operated dental clinics to serve the indigent and other underserved communities with dental care and improves flexibility with updated provisional licensing processes for FQHC and government-operated dental clinic applicants. This Act assists FQHCs and government-operated dental clinics in recruiting dentists to serve those most in need. This Act adds FQHCs to the Delaware Institute for Dental Education and Research Board. This Act creates the Dental Care Access Task Force (“Task Force”) to examine and recommend a course of action to address all of the following: (1) Dental care access, including for underserved populations and communities. (2) Dental licensure practices and requirements. (3) Dental provider type and scope of practice. (4) Dental provider recruitment and retention strategies. (5) Dental insurance networks and coverage, including for the uninsured and underinsured. The Task Force must submit its report no later than February 1, 2023. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.