This House Concurrent Resolution proclaims January 23, 2020, as "Maternal Health Awareness Day" in the State of Delaware.
This Senate Concurrent Resolution requests that the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance study the extension of Medicaid coverage through the first year postpartum. Insurance coverage is a critical factor in determining women's access to affordable postpartum care and is a key strategy for reducing preventable maternal mortality and to close the disparity in the maternal mortaility rate among black women and women of other races.
Delaware is one of a handful of states that has no cap other than unconscionability on interest rates for short-term consumer loans. Under Delaware case law, the unconscionability of an interest rate is decided by a court on a case by case basis. This Act caps interest rates at 20% for short-term consumer loans of $1,000 or less that must be repaid in less than 60 days and motor vehicle title loans. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This House Concurrent Resolution honors and recognizes the leadership and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and urges all citizens of the First State to participate fittingly in the observance of “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day” on January 20, 2020.
This act will allow a critical need reimbursement to be distributed directly to an institute of higher education or Secretary of Education approved Alternative Routes to Teacher Licensure and Certification program for an eligible teacher who is taking noncredit-earning seminars or workshops or credit-bearing coursework in order to attain a Standard Certification in a state-approved critical need area.
This bill creates a mechanism by which school boards may increase funds for a school district both with and without a referendum. This bill also provides how certain school boards may levy real estate taxes.
Stands operated by children that serve or sell lemonade or other nonalcoholic beverages on a temporary, occasional basis are a summertime tradition for many children. This Act exempts a stand operated by a child from State, county, and municipal regulations and licensing fees that might otherwise apply. Specifically, this Act defines a "stand operated by a child" as one that operates on a temporary, occasional basis, serves or sells lemonade or other nonalcoholic beverages to others, and is located on private property with the permission of the private property owner. In Sections 2, 3, 4, and 6, this Act exempts a stand operated by a child from State regulations on food establishments and soft drinks and other beverages, requirements related to child labor laws, and retail license requirements. Additionally, Sections 1 and 5 of this Act broadly prohibit a county or municipality from enacting a law, ordinance, or regulation that prohibits or regulates or requires a license or permit for, or imposes a fee, charge, or surcharge on, a stand operated by a child.
The Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee approved a project to work with the Governor's Office throughout 2018 and 2019 to identify antiquated boards, commissions, and councils that need statutory updates or outright repeals. The Common Interest Community Advisory Council was identified as needing a modification to provide that the Governor’s appointments are Delaware residents, rather than members of the executive board, of a common interest community. This change will make it easier to fill Council vacancies. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act aims to make the robbery section of Delaware’s Criminal Code simpler and fairer. The Act deletes the carjacking sections and embeds them within the existing robbery statutes to remove duplication from the code. Under this Act, robbery in the first degree includes the theft of a vehicle where there is physical injury or the use, a display or threat of a deadly weapon or death which is a Class B felony; this carries a 3 year minimum mandatory sentence and a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Robbery in the Second Degree, a Class E felony, is elevated to a Class D felony if the theft involves a vehicle and elements that pose additional risk to public safety. The Act removes minimum mandatory sentences for some conduct and eliminates sentence enhancements based on prior convictions and the age of victim. The ability to impose lengthier sentences for subsequent conduct or for crimes against vulnerable victims rests with the discretion of sentencing judges.
This Act simplifies Delaware’s drug code with a goal of providing more fairness in its application. This Act removes geographic-based enhancements that disproportionately impact those living in urban areas as opposed to suburban and rural areas. This Act reduces the number of weight tiers from 5 to 3 with adjustments to accompanying sentences while retaining higher felony levels for weights that indicate drug dealing. This Act reflects the reality that the road to recovery from a drug addiction is difficult by removing automatic sentence enhancements based on prior drug offenses, and instead allowing discretion during sentencing to determine when a repeat offender requires substantive additional penalty. Specifically, Sections 1 through 14 of this Act do the following: (1) Eliminate most aggravating factors, some of which may cause Delaware’s controlled substance laws to be applied unfairly, while maintaining an aggravating factor for those who violate Delaware’s drug dealing laws within 300 feet of and on school property. (2) Eliminate enhancements based on the commission of prior drug offenses. (3) Simplify Delaware’s controlled substance laws by reducing the number of weight tiers that are used to categorize the severity of controlled substance offenses. (4) Provide statutory guidance for the weighing and sampling procedures used at criminal trials for controlled substances. Sections 15 through 20 of this Act make conforming amendments to the Delaware Code based on changes made by Sections 1 through 14 of this Act. This Act takes effect 90 days after its enactment into law. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
