This legislation requires that all full-time employees of the State, including employees of school districts, continuously in the employ of the state for at least one year, shall be eligible for 12 weeks of paid leave upon the birth or adoption of a child 6 years of age or younger. Both parents would be eligible for such leave. Employees shall continue to have the right, as they do under current law, to use accrued sick leave for maternity and paternity purposes. This legislation leaves intact the rights of persons adopting a child over 6 years of age to take unpaid leave. Due to lack of adequate paid family leave policies, many parents must return to work sooner than is optimal for the health of mothers (in the case of biological birth) and children. Granting paid leave will contribute to the establishment of parent-child bonds, breastfeeding establishment, and allow infants to receive vaccines and develop stronger immune systems prior to entering daycare. Further, a more generous leave policy will increase the productivity of workers and reduce employee turnover. This Act takes effect January 1, 2019. The Office of Management and Budget is directed to establish guidelines for the implementation of this Act.
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This Resolution recognizes the importance of the 2020 census and calls on state and local government to commit to a complete count. Federal dollars are often based on the population count of each state and it is vitally important to ensure that the State of Delaware is fully counted to ensure accuracy in the disbursement of federal dollars. The Resolution calls upon the Governor to establish a “Complete Count Commission” for the purpose of ensuring the State of Delaware is fully counted in the 2020 census.
This Senate Concurrent Resolution does all of the following: (1) Recognizes Diwali as an important festival. (2) Recognizes and appreciates religious diversity in India and the United States. (3) Supports the friendship and cooperation between the United States and India. (4) Acknowledges the onset of Diwali and expresses its warmest wishes to those celebrating Diwali in Delaware, the United States, India, and throughout the world.
This resolution recognizes the University of Delaware on its 275- year history.
This Act is the second leg of a constitutional amendment that would alter the continuity of government provisions of the Delaware Constitution to enable the effective continuance of government following a variety of emergency situations. The first leg of this amendment, House Bill No. 380 of the 148th General Assembly, passed both Houses with the two-thirds vote required by, and was publicized in accordance with, the Delaware Constitution. Currently, Article II, § 5 of the Delaware Constitution requires the General Assembly to meet in Dover, unless an emergency caused by insurrection, conflagration, or epidemic diseases occurs. And, Article XVII, § 1 of the Delaware Constitution provides the General Assembly with the power to enact laws providing for continuity of government following emergency situations, but only if the emergency results from an enemy attack. Section 2 of this Act extends the General Assembly's authority under Article XVII, § 1 to disasters involving terrorism, disease, accident, and other natural or man-made disasters. This would authorize the General Assembly to extend the provisions of Chapter 77 of Title 29 of the Delaware Code (relating to the emergency location of government), Chapter 17 of Title 29 (relating to emergency interim legislative succession), Chapter 78 of Title 29 (relating to interim executive succession), and Chapter 18 of Title 10 (relating to emergency interim judicial succession) to emergencies involving terrorism, disease, accident, or other natural or manmade disasters, as well as those involving enemy attack. This change is consistent with the approach taken in at least four states, New York, Louisiana, Montana, and Utah, which have adopted an "all hazards" approach to continuity of government planning. In addition, Section 2 of this Act makes changes to Article XVII, § 1 adopting the interpretation of this provision by the Delaware Supreme Court in Opinion of the Justices, 190 A.2d 521 (Del. 1963), so that it is clear that the General Assembly may provide for succession for those public offices that are not immediately filled by operation of the Constitution. Section 1 of this Act would harmonize Article XVII, § 1 and Article § 5 so that the emergency situations exempting the General Assembly from the requirement that it meet in Dover are similar to the emergency situation in which the General Assembly may enact laws or otherwise act to provide for the continuity of government. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to confirm existing law to the guidelines of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Specifically, lines 17 through 19 of this Act remove unnecessary legalese in and make grammatical changes to the final sentence of Article XVII, §1.
This Senate Resolution congratulates the State of Israel on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of its founding.
This concurrent resolution recognizes and honors the young women of Delaware participating in the 2018 session of Delaware Girls State.
This bill removes two out-of-date sections of the Division of Motor Vehicles' code. The first section to be deleted relates to a prohibition against a person displaying any card, sign, insignia, etc. of the Delaware Automobile Association unless they are a member of that Association. DMV believes the Association no longer exists as a separate entity. The second section relates to requirements for any vehicle provided by a railroad company that is used to transport railroad employees. DMV advises this section has never been enforced to anyone's knowledge.
This Act reaffirms the Constitutional requirement that the General Assembly appropriate money belonging to the General Fund by making clear that funds received by the State or a State agency from settlements or other final orders or judgments, other than those funds awarded specifically to a party or consumer or as attorneys' fees, or explicitly directed otherwise by law, are to be deposited to the General Fund and may not be transferred or expended until the funds are appropriated by the General Assembly.
This Resolution recognizes the young men participating in the 2018 session of Delaware's Boys State and commends its sponsor, the American Legion Department of Delaware.