Sen. Catherine Cloutier

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 Concurrent Resolution provides for a Joint Session of the House of Representatives and the Senate to be convened for the purpose of hearing an address by the Honorable John C. Carney, Governor of the State of Delaware.

This Act is a first leg of a constitutional amendment that would eliminate from the Delaware Constitution the limitations as to when an individual may vote by absentee ballot. This amendment to the Delaware Constitution provides that the General Assembly shall enact general laws providing the circumstances, rules, and procedures for absentee voting.

This House Concurrent Resolution extends the date by which the final report of the Local Service Functions Task Force is due to April 30, 2020.

This Act clarifies that a person with a special license plate or permit for persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk may park for an unlimited period where the length of time is otherwise limited and must be able to park in a metered parking space for at least 1 hour. This Act clarifies that it is a violation of the state equal accommodations law to prohibit parking as authorized for a person with a special license plate or permit for persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act permits the Division of Motor Vehicles to assign special license plates for firefighters, auxiliary members, or volunteer ambulance members to vehicles owned by an artificial entity, including a corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, or joint-stock company.

This Resolution directs the Department of Transportation to work with the Delaware Solid Waste Authority to produce a report by September 30, 2020, that compares the financial and environmental impacts to Delaware of the current, uncoordinated trash collection system in New Castle County to the impacts of a coordinated system with 1 vendor collecting all of the trash and recycling in an entire neighborhood.

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.

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.

This Substitute differs from Senate Bill No. 24 by requiring a patient to apply for a compassionate use medical marijuana card when a doctor recommends medical marijuana to a patient who does not have a qualifying debilitating medical condition. To apply for a compassionate use card, this Substitute requires: 1. The patient, or it under age 18, the patient’s parent or legal guardian, submit a signed statement attesting to the patient's informed consent to try a treatment that does not have medical evidence of effectiveness. 2. The patient’s physician certify that the patient has a severe and debilitating condition, current standard care practices and treatments have been exhausted, and there are grounds to support that the patient may benefit from this treatment. The physician must periodically re-evaluate the efficacy of the medical marijuana treatment. This Substitute also requires that a registry identification card state the type of card that is issued to clearly identify qualifying adult patients, qualifying pediatric patients, designated caregivers, and compassionate use patients. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.