Sen. Ernesto B. Lopez

This bill establishes a 20 year retirement for correction officers and specified peace officers within the State Employees’ Pension plan. The bill amends the multiplier prospectively for the calculation of pension benefits for correction officers and specified peace officers. For service prior to January 1, 2018 the multipliers of either 1.85%, 2.0% or 2.45% would continue to be in effect and then for years of service after January 1, 2018 a uniform multiplier of 2.5% for the first 20 years, plus 3.5% for years beyond 20 years. In addition, this bill amends the employee contribution for all correction officers and specified peace officers to a uniform 7%.

This Resolution recognizes April 2018 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Delaware.

This Act raises the first offense of purchasing or obtaining a firearm for someone not legally qualified to own, possess or purchase one from a Class F to a Class E Felony. This change is to deter such "straw purchases" by making jail time more likely for the offender, and consequently, to reduce the number of people who cannot legally possess firearms but obtain them in this manner.

This Act prohibits a flagger from using headphones or electronic communication devices while engaged in traffic control in a work zone. This Act permits a flagger to use an electronic communication device approved by the Department of Transportation. This Act makes a violation of this prohibition a civil traffic offense that is not entered on an individual’s motor vehicle record.

This Bill amends the membership of the Behavioral Health Consortium to include two members of both the House and Senate, a member from the Ability Network of Delaware, and the Mental Health Association in Delaware. The Bill also extends the date the first report is due from March 1, 2018 to April 16, 2018.

This concurrent resolution proclaims the month of April, as “Nonprofit Impact Month” to affirm the importance of organizations in the nonprofit sector and the impact of their work for every citizen in our State, to celebrate the accomplishments of the past year, and to acknowledge our ongoing responsibility to support a robust social impact sector for citizens, communities, and economic development across the State.

This Bill limits a health insurer’s right to overpayment recovery to two years from the date of the original payment. The time limit does not apply where there is fraud or other intentional misconduct, when overpayment recovery is initiated by a self-insured plan, or where required by a federal or state plan. The bill also requires 30 days’ notice to healthcare providers regarding an attempt to recover overpayment as well as requiring insurers to have policies and procedures allowing challenge to the alleged overpayment. This bill affects all lines of health insurance including both individual and group policies.

This bill creates an Abandoned Cultural Property Act. The act allows museums to establish title to property that has been donated or left with the museum after any loan period has terminated and the lender cannot be found. Currently such assets drain the museum resources by taking up space and having to be cared for. Museums need a process by which they can establish clear title to abandoned, unclaimed, or unsolicited property. This law will allow more efficient use of museum funds and will assist museums to conserve, display, and ethically dispose of abandoned, unclaimed, or unsolicited property. This bill is modeled after Indiana's law. Delaware is 1 of only 4 states that has no law relating to Abandoned Cultural Property.

This Act eliminates the Delaware Compensation Commission in its entirety and makes necessary changes to the Delaware Code as a result.