Sen. Spiros Mantzavinos

Currently Delaware has no cap on dealer processing fees which permits motor vehicle dealers to arbitrarily charge whatever amounts they wish leading to great discrepancy of these fees among dealers and a lack of protection for consumers. Currently Pennsylvania has a $449 statutory cap on dealer processing fees and Maryland has a $500 statutory cap. This is a Substitute bill that in addition to defining “dealer processing fees” and setting a statutory cap of $475 on the dealer processing fee also clarifies that the fee does not include any fees payable to the Division of Motor Vehicles. This Substitute bill also adds the requirement that the dealer conspicuously disclose all required items in the bill of sale, in 10-point font or larger, if typed. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes March 5, 2024, as Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated or “Alpha Phi Alpha Day at the Capitol” in Delaware. It honors Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated as an organization that has provided a voice and a strong vision to the struggle of African Americans and people of color in the State of Delaware and around the world.

This Act requires Delaware Medicaid to provide an enhancement to the acute care per diem rate for psychiatric facilities for hard to place pediatric behavioral health inpatients. The per diem enhancement is limited to an inpatient stay of 14 days. The applicability of the per diem enhancement is determined based on whether admission criteria is met. This Act also creates a Quality Oversight Committee designed to identify quality metrics for facilities admitting patients as well as provide biennial recommendations to the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee regarding eligibility categories and enhancement rates.

This legislation closes a loophole in the current law which allows 100% of the work being completed on a jobsite to be done by workers only possessing an apprentice license. Currently, under Delaware law, an apprentice license can be acquired with little or no experience in the electrical trade. Recently the State discovered that construction on Delaware’s largest building, measuring more than 3.7 million square feet, that houses over 500 workers and received $3 million in State taxpayer dollars was being built with electrical workers not possessing the necessary licenses. When the job was shut down, the contractor had all the electrical workers acquire apprentice licenses rather than hire experienced, properly trained electricians. A similar violation was discovered at the construction site of an elementary school here in Delaware. The current law only holds the worker responsible and allows the contractor to avoid any fines. This legislation corrects that inequity by also holding the contractor responsible and subject to fines.

This Act provides a tuition waiver for victims of human trafficking who are enrolled in the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, or Delaware Technical Community College.

Of the 41 states with a state income tax, 27 states fully exempt military retirement pay from state income taxes and 12 states partially exempt military retirement pay. In 2022, Delaware increased the pension exclusion for military pensioners under 60 to $12,500. This Act phases in, over 3 years, an increased exemption for military pensions from state income taxation, regardless of age, so that in taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, the exemption will be $25,000 for all military pensioners.

This resolution directs all electric utilities in Delaware that offer net metering to solar customers to participate in a cost-benefit study and analysis of net metering in Delaware being undertaken by the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility to address issues such as cost burdens and cost shifting to non-solar customers.

This Act creates a new offense of Aggravated Criminal Mischief with enhanced penalties (class D felony) applicable when an individual knowingly damages or tampers with critical utility infrastructure intending to disrupt utility services. In recent years, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI have issued repeated warnings about domestic terrorists and extremist groups targeting critical utility infrastructure. Bulletins issued through DHS’ National Terrorism Advisory System in 2022 warned of a heightened threat environment based, in part, on “continued calls for violence directed at U.S. critical infrastructure.” Physical and computerized attacks on electric utility equipment have reached a 10-year high in 2022. Recent attacks in Washington and North Carolina have caused substantial outages and damage to the power grids in both states.

This Act creates a professional loan-to-grant incentive program to encourage Delawareans to pursue careers in nursing at long-term care facilities. Funding for the incentive program is to be appropriated annually by the General Assembly, in an amount not less than $1 million. Qualifying nursing students who agree to fulfill a 4-year service obligation at a long-term care facility may apply for loans to assist with expenses associated with (a) prelicensure education at a (i) State Board of Nursing approved nursing education program that is authorized to prepare persons for licensure as a registered nurse or a (ii) State Board of Nursing approved practical nursing education program, or (b) a graduate-level education at an advanced practice registered nurse program accredited by a national accrediting body. Individuals who have been employed for at least 1 year as a nurse in a Delaware long-term care facility and who have obtained qualified educational loans are eligible to apply for loan repayment under this Act. Loan repayment will be subject to the availability of funds and will be allocated at the discretion of the Delaware Higher Education Office. An applicant may receive only 1 loan payment per year, not to exceed $5,000, and may not receive more than 4 loan repayments under this program. The program will be administered by the Delaware Higher Education Office.

This Act amends the Fiscal Year 2023 Bond and Capital Improvements Act to (1) list the allocations of the School Construction Market Pressure Contingency Fund and clarify that funds cannot exceed the CN scope. Further, this Act amends Fiscal Year 2024 Bond and Capital Improvements Act to (2) revise language adjusting Federal Fund reporting dates to align with federal timelines; (3) ensure any alternative yard waste drop-off plan and relocation must provide the same level of service as the existing Polly Drummond Yard Waste site; (4) reallocate Resource, Conservation and Development funding for drainage improvement projects; (5) authorize the cancellation of any notes and forego all amounts owed under the loan agreement between the Diamond State Port Corporation (DSPC) and the Transportation Trust Fund; (6) authorize $400,000 of the Cover Crop Investment to be allocated to the Delaware Nutrient Management Commission for alternative projects; (7) authorize school districts to bond, if needed, the local match to market pressure and clarify that funds cannot exceed the scope of the Certificate of Necessity; (8) authorize the Department of Transportation to use Community Transportation Funds for one-time reimbursements for various projects; (9) reallocate Community Reinvestment Funds to the MOT Senior Center; (10) authorize the Department of Health and Social Services to donate land to the Wilmington Renaissance Corporation; (11) authorize funds to be used for the Carvel State Office Building window replacement project; (12) authorize funding to be used for construction or renovation of the Cleveland White building; (13) donate, sell, or transfer all or part of the property known as “Elbert-Palmer School”; (14) authorize funds for the demolition of the former Elbert-Palmer School and related site work; (15) authorize Caesar Rodney School District’s Certificate of Necessity 2210B to be extended and will now expire on November 15, 2024; (16) authorize Municipal Infrastructure Funds for the Bowers Beach Boatlift to be used for Drainage Improvement; and (17) authorize the transfer of ownership of the state-owned dredge to Summit North Marina LLC.