Sen. Dave Sokola

This Act leverages technological advances to allow Family Court the flexibility to permit litigants to publish through a legal notices website established by the Court. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including to ensure the consistency of language used throughout the provisions included in this Act.

This bill allows the Court to suspend an amount of the fine for uninsured driving if the defendant provides evidence that they have now secured insurance, demonstrating compliance with the law.

This bill makes certain technical amendments to the Delaware Voluntary Clean Energy Financing Program Based on Property Assessments (D-PACE) Act. The amendments are based upon comments received from New Castle County and the lending community. The bill clarifies the interplay between the Act and existing tax and foreclosure sale statutes and that the lien for the energy improvements will remain with the property following a tax monition sale and mortgage foreclosure. It also clarifies the authority of the Sustainable Energy Utility and third party capital providers to enforce the lien for delinquent assessments for clean energy improvements.

This Act reflects the National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s revisions to the Model Credit for Reinsurance Act. The revisions make the law consistent with provisions of covered agreements with the European Union and United Kingdom with respect to reinsurance collateral requirements. The changes will also provide reinsurers domiciled in National Association of Insurance Commissioners-qualified jurisdictions other than within the EU (currently, Bermuda, Japan and Switzerland) with the possibility of similar reinsurance collateral reductions. This is an accreditation bill.

This bill will provide Delaware students with strong academic credentials and a demonstrated commitment to volunteer public service to receive scholarship monies sufficient to cover the full cost of tuition at Delaware State University. The intent of this bill is to increase the number of students in Delaware who not only attend the University but who successfully complete degree programs.

This Act adds an additional classification for surgical hospitals. House Bill No. 91 adopted by the 150th General Assembly (82 Del. Laws c. 73) revised the statutory definition of hospital and classified hospitals as either General, Long-term care, Psychiatric, or Rehabilitation. The existing classifications do not include surgical hospitals, those specialized hospitals providing surgical services at a level of care higher than freestanding surgery centers but whose patients do not require all of the services provided by “General” acute care hospitals. This Act will allow the Department of Health and Social Services to license and regulate surgical hospitals providing inpatient and outpatient surgical services to patients whose duration of stay is not expected to exceed 72 hours. This Act also makes technical corrections to existing law to make it consistent with the Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act enhances 2 existing agricultural horse racing programs, the Delaware Standardbred Breeder's Program and the Delaware Certified Thoroughbred program, by providing additional funding. Under this Act, horsemen provide half of the additional funds from purse money and the State provides half of the additional funds with matching funds.

The purpose of this legislation is to promote sustained economic growth and stability by establishing a fund to provide grants, loans or other economic assistance to businesses or public entities that invest in constructing, renovating or improving infrastructure for sites that will attract new businesses or expand existing businesses within the State to initiate economic development opportunities that will create a significant number of direct, permanent, quality, full-time jobs. There is intense competition between the states to attract and to keep vital businesses that create and maintain these direct, quality employment opportunities. Therefore, it is critical to expand and sustain economic growth within the State to consistently maintain readily available commercial, industrial sites to attract new business, or expand existing businesses. The delay in converting completely undeveloped sites into sites that are fully capable of conducting business may result in the loss of significant business opportunities that benefit the public. The site readiness fund will provide economic assistance to qualified businesses or public entities to renovate, construct, or improve commercial, industrial sites that are readily available to new businesses, established businesses that are considering moving to the State or existing businesses within the State that need additional sites to remain or expand within the State. To ensure fiscal accountability that site readiness funds are expended for their intended purpose, the applications will be administered in accordance with the existing regulations that govern applications made to the Strategic Fund. The Council on Development Finance will review the applications and supporting financial information to make recommendations to the Director of the Division of Small Business concerning the viability of the proposed project and whether the project meets the criteria established by this legislation to award funding. The Director has the final authority to award funding based on the Council’s recommendations and the requirements imposed by this legislation. The Director shall administer any such award in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 87A of Title 29 of the Delaware Code and the existing Strategic Fund regulations. To protect the assets of the Fund, the Director may require recapture provisions in any contract agreements for grants, loans or other economic assistance that recover for any substantial or complete cessation of operations or failure to reach any employment or other benchmarks. The Director may require the applicant to report financial statements and project progress reports to determine that expenditures on the project are consistent with the purpose of the Fund.

Many of the State’s waters do not meet water quality standards to support their designated uses, such as for drinking, swimming or supporting aquatic life. The Clean Water for Delaware Act establishes a framework for assessing needs and planning and implementing projects that support Delaware’s efforts to improve the quality of the State’s water supply and waterways. A Delaware Clean Water Trust account is created as a funding source for executing projects highlighted by this framework. The Trust account will have oversight from the Clean Water Trust Oversight Committee (the “Committee”). The Committee will draw upon recommendations from the Water Infrastructure Advisory Council, (WIAC), the county Conservation Districts’, experts in the effected Cabinet agencies and other public input with the goal of assisting municipal and county governments and others in implementing affordable water quality projects. The Committee is required to develop and publish an Annual Report and multi-year Strategic Plan for Clean Water with annual updates.

This Act requires certain police officers and some certain employees of the Department of Correction and Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families to wear a body worn camera and to use the body worn camera to record interactions with a member of the public in accordance with the regulations to be established by the Council on Police Training. This Act requires state agencies to implement the statewide body worn camera program through the procurement of cameras, development of a central data storage program, and provision of necessary personnel as funding is available. This Act tasks the Council on Police Training with creating and promulgating regulations setting forth standards for body worn camera use by Delaware’s police officers and some certain employees of the Department of Correction and Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families with the goal of ensuring widespread and consistent use of body worn cameras in 2022. This Act also makes changes to the membership of the Council on Police Training by adding the following members to the Council: the Chairs of the House and Senate Public Safety Committees, 2 public members unaffiliated with law enforcement appointed by the Governor each for a 3-year term. This bill also changes the membership of the Council by changing two positions to be permanently held by mayors from Kent or Sussex County. The bill also changes the quorum from 7 to 9 members. The bill requires the Council to hold a minimum of two public meetings to solicit public input into the development of the regulations.