This Act ensures that the price protections for Delawareans related to price gouging put in place during the COVID-19 state of emergency do not cease immediately upon the lifting of the COVID-19 state of emergency, but instead continue for a short period of time during the COVID-19 recovery period. The COVID-19 recovery period runs until the sixty-first day following the termination of the COVID-19 state of emergency. This Act is intended to set the ceiling for what constitutes price gouging during the COVID-19 recovery period. This Act is written to give the Governor flexibility to carry out the legislative will of protecting Delawareans while not regulating price more than necessary given the market needs and conditions. If additional executive orders are issued to further ratchet down or slowly ease the transition back to normal operations, those are the protections that will be in effect during the COVID-19 recovery period. Sections 1 and 2 of this Act sunset on the sixty-first day following the termination of the COVID-19 state of emergency. Section 3 will not sunset to ensure that a violation of this Act occurring while the protections of this Act are in effect can be pursued after the expiration of this Act, the termination of the COVID-19 state of emergency, the termination of the COVID-19 recovery period, or the suspension of the protection of this Act by the Governor.
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Since 2009, when video-conferencing was first permitted under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) by Senate Bill No. 104 (145th General Assembly), technology has continued to evolve and the need to provide more mechanisms for participation by members of public bodies and the public has grown. In addition, under the Governor's March 12, 2020, Declaration of a State of Emergency for the State of Delaware Due to a Public Health Threat “State of Emergency” and House Concurrent Resolution No. 85 (“HCR 85”), public bodies in Delaware have been successfully holding virtual meetings. This Act amends FOIA to allow a public body to hold a meeting electronically if specific notice and public access requirements are met. The notice and access requirements follow the guidelines established under HCR 85. This Act gives “advisory bodies” the broadest ability to hold virtual meetings because the vast majority of citizen boards, commissions, task forces, and councils currently in place in Delaware are comprised of volunteer citizens, who serve without pay, and who are charged with providing advice to administrative agencies, the legislature, and others in government. Advisory bodies meet to review data and discuss the programs or operations of particular governmental bodies, to provide advice and recommendations to governmental bodies and members of the public on particular issues, to confer and issue opinions regarding legislation on particular public policy issues, and to provide support and direction for particular public policy goals. There are other boards, commissions, and councils that meet to decide whether to grant or deny certain rights, remedies, or privileges to specific individuals or legal entities, such as a permit, a license, an appeal, or other decision by the board that has legal significance in a subsequent hearing. Boards that have the authority to decide rights, remedies, or privileges in specific situations are not considered advisory bodies under this Act. Frequently, advisory bodies have a difficult time conducting business because business can only be conducted when a quorum of the advisory body is present at the physical meeting location. As a result, some advisory bodies go months without being able to make quorum, members become discouraged, the advisory body stops holding regular meetings, and eventually becomes ineffectual. Delaware agencies and citizens have made great strides in utilizing the technology to conduct virtual meetings since the State of Emergency was ordered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, shortfalls with this technology have been experienced, including the knowledge that significant portions of our State are not yet served with the quality of internet service necessary to support virtual participation in which the participant can be both heard and seen. For this reason, this Act encourages virtual participation encompassing both the ability to hear and see all participants, but also allows technology that only provides the ability to hear all participants. Under this Act, if an advisory body holds a virtual meeting when there is no state of emergency or threat of a public health emergency, members of public must be able to monitor the meeting virtually or in-person at a physical location. If the advisory body is required to accept public comment or provides the opportunity for public comment, the public must be able to participate virtually or at the physical location. Specifically, this Act does all of the following: 1. Allows an advisory body to hold a virtual meeting at any time, if there is an anchor location that is open to the public and 1 or more members of the advisory body attend the meeting at the anchor location. 2. During a state of emergency, allows any public body to hold a virtual meeting. If all members of a public body are elected by the public to serve on the public body, there are requirements to ensure that members have contemporaneous access to documents and the public has the ability to monitor the proceeding and provide public comment, if public comment is otherwise allowed by statute. 3. Permits the Governor, by executive order, to allow all public bodies to hold virtual meetings if necessary to prevent a public health emergency. 4. Clarifies that if its members are not all elected by the public to serve on the public body, a public body must allow a member with a disability to attend a meeting electronically as a reasonable accommodation under § 4504 of Title. If all of the members of the public body are elected by the public, then a public body must allow a member with a disability to attend a meeting electronically unless doing so would present an undue burden. This Act does not revise § 10006 of Title 29, the existing video-conferencing section, because § 10006 permits more types of public bodies to conduct a meeting through video-conferencing than are permitted to conduct a virtual meeting under this Act in the absence of a state of emergency or executive order by the Governor. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 243 differs from Senate Bill No. 243 as follows: Section 1 sets forth the findings and intent of the General Assembly regarding the use of technology to improve access to public meetings for all Delawareans and in particular, individuals with disabilities. Section 1 also clarifies that it is the intent of the General Assembly to incorporate the well-established body of law that requires places of public accommodation to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities if the accommodation can be provided without imposing an undue burden on the place of public accommodation. Section 2 makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Section 4 revises the new virtual meeting section, as follows: 1. Reorganizes the new § 10006A for clarity. 2. Revises language to improve clarity and incorporate concerns from stakeholders. 3. Clarifies that a public body that is composed entirely of members elected by the public to the public body may allow a member with a disability to attend a public meeting through a means of electronic communication as a reasonable accommodation. 4. Allows any public body, at the discretion of the chair or presiding officer, to allow the public to monitor or provide public comment through the use of an electronic means of communication. 5. Requires that if a public body holds a virtual meeting, the public must be able to monitor the virtual meeting electronically, and, if applicable, provide public comment through the use of a means of electronic communication. Section 5 sunsets § 10006A, the new virtual meeting provisions, in its entirety, on June 30, 2021. This sunset provision anticipates continued work by agencies and public stakeholders to learn from experience using technology to hold virtual public meetings and to revise this section during the next legislative session to reflect lessons learned through experience. Finally, Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 243 states that passage of this Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a charter issued to a municipal corporation.
This bill continues the practice of amending periodically the Delaware Statutory Trust Act (the “Act”) to keep it current and to maintain its national preeminence. The following is a section-by-section review of the proposed amendments of the Act. Section 1. This section amends Section 3801 of the Act to add new definitions for "document" and "electronic transmission," which terms appear in new Section 3826 among other places in the Act. Section 2. This section amends Section 3804(a) of the Act to confirm that a trust may enter into contracts on behalf of a series of the statutory trust with and on behalf of another series of the statutory trust or with itself. This Section also confirms certain circumstances under which a statutory trust shall be the “debtor” in connection with liens or security interests granted in any assets of a series or any assets associated with a series of the statutory trust. Section 3. This Section amends Section 3805(f) of the Act to clarify that a trustee is not a necessary party to a contract or other instrument to which a statutory trust is a party solely because a trustee holds legal title to statutory trust property. Section 4. This section amends Section 3806 of the Act to conform with the addition of the defined term "electronic transmission" in Section 3801. Sections 5 and 18. These sections amend Sections 3807(e) and 3854(c) of the Act to eliminate the requirement that the Secretary of State issue a certified copy of any certificate filed by the registered agent changing the address of the registered office or the name of the registered agent. These sections also amend Sections 3807(e) and 3854(c) of the Act to confirm that the conversion of the registered agent or a division of the registered agent in which a resulting person succeeds to all of the registered agent business of such registered agent shall be deemed to be a change of name for purposes of these sections of the Act. These sections also amend Sections 3807(f) and 3854(d) of the Act to eliminate the requirement that the Secretary of State issue a certificate in connection with the resignation of the registered agent of a statutory trust or foreign statutory trust and the appointment of the successor registered agent. Sections 5 and 18. These sections also amend Section 3807(g) and Section 3854(e) of the Act to provide that the resignation of a registered agent of a statutory trust or foreign statutory trust without appointing a successor must be done on a single trust basis by paying a fee and filing a certificate of resignation with the Secretary of State. These sections also amend Sections 3807(g) and 3854(e) of the Act to add requirements regarding the content and form of the certificate of resignation filed with the Delaware Secretary of State when the registered agent resigns without appointing a successor, and provide that such information regarding the communications contact that must be included in such a certificate shall not be deemed public. Section 5. This section also amends Section 3807 of the Act by adding new subsections (i)-(m) to prescribe the duties of a registered agent; require that persons or entities serving as registered agent for more than fifty entities (a “Commercial Registered Agent”) be generally open during normal business hours and have a natural person present to operate such office and communicate with the Secretary of State on request; require Delaware statutory trusts to provide registered agents with a designated natural person to receive communications from the registered agent and require the registered agent to maintain in its records the identity of such persons; authorize the Secretary of State to issue regulations to enforce these provisions; authorize the Secretary of State to bring a lawsuit in the Court of Chancery to enjoin any person or entity from acting as a registered agent, or as an officer, or director or managing agent of a registered agent, any person or entity who fails to comply with the statutory requirements, who has been convicted of a felony or any crime involving dishonesty, fraud or moral turpitude, or who has used the office of registered agent in a manner intended to defraud the public; and provide that the certificate of trust or registration of a statutory trust or foreign statutory trust will be cancelled if it fails, within a prescribed period, to obtain and designate a new registered agent if the Court of Chancery enjoins any person or entity from acting as a registered agent for such statutory trust. Section 6. This section amends Section 3810(d) of the Act to include a reference to a certificate of division. Section 7. This section amends Section 3811(a)(4) of the Act to provide for the manner in which a certificate of division must be executed. Section 8. This section amends Sections 3812(b) and 3812(c) of the Act to include a reference to a certificate of division. Section 9. This section amends Section 3813(a)(2) of the Act to provide for the fee payable to the Delaware Secretary of State for the filing of a certificate of division pursuant to the Act, Section 3813(a)(6) to provide for the fee for the issuance of any certificate issued via the Secretary of State's online services and Section 3813(a)(7) to provide for the fee payable for a written report of a record search. Sections 10 and 18. These sections amend Section 3814(a) and Section 3854(a) of the Act to clarify requirements regarding the name under which a statutory trust or a foreign statutory trust may register with the Secretary of State. Section 11. This section amends Section 3815(a) of the Act to provide a majority vote default rule for a merger or consolidation entered into by a statutory trust registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 unless otherwise provided in the governing instrument of such statutory trust. This amendment provides that the amendment does not apply to statutory trusts formed prior to the effectiveness of the amendment unless otherwise provided in the governing instrument of such statutory trust. Section 11. This section also amends Section 3815(h) of the Act to confirm that no appraisal rights are available with respect to a beneficial interest or another interest in a statutory trust, including in connection with the enumerated transactions unless otherwise provided for in the enumerated documents and adds reference to a plan of division as a document that may include appraisal rights. Section 12. This section amends Section 3819(d) of the Act to confirm that a statutory trust may maintain its books, records and other information in other than paper form (including electronic form) if such form is capable of conversion into paper form within a reasonable time. Section 13. This section amends Section 3821(b) of the Act to provide a majority vote default rule for approving a conversion of a statutory trust registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 unless otherwise provided in the governing instrument of such statutory trust. This amendment provides that the amendment does not apply to statutory trusts formed prior to the effectiveness of the amendment unless otherwise provided in the governing instrument of such statutory trust. Sections 13 and 14. These sections amend Sections 3821(f) and 3823(c) of the Act with regard to certifications provided by the Secretary of State in connection with the filing of a certificate of transfer, a certificate of transfer and domestic continuance and a certificate of conversion to non-Delaware entity. Section 14. This section also amends Section 3823(b) of the Act to provide a majority vote default rule for approving a transfer or domestication or continuance of a statutory trust registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 unless otherwise provided in the governing instrument of such statutory trust. This amendment provides that the amendment does not apply to statutory trusts formed prior to the effectiveness of the amendment unless otherwise provided in the governing instrument of such statutory trust. Section 15. This section adds new Section 3824 of the Act to provide that, upon motion by the Attorney General, the Court of Chancery may cancel the certificate of trust of any statutory trust for abuse or misuse of its statutory trust powers, privileges or existence Section 16. This section adds new Section 3825 of the Act to enable a statutory trust to divide into one or more newly formed statutory trusts with the dividing trust continuing its existence or terminating its existence, as the case may be. Section 17. This section adds new Section 3826 of the Act, which establishes non-exclusive, safe harbor methods to reduce certain acts or transactions to a written or electronic document and to sign and deliver a document manually or electronically. The terminology in Section 3826(a) is based on analogous provisions in existing Sections 3806 of the Act, the Delaware Uniform Electronic Transactions Act ("UETA"), and the Model Business Corporation Act, with modifications. Section 3826(a) permits statutory trust transactions (such as entering into agreements of merger not filed with the Secretary of State) to be documented, signed and delivered through "Docusign" and similar electronic means. The Section 3826(a) safe harbor provisions apply solely for purposes of determining whether an act or transaction has been documented, and whether a document has been signed and delivered, in accordance with the Act and the governing instrument. Section 3826(a) does not preempt any statute of frauds or other law that might require actions be documented, or that documents be signed and delivered, in a specified manner. Section 3826(a) clarifies how its provisions operate in connection with a transaction conducted pursuant to UETA. To the extent UETA does not apply to a transaction (under Section 12A-103 of UETA) because the transaction is governed by the Act, the parties to the transaction can satisfy the Act by complying with Section 3826(a). Section 3826(b) addresses certain actions and documents that are not governed by Section 3826(a). There is no presumption that these excluded items are prohibited from being effected by electronic or other means, but Section 3826 may not be relied on as a basis for documenting an act or transaction, or signing or delivering a document, if the exclusions set forth in Section 3826(b) apply. Certain of these excluded items are governed by separate provisions that facilitate the use of electronic media, including documents filed with the Secretary of State (governed by Section 3812(a)). Section 3826(b) permits governing instrument provisions that restrict the use of Section 3826(a), but those restrictions must be expressly stated. A provision merely specifying that an act or transaction will be documented in writing, or that a document will be signed or delivered manually, will not prohibit the application of Section 3826(a). Section 3826(c) addresses the interaction between the provisions of the Act and the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (the "E-Sign Act"). Section 3826(c) evidences an intent to allow the Act to govern the documentation of actions, and the signature and delivery of documents, to the fullest extent the Act is not preempted by the E-Sign Act. Section 18. This section also amends Section 3854(b)(2)c. of the Act to clarify the types of foreign entities that may be a registered agent of a foreign statutory trust. Section 19. This section provides that the proposed amendments to the Act shall become effective August 1, 2020.
This Act creates the Delaware Perinatal Quality Collaborative to improve pregnancy outcomes for women and newborns and such issues as obstetrical blood loss management, pregnant women with substance use disorder, infants impacted by neonatal abstinence syndrome, and advancing evidence-based clinical practices and processes through quality care review, audit, and continuous quality improvement. This Substitute differs from Senate Bill No. 122 by making technical corrections to conform to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including language regarding organizational structure and procedure.
This Act makes additional technical changes to Senate Bill No. 122 and Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 122. The Senate Substitute unanimously passed both chambers during the 1st Session of the 150th General Assembly. Section 1 of this Act creates the Delaware Perinatal Quality Collaborative to improve pregnancy outcomes for women and newborns and such issues as obstetrical blood loss management, pregnant women with substance use disorder, infants impacted by neonatal abstinence syndrome, and advancing evidence-based clinical practices and processes through quality care review, audit, and continuous quality improvement. Section 2 of this Act establishes the Chair of the Delaware Healthy Mother and Infant Consortium as the temporary chair of the Collaborative to guide the Collaborative’s initial organization.
This bill codifies portions of the Second and Nineteenth Modifications of the Governor's Declaration of State of Emergency due to COVID-19 concerning food and drink establishments. Food and drink establishments suffered great losses since March, 2020 due to the pandemic including millions of dollars in lost sales and the loss of an estimated 30,000 jobs in this State. This purpose of this bill is to continue efforts to try and mitigate the losses this industry has suffered. This bill does all of the following: (1) allows an entity that has a valid on-premise license to sell alcohol to continue to alcoholic beverages as part of transactions for take-out, curbside, or drive-through food service so long as certain conditions are met; (2) allows a licensee to continue to use outdoor seating for serving of food and drinks so long as the licensee satisfies certain conditions; (3) allows the Commissioner to temporarily suspend a license only if the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that public's safety is at risk and there has been a violation of the law; and (4) allows the Commissioner to hold hearings by electronic, telephonic, or remote means. This Act is effective until March 31, 2021. Any expansion of outdoor seating for serving of food and drinks that meets the requirements of the Paragraph A.2 of the 19th Modification of the State of Emergency Declaration, or any subsequent modification that increases total outdoor seating capacity, is not a substantive change through March 31, 2021 even if the State of Emergency is no longer in effect, which means no additional applications are required.
This Act brings Delaware into compliance with the federal No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act by creating a lifetime disqualification for a commercial diver license if the individual engages in human trafficking while using a motor vehicle. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act requires that individual, group, and State employee insurance plans cap the amount an individual must pay for insulin prescriptions at $100 a month and must include at least 1 formulation of insulin on the lowest tier of the drug formulary developed and maintained by the carrier.
This Act creates a CBD-Rich card medical marijuana card to treat anxiety in adults. This Act 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 CBD-Rich patients. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Senate Resolution pays tribute to Delaware's senior senator, Harris B. McDowell, III, upon his retirement from the Senate after some 44 years of exemplary service.