In many states acts of violence have been committed with the use of firearms on college and university campuses that have resulted in both injury and death to students and faculty. This Act adds post-secondary colleges and universities to the Safe School Zone criminal offense so that any person who knowingly possesses a firearm, as defined in Title 11, while in or on a college or university facility or campus may be charged with this additional offense. The same exceptions set forth in the statute will apply to a college or university.This Act also adds commissioned security guards to the categories of individuals who may possess a firearm while acting in their official capacity within a Safe School Zone. A person convicted under this section will be guilty of a Class E felony. This Act also makes a technical correction to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
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This Act creates a civil penalty for any sale or display of ammunition that allows the ammunition to be accessible to a purchaser or transferee without the assistance of the vendor or an employee of the vendor. Ammunition in an enclosed display case, behind a counter or other customer access preventing device is not considered accessible for purposes of this section. This Act also requires that a deadly weapons dealer must include with their license application and renewal application a description of their theft and loss prevention policies and procedures as well as a report of all ammunition losses or theft within the prior year. Finally, the Act increases the maximum monetary penalty for violation of the provisions requiring a license to sell deadly weapons, sale to those under 21 or intoxicated persons, failing to keep required records, or failing to comply with the requirements for background checks between unlicensed persons. It takes effect 1 year after its enactment. This House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 270 differs from the original in the following ways: It specifies that information related to theft and loss prevention policies and procedures is not subject to FOIA It changes the word “person” to “licensee” in sections 902 and 905. It specifies that the content of loss and prevention policies are not a basis for denial of a deadly weapons dealer license. It reduces all of the monetary penalties. It removes the shoplifting enhancement. It changes jurisdiction over the offense from JP Court to the Court of Common Pleas.
This bill makes the unsafe storage of a firearm in a vehicle a class A misdemeanor if the person knowingly leaves a firearm unattended in a vehicle and the firearm is not stored in a locked box or container, a firearms rack that is on the motor vehicle, or locked in the trunk. This bill also provides that compliance with unsafe storage of a firearm in a vehicle is a defense to carrying a concealed deadly weapon.
This Act ensures that educators hired after the effective date of this Act, who earned graduate degrees prior to becoming educators, receive credit on the salary schedule for those degrees regardless of the specific subject area of those degrees. Once an individual is employed as an educator, in order to receive credit for any graduate degrees earned after that time, such degree must be in the subject area in which the educator is employed.
This Act repeals the DELJIS Fund fee imposed on criminal defendants. The elimination of this fee was recommended by the Criminal Legal System Imposed Debt Study Group created by House Bill 244, as amended by House Amendment No 2, of the 151st General Assembly, in its December 7, 2023 report. Any outstanding balances owed for this fee shall be discharged upon the Act’s effective date. Per the Study Group’s recommendation, the Act will become effective upon the specific appropriation of General Fund monies to replace DELJIS’s full spending authority of the repealed fee.
Like Senate Bill No. 212, Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 212 codifies the Bureau of Health Equity (BHE) in the Division of Public Health, which includes the Office of Minority Health and the Office of Women’s Health. The purpose of the BHE is to ensure that everyone in Delaware will achieve their full health potential by eliminating health disparities, particularly among all racial and ethnic minority groups. The BHE works with communities to address social determinants of health, focusing on prevention, health, and wellness in the broader population instead of treatment focused on individuals. Health disparities are preventable differences in the quality of health or health care between 2 or more groups of people based on a shared characteristic of the individuals within each group, such as race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status and the differences between the groups regarding access to health care or burdens, prevalence, or incidence of disease or violence. Delaware has been recognized nationally for successfully reducing some health disparities, including being the first state to virtually erase racial disparities in colorectal cancer screening and treatment, by combining individual patient assistance from nurse navigators and care coordinators with community-based outreach efforts that used trusted messengers, including leaders of faith-based communities. However, 10 years after achieving this success with colorectal cancer screening and treatment, many health disparities remain in Delaware. Codifying the BHE ensures that this critical work continues. In addition, this Act identifies the Primary Care Reform Collaborative and the Office of Value-Based Health Care Delivery as state entities that the BHE should collaborate with because these entities are addressing health disparities through insurance payments to providers. This Act also makes technical corrections to § 7905 of Title 29. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 212 differs from Senate Bill No. 212 as follows: • Changes the Delaware Code designation for the BHE to § 7905B to avoid confusion with § 7905A in Chapter 79A of Title 29. • Revises the definition of “health disparity”. • Adds that a purpose of the BHE is to promote conditions that are vital to promote health and well-being. • Removes the requirement that the BHE provide training on cultural competency because this is no longer a function that the BHE has the expertise or staff to provide.
This Act repeals the Senior Trust Fund Fee, the Interstate Compact Fee, and the Substance Abuse, Rehabilitation, Treatment, Education and Prevention Fund Fee imposed on criminal defendants. The elimination of these fees was recommended by the Criminal Legal System Imposed Debt Study Group created by House Bill 244, as amended by House Amendment No 2, of the 151st General Assembly, in its December 7, 2023 report. The Criminal Legal System Imposed Debt Study Group also recommended replacement of lost revenue for affected agencies as needed with General Funds. In repealing these fees, the General Assembly also intends to eliminate any outstanding balances owed on these fees.
Maddy summaryThis bill modifies Delaware's real estate tax laws to exempt the 2% realty transfer tax on contracts for building affordable housing units. The exemption specifically applies when the construction is funded by the federal government, the state, or local counties and municipalities. By removing this tax fee, the legislation aims to lower costs for developers working on government-financed affordable housing projects. The law defines "affordable housing units" using the existing legal definition found in Title 30 of the Delaware Code.
For over 30 years, the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) has invested in home repair programs that make necessary repairs to improve the health and safety conditions in the homes of Delawareans. This Act codifies a “Housing Repair and Modification Fund,” which will be administered by DSHA and serve low- and very-low income homeowners in need of home repair assistance.
This Act creates a clearer and workable system for ensuring that manufactured home communities with health and safety violations and conditions that threaten the health and safety of people in the community cannot continue to raise rents on residents without fixing the conditions and providing a safe community for its residents. This substitute differs from the original bill in that it does the following: (1) Adds definitions to § 7003 for the whole chapter. (2) Creates a section that provides requirements for what a community owner must do when it receives a citation or experiences a failure of services related to water, sewer, or utilities distributed by the community owner, including having to fix the problem within 10 days or give detailed reasons why it cannot be completed in that timeframe as well as provide a surety bond for 150% of the estimated cost if it cannot be done in that timeframe. (3) Specifies that a community owner cannot impose a rent increase if it does not comply with the requirements of new section governing such repairs. (4) Changes the court in which community owners may dispute a citation for purposes of receiving a rent increase from Superior Court to the Justice of the Peace Court. This Substitute also makes the new version of § 7051A sunset on July 1, 2026. It reinserts the current version of § 7051A into the code on July 1, 2026, when the new version sunsets.