Sen. Jack Walsh

This Act creates the Delaware Advance Scholarship Program (“Program”). The goal of this Act is to encourage Delaware students with intellectual disabilities to pursue studies for a comprehensive certificate or degree at a Delaware institution of higher education in order to promote economic self-sufficiency. This will result in an economic benefit to the State in the form of a more diverse, well-prepared workforce that is less reliant on government support. This Act follows the Higher Education Opportunities Act of 2008, which authorizes comprehensive transition and post-secondary programs as a pathway to higher education for students with intellectual disabilities. The Program will be effective beginning in the 2018 through 2019 academic year.

This Resolution honors Secretary of the Senate Bernard J. Brady by declaring June 30 to be “Bernard J. Brady Day in the Delaware State Senate.” It further thanks him for his 39 years of unequalled service to the Delaware State Senate.

This resolution recognizes June 30, 2018 as "Staff Appreciation Day" in the Delaware State Senate.

This legislation requires that all full-time employees of the State, including employees of school districts, continuously in the employ of the state for at least one year, shall be eligible for 12 weeks of paid leave upon the birth or adoption of a child 6 years of age or younger. Both parents would be eligible for such leave. Employees shall continue to have the right, as they do under current law, to use accrued sick leave for maternity and paternity purposes. This legislation leaves intact the rights of persons adopting a child over 6 years of age to take unpaid leave. Due to lack of adequate paid family leave policies, many parents must return to work sooner than is optimal for the health of mothers (in the case of biological birth) and children. Granting paid leave will contribute to the establishment of parent-child bonds, breastfeeding establishment, and allow infants to receive vaccines and develop stronger immune systems prior to entering daycare. Further, a more generous leave policy will increase the productivity of workers and reduce employee turnover. This Act takes effect January 1, 2019. The Office of Management and Budget is directed to establish guidelines for the implementation of this Act.

This Act promotes diversity of housing in Delaware by acknowledging that not all residential units warrant the same Voluntary School Assessment. Currently, single family residential subdivision projects are subject to the same per unit Voluntary School Assessment as an apartment project, regardless of size and number of bedrooms. The current framework can place an undue burden on multi-family and smaller unit residential projects. This Act seeks to mitigate this burden for redevelopment plans by eliminating the Voluntary School Assessment for one-bedroom apartment units, such that the per unit Voluntary School Assessment would be charged only for each residential unit containing two or more bedrooms, and further by reducing the Voluntary School Assessment cap to 2.5 percent of the total cost of the residential unit. This Act further recognizes that relief in support of the above-mentioned policy is most appropriate for redevelopment projects where any financial burden on the school system potentially caused by reducing the Voluntary School Assessment is mitigated by taxes previously paid to the school district for the prior development.

The Act made changes to motor vehicle franchising practices, by doing the following: (1) Prohibiting a new motor vehicle manufacturer from recovering its costs for compensating its dealers for recalls or warranty parts and service by reducing the amount due to the dealer or imposing a charge. (2) Establishing the process for and method of compensating a dealer for a recall related to a used motor vehicle. (3) Providing a process by which a dealer may protest a franchise termination with the Public Service Commission. (4) Protecting consumer data. (5) Making technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Substitute Act incorporates these changes and makes an additional change to § 4903(b) of Title 6.

This Act permits private sector labor organizations and employers to enter into union security agreements to the full extent allowed under federal law.

This bill raises the civil penalty for a violation of section 3503 of the Workplace Fraud Act ("Act") from a range of $1,000 to $5,000 to $5,000 to $20,000. The bill also raises the civil penalty for wrongful discharge or discrimination under the Act from a range of $5,000 to $10,000 to $20,000 to $50,000. Finally, this bill provides that civil penalties and other revenue collected will be retained by the Department of Labor for enforcement purposes.

This Act strengthens the shelter requirements for dogs that are kept outside by requiring the following: 1. Adds failure to provide enhanced shelter to the crime of cruelty to animals. 2. Adds a third or subsequent violation of the shelter requirements, to the crime of cruelty to animals. 3. That dogs be provided with enhanced shelter if the dog is outdoors for more than 30 minutes between the hours of 11:00 pm and 6:00 am or when the temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. 4. That cages, crates, and carriers intended for travel or short-term, temporary confinement may not be used as outdoor housing facilities. 5. That outdoor housing facilities and enhanced shelters must provide clean and moisture-resistant bedding material and protection from wind. 6. That an enhanced shelter must include the following: minimum space requirements; heat when the temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit; fresh, circulating air when the temperature is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit; and food and water that do not freeze. This Act also imposes a higher civil penalty for subsequent violations of § 3044F, the specifications for the humane handling, care, and treatment of dogs. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Joint Resolution recognizes the university of Delaware's center for environmental monitoring and analysis as the official repository of historical and real-time weather and climatological observations for the state of Delaware.