Daily Report for 5/2/2017

Governor's Actions

No legislation is Signed by Governor Today

New Legislation Introduced

BillCurrent StatusSponsorSynopsisTitle
HCR 6PassedCollinsSeeking to address the pervasive problems of littering and illegal dumping in Delaware, this concurrent resolution would create the Delaware Anti-Dumping and Anti-Littering Solutions Task Force. The task force would be charged with developing actionable strategies for curtailing littering and illegal dumping in The First State and delivering a report to the General Assembly and the governor as to how these policies could be implemented and financed. The task force would be required to report no later than April 1, 2018.CREATING THE DELAWARE ANTI-DUMPING AND ANTI-LITTERING SOLUTIONS TASK FORCE.
HB 153CommitteeBriggs KingCurrently Industrial Accident Board hearings are held with 2 members as a panel to decide the matter. This bill requires 3 members as a panel in order to avoid a tie vote and no decision.AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.
HR 11PassedSmykThis Resolution extends the due date of the final report of the Task Force to Review and Recommend Noise Control Laws in the State of Delaware from April 30, 2017, to June 30, 2017.EXTENDING THE REPORTING DATE OF THE TASK FORCE TO REVIEW AND RECOMMEND NOISE CONTROL LAWS IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE.
HA 1 to HB 88PassedKentonThis amendment allows qualifying students enrolled in an accredited institution of higher education in Delaware or other jurisdictions to be substitute teachers. 
HB 155CommitteeLynnThis Act removes the Department of Correction’s authority to execute orders as to sentences of capital punishment and prohibits the Department from using lethal doses of drugs on those in its care. This Act also removes hanging as a method of execution in Delaware.AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
HA 1 to HB 90PassedBentzThis amendment removes most local elections from the scope of the requirement for in-person early voting, but clarifies that City of Wilmington elections would be included. It also clarifies that early voting locations should conform to accessibility requirements for persons with disabilities. 
SR 11PassedPettyjohnThis resolution designates the week of May 1, 2017 to May 5, 2017 as National Charter School Week.DESIGNATING THE WEEK OF MAY 1, 2017 TO MAY 5, 2017 AS NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOL WEEK.
SA 1 to SB 51PassedPettyjohnThis Amendment changes the look back period for a subsequent like offense to two years to maintain consistency within Title 21.  

Legislation Passed By Senate

BillCurrent StatusSponsorSynopsisTitle
HB 11SignedBentzThis Act removes the prohibition against receipt of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (“TANF” also referred to by the name Aid for Families with Dependent Children or “AFDC”) funds by persons convicted of a drug felony, so long as that person is otherwise eligible or TANF assistance. Even though federal laws such as PRWORA passed during the War on Drugs frequently prohibited access to public assistance for persons with drug felonies, these laws also gave states flexibility in determining eligibility for food aid and cash assistance for families with children when applicants had a criminal conviction. The majority of states have limited the federal bans in whole or in part. In 2011, Delaware opted out of restrictions on food aid, but it has not opted out of or limited federal restrictions on TANF—the cash assistance program that is the principal form of assistance available to most families in poverty to pay for things like electricity bills or school supplies. Under existing law, individuals convicted of any state or federal drug felony, including possession of marijuana (which can be a felony under federal law), are ineligible for TANF for life. Although the children of a parent convicted of a drug crime can still receive assistance, the family’s overall award is significantly reduced, and in practice this affects the well-being of families and children. AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ELIGIBILITY FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.
SB 1SignedMcBrideIn every December in the years 2010 through 2015, the Code Revisors provided the General Assembly with a list of potential technical corrections they identified as they revised the Delaware Code to reflect legislation enacted that year. While technical in nature, these changes are beyond the authority of the Code Revisors to make and can only be done by the General Assembly through legislation. After reviewing the 148 items provided for the years 2010 through 2015, the following changes included in this Act are identified as technical in nature and in need of correction. Of the other 99 items, many had already been corrected, some statutes no longer existed or were subsequently amended so that the correction is no longer necessary, and some would be substantive changes. Each technical correction made by this Act is explained below: Section 1: HB 156 of the 148th General Assembly revised § 709 of Title 4. Section 709(d) now establishes rules for Sunday sales but does not list holidays. Holidays are now covered in § 709(c) of Title 4. This Act revises § 554 of Title 4 to codify current practice by listing the days that are covered by this rule. Section 2: SB 234 of the 145th General Assembly established the Recycling Public Advisory Council. This change corrects a drafting error in the language regarding the members representing the beverage industry. Section 3: HB 368 of the 147th General Assembly revised § 7402A of Title 7, adding language from federal law that does not follow the Delaware drafting style. The Code Revisors identified that the references to “paragraph c” were not clear because there are many paragraphs of § 7402A that are identified with the letter c. This Section clearly identifies which "paragraph c" is intended and corrects a typographical mistake and an additional instance where a paragraph reference is unclear. Section 4: SB 99 of the 147th General Assembly made changes to § 1009 of Title 10, eliminating paragraph (b)(3)a. The language that was in that paragraph is in § 351 of Title 31. Therefore, the reference is changed to refer to § 351 of Title 31 both times the repealed section appears in § 901 of Title 10. Section 5: SB 174, as amended by SA 1 and HA 2, of the 146th General Assembly amended § 4319 of Title 10 but failed to put “or” after the semicolon at the end of § 4319(d)(3). The word “or” is appropriate instead of “and” because all four of these conditions cannot be met at the same time. This Section makes the needed change. Section 6: HB 107, as amended by SA 1, of the 141st General Assembly intended to exclude child support obligations from the garnishment exemption for College and Able Act Savings plans. The citation was erroneously placed in § 4916 of Title 10 so that child support is exempted from garnishment rather than still available for garnishment. This Section corrects that error. Section 7: HB 427 of the 145th General Assembly amended Subchapter V, Chapter 5 of Title 7 to remove the word “experimental” throughout. Title 10 references Subchapter V, Chapter 5 of Title 7 so the word “experimental” should be removed in Title 10. This Section makes that change. Section 8: HB 346 of the 147th General Assembly substantially revised Delaware’s civil mental health laws. The exact language from what had been § 5127 of Title 16 was placed in the new § 5019(a) of Title 16. The reference to § 5127 of Title 16 was not updated in § 406 of Title 11 by HB 346. This Section makes that change. Section 9: SB 234 of the 144th General Assembly revised § 1102 of Title 11. Existing drafting errors in the provision were identified by the Code Revisors when the Code was being revised pursuant to SB 234. This Section makes the needed changes. Section 10: SB 174 of the 147th General Assembly revised the definition of contraband in § 1258 of Title 11 using incorrect punctuation. This Section corrects the punctuation to increase clarity. In addition, the Department of Correction is being added. This correction is consistent with HB 47 of the 148th General Assembly which corrected instances where the Department of Correction was still referred to as the State Board of Correction or the Department of Health and Social Services, where it used to be located. Section 11: HB 260 of the 147th General Assembly revised § 1335 of Title 11 and in combining the exemptions for legal and medical procedures used the word “and” when “or” is the correct grammatical choice. This Section corrects that error. Section 12: HB 427 of the 145th General Assembly added “combative sports” to the activities regulated by Title 28 and said all violations of Title 28 are subject to prosecution under Title 11. The term “combative sports” was not added to the section of Title 11 covering these specific offenses. This Section makes the needed changes. Section 13: HB 427 of the 145th General Assembly added “combative sports” to the activities regulated by Title 28 and said all violations of Title 28 are subject to prosecution under Title 11. The term “combative sports” was not added to the section of Title 11 covering these specific offenses. This Section makes the needed changes. Section 14: SB 45 of the 148th General Assembly amended the state implementation of the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004 to mirror federal law. Prior to SB 45, § 1441A of Title 11 used the term “qualified active duty law-enforcement officer” and also covered retired law-enforcement officers. SB 45 removed the words “active duty” from § 1441A of Title 11 consistent with federal law and created a new § 1441B in Title 11 to cover retired law-enforcement officers. The changes to § 1441A of Title 11 were not updated in § 1448B of Title 11. This Section makes the needed changes. Section 15: SB 197 of the 147th General Assembly revised Delaware’s Human Trafficking crimes. It revised § 787 of Title 11 so that (b)(2) is the crime of forced labor and (b)(3) and (b)(4) refer to sex crimes. The reference in § 4121(a)(4), community notification of sex offenders, was changed from §787(b)(2) to §787(b)(3)-(4), but the same reference was not revised in § 4123(c) of Title 11 which addresses sentencing for a juvenile adjudicated delinquent of a sex offense. This Section makes the needed changes. Section 16: HB 346 of the 147th General Assembly substantially revised Delaware’s civil mental health laws. Section 5136 of Title 16 was repealed and the facilities referenced in the repealed § 5136 are now included in § 5001 by HB 346. This Section makes the needed changes. Section 17: SB 144 of the 148th General Assembly revised Delaware law regarding background checks for child-serving entities. The references in § 511 of Title 14 were not updated to reflect the new sections. This Section makes the needed changes. Section 18: HB 245 of the 145th General Assembly and HB 302 of the 147th General Assembly made changes to Title 15 of the Delaware Code relating to elections. Subchapter IV, Chapter 10 of Title 14 references the job titles used in Title 15 but Title 14 still uses the job titles in place prior to both bills. Title 15 is clear that all references to job titles that appear in any other act of law, to the extent they are consistent with a function transferred by this chapter to the Department, shall be construed as referring or relating to such person or persons and their powers, duties, and functions as established and created by Chapter 2 of Title 15. This Section makes the needed changes. Section 19: HB 1 of the 146th General Assembly deleted what was at the time paragraph (a)(1) of this section but did not delete the reference in (d)(6) so the Code Revisors inserted an explanation. The old language and explanation should be stricken. This Section makes the needed changes. Section 20: SB 20 of the 147th General Assembly created a prison education unit. The correct reference to the Department of Correction training program is § 2405 of Title 14. Section 2402 states that employees for the prison Education Program shall have the same qualifications as employees in public high schools and does not reference any Department of Correction training program. This Section makes the needed changes. Section 21: HB 384 of the 144th General Assembly revised the Universal Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening, Tracking, and Intervention program. An existing drafting error in the statute was identified when the Code was being revised pursuant to HB 384. The error is that the language of § 804A(a)(3)e and § 804A(a)(4) of Title 16 are substantially similar without any legal reason for the duplication. This Section removes § 804A(a)(3)e of Title 16. Section 22: HB 346 of the 147th General Assembly substantially revised Delaware’s civil mental health laws. In section 5003 of Title 16, the word “licensed” was omitted from paragraph (a) of subsection (3). This Section corrects that error. Section 23: HB 346 of the 147th General Assembly substantially revised Delaware’s civil mental health laws. The Code Revisors identified that the citation to § 5127 of Title 16 is no longer correct. Researching that correction identified that § 5121 of Title 16 was also updated and moved to § 5003 of Title 16. Thus, § 5121 of Title 16 should be stricken. This Section makes the needed change. Section 24: HB 346 of the 147th General Assembly substantially revised Delaware’s civil mental health laws. The Code Revisors identified that the citation to § 5127 of Title 16 is no longer correct. Researching that correction identified that pursuant to HB 311 in the 146th General Assembly, § 5121A of Title 16 states that it is only in effect until July 1, 2013. Thus, § 5121A of Title 16 should be stricken. This Section makes the needed change. Section 25: HB 346 of the 147th General Assembly substantially revised Delaware’s civil mental health laws. The Code Revisors identified that the citation to § 5127 of Title 16 is no longer correct. Researching that correction identified that § 5123 of Title 16 was updated and moved to § 5003 of Title 16 so to correct the mistake, § 5123 of Title 16 should be stricken. This Section makes the needed change. Section 26: HB 346 of the 147th General Assembly substantially revised Delaware’s civil mental health laws. The exact language from what had been § 5127 of Title 16 was placed in the new § 5019(a) of Title 16. The reference to § 5127 of Title 16 was not updated in § 5154 of Title 16. This Section corrects that error. Section 27: HB 346 of the 147th General Assembly substantially revised Delaware’s civil mental health laws. Section 5135 of Title 16 was repealed and that language was included in the new § 5025(a) of Title 16. Also, the exact language from what had been § 5127 of Title 16 was placed in the new § 5019(a) of Title 16. The reference to § 5127 of Title 16 was not updated in § 5161 of Title 16. This Section corrects that error. Section 28: HB 346 of the 147th General Assembly substantially revised Delaware’s civil mental health laws. Section 5131 of Title 16 was repealed and that type of treatment is covered under Chapter 50. Section 5174(2) of Title 16 contains a reference to § 5123 of Title 16 which was updated by the same Act and moved to § 5003 of Title 16. This Section makes the needed changes. Section 29: HB 373 of the 147th General Assembly revised the process by which a health care payment system is published and eliminated (14) of § 2322B of Title 19. The correct reference should now be § 2322 of Title 19. This Section makes the needed change. Section 30: HB 162 of the 147th General Assembly added §§ 3571 and 3610 to Title 18 and both reference § 1302(d)(2)(B)(ii)(I) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. There is no § 1302(d)(2)(B)(ii)(I) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act so this reference is being changed § 1311(d)(2)(B)(ii) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care as originally intended. This Section makes the needed change. Section 31: HB 162 of the 147th General Assembly added §§ 3571 and 3610 to Title 18 and both reference § 1302(d)(2)(B)(ii)(I) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. There is no § 1302(d)(2)(B)(ii)(I) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act so this reference is being changed to § 1311(d)(2)(B)(ii) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care as originally intended. This Section makes the needed change. Section 32: As part of revising Title 18, the Code Revisors reversed the order of subsections (a) and (b) so as to maintain alphabetical order of the terms. Prior to this reversal, the term “Department” in Chapter 40 of Title 18 was modified by the phrase, “for the purposes of this chapter,” defining it for this Chapter as the Department of Health & Social Services. Reversing the order of the subsections changed “Department” to its definition in Chapter 1 of Title 18 as meaning the “Insurance Department.” This Section corrects that error and makes additional technical corrections to conform to the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Section 33: HB 175 of the 147th General Assembly Synopsis created a new section § 2379(f)(4) of Title 19. There is a typographical error so that the statute reads “whether the employer has complied with its obligations under § 2322E(d) of this title to provide a list of possible b [sic] assignments for injured workers.” The letter “b” is an error. The synopsis for HB 175 states that this section “requires that companies be compliant with their ‘back to work’ responsibilities for injured employees before being eligible for the credit.” Section 2379(f)(4) references § 2322E(d) of Title 19 which requires employers to provide a report of “modified-duty jobs.” Instead of “b”, the statute should reference “modified-duty jobs.” This Section makes the needed change. Section 34: HB 99 of the 146th General Assembly referenced “§ 4704(c)(1)(2)”. There is no such section. Section 4704 has a (c)(1) and a (c)(2). The Code Revisors assumed the word “or” was intended and placed it in the provision in brackets. This Section removes the brackets. Section 35: HB 416 of the 147th General Assembly corrected insensitive language regarding persons with disabilities. The Bill erroneously changed this term in a manner that it is incorrect. This Section corrects that error. Section 36: SB 200 of the 145th General Assembly created a new subsection (c) in § 4502 of Title 21. A sentence in paragraph (c)(9) needs the word “that” to be grammatically correct. This Section makes the needed change. Section 37: SB 189 of the 147th General Assembly eliminated the “limited” license and created the “academic” license but did not use definition language when adding the new term to the statute. This Section makes the needed change. Section 38: Subchapter VI of Chapter 11 of Title 24 was created by HB 392 of the 144th General Assembly. It contains a sunset provision stating that the Act will expire 2 years from date of enactment, if not re-enacted. The Act was not re-enacted. Section 1106(a)(13) of Title 24 gives the State Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene the authority to issue a volunteer license. This Section makes the needed change. Section 39: HB 359 of the 147th General Assembly revised the definition of the practice of physical therapy and in referencing the prior practice rules used the word “and” instead of “or” which was the language in the prior statute. This Section makes the needed change. Section 40: HB 357 of the 146th General Assembly amended § 5304 of Title 24 and referred to documents instead of the people holding the documents in § 5304(c). The regulations implementing this section refer to certificate holders and licensees and this change makes the provision consistent with the regulations and grammatically correct. This Section makes the needed change. Section 41: Chapter 81 of Title 25 was created by SB 273 of the 144th General Assembly and contains a reference to § 81-303(h) which has never existed. The correct reference should be to § 81-303(f). This Section makes the needed change. Section 42: HB 427 of the 145th General Assembly replaced the word “boxing” with “combative sports” in the title to Chapter 1 of Title 28 but did not replace it in § 929(2) of Title 28. Chapter 1 regulates combative sports so section 929(d) exclude events regulated by Chapter 1 from the catchall regulations for events not otherwise regulated. Since Chapter 1 covers all combative sports, not just boxing, § 929(2) of Title 28 should have been changed by HB 427. This Section makes the needed change. Section 43: SS1 for SB 28 of the 147th General Assembly allows a per diem employee of the General Assembly who receives a service pension to be exempt from the earnings limit while working for the General Assembly. In revising the statute, the Code Revisors noted punctuation errors. This Section makes the needed change. Section 44: SB 150 of the 147th General Assembly made changes to § 8059 of Title 29, which included repealing § 8059(e)(8). The reference to the repealed section remained in the revised § 8059(d)(3) and should be stricken because there is no such section. This Section makes the needed change. Section 45: HB 427 of the 145th General Assembly amended Chapter 1 of Title 28 by replacing the language “boxing, mixed martial arts” with “combative sports”. Included in this change was § 103 which directs the Division of Professional Regulation to promulgate and enforce rules and regulations relating to the regulation of combative sports and combative sports entertainment. Section 8735 of Title 29 also gives the Division of Professional Regulation this authority but it was not amended by HB 427. Adding “combative sports” to § 8735 of Title 29 of makes the sections consistent. This Section makes the needed change. Section 46: SB 140 of the 148th General Assembly amended § 6502 of Title 30 so that paragraph (b)(4) refers to "paragraphs a. and b." of the section. Section 6502 has "paragraphs a. and b." in sections (1), (2), and (3), making the reference in paragraph (b)(4) unclear. Because paragraph (b)(4) refers to "paragraphs a. and b." in all 3 of the sections, this Section makes the needed change by striking the language about "paragraphs a. and b.". Section 47: HB 205 of the 148th General Assembly revised Subchapter II of Chapter 27 of Title 16 and repealed the model form that was contained in § 2719. Section 2713 of Title 16 sets forth the manner of executing anatomical gifts, including an indication on a person’s driver’s license and is the correct reference. This Section changes the reference to § 2713 of Title 16. Section 48: SB 66 of the 148th General Assembly created The Delaware Neighborhood Conservation and Land Banking Act. Language requiring bidding information to be posted on a website was included in one amendment, but not included in the amendment that ultimately passed, however, this reference to bidding information remained. This Section makes the necessary change.AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4, TITLE 7, TITLE 10, TITLE 11, TITLE 14, TITLE 16, TITLE 18, TITLE 19, TITLE 21, TITLE 24, TITLE 25, TITLE 28, TITLE 29, TITLE 30, AND TITLE 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
SCR 24PassedLawsonThis concurrent resolution recognizes the month of May 2017 as “Healthy Vision Month” in the State of Delaware.RECOGNIZING THE MONTH OF MAY 2017 AS "HEALTHY VISION MONTH" IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE.

Legislation Passed By House of Representatives

BillCurrent StatusSponsorSynopsisTitle
HB 41 w/ SA 1SignedLynnIn the 148th General Assembly, the state employees' pension law was amended by House Bill No. 363, as amended by House Amendment No. 1 to House Bill No. 363, to permit specified peace officers to retire at 25 years without any reduction. Specified peace officers will pay a higher employee contribution, and those who continue to work past 25 years of service will have the multiplier used in the calculation of benefits increased for the years past 25 years. This Act adds Delaware State University Police officers to the definition of "specified peace officers."AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE STATE EMPLOYEES' PENSION PLAN.
SB 21 w/ SA 1SignedEnnis This bill vests the authority for regulating seed in Delaware with the Delaware Department of Agriculture and repeals any inconsistent act or parts of acts.AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 3 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.
SB 36SignedSimpsonThis Act more effectively and efficiently clarifies the enforcement authority of the Department of Agriculture regarding livestock at large. The offenses will now be civil penalties rather than criminal fines, expenses for impoundment will be reimbursed by the violator, and other sources of media can be used to give public notice of impoundment or sale of any livestock at large. This Act is intended to penalize repeat offenders that knowingly let their livestock run at large.AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 3 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO STRAY LIVESTOCK.
HA 1 to HB 123PassedSmykThis amendment makes a technical correction to the bill relating to electronic devices. 

Senate Committee Assignments

Committee
Corrections & Public Safety
Health, Children & Social Services
Judicial & Community Affairs

House Committee Assignments

Committee
Agriculture
Economic Development/Banking/Insurance/Commerce
Health & Human Development
Judiciary
Labor
Public Safety & Homeland Security

Senate Committee Report

No Senate Committee Report

House Committee Report

No House Committee Report

Senate Defeated Legislation

No Senate Defeated Legislation

House Defeated Legislation

No House Defeated Legislation

Nominations Enacted upon by the Senate

No Records