| SS 1 for SB 80 w/ SA 1, SA 2 | Signed | McDowell |
This Act replicates and extends to electric and natural gas utilities the same authority that has previously been granted to water utilities. This authority allows for the implementation of an interim rate mechanism already in existence for water utilities in an effort to reduce volatility and the costs to electric and natural gas customers.
By way of background, the General Assembly enacted § 314 of Title 26 of the Delaware Code in 2001 to provide an efficient interim rate mechanism to foster investments in needed infrastructure improvements for water utilities, including those mandated by government agencies. With this Act, the same provisions are now extended to public utilities providing electric and/or natural gas services. Doing so will help address concerns with the frequency and volatility of electricity and natural gas distribution rates, as well as the cost to customers of general rate proceedings. The Act requires annual audits and annual reconciliations and empowers Staff for the Public Service Commission and the Delaware Public Advocate to review such expenditures and raise concerns with the Commission should they exist. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 26 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES. |
| HB 306 w/ HA 2 | Signed | J. Johnson | This bill permits judges to utilize their discretion in determining whether a juvenile charged with possession of a firearm during commission of a felony should be transferred back to Family Court or remain in Superior Court. Prior to 2017, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony was only one of five criminal charges where judges had no discretion in determining whether a juvenile should be treated as a juvenile or an adult because the statute required a juvenile charged with these offenses to be prosecuted as an adult. House Bill 9, which was enacted last year, provided judges the discretion to determine how a juvenile should be treated for four other offenses. This is a continuation of that effort.
The bill simply changes the language from ‘shall’ to ‘may’ to allow judges to weigh the possibility that a juvenile may be better served in Delaware’s Family Court system through the amenability process already enumerated in Title 10 § 1010 and § 1011. This bill also raises the age from 15 to 16.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CERTAIN CRIMES. |
| HB 307 w/ HA 1 | Signed | J. Johnson | United States Supreme Court case law and scientific research has changed how we think about juvenile delinquency. We know now that an adolescent’s brain is not fully developed until his/her mid-twenties which makes juveniles especially prone to making poor choices. In the landmark case of Miller v. Alabama, wherein the United States Supreme Court prohibited mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles, the Court wrote: “Children are constitutionally different from adults for sentencing purposes.”
This proposed legislation would repeal and remove all minimum-mandatory sentencing schemes for juveniles adjudicated delinquent in Family Court because children are different than adults. Family Court judges and commissioners would still be able to impose a commitment to a DSCYF secure placement, but would now have the ability to exercise their judicial discretion to fashion an appropriate sentence for an individual juvenile.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 AND 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO JUVENILES. |
| HB 337 | Signed | K. Williams | This Act prohibits marriage of individuals under 18 years of age. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 13 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MARRIAGE OF MINORS. |
| HB 339 | Signed | J. Johnson | This bill allows children under the age of 18 to be transferred to the Department of Corrections only after adjudication and an imposition of a sentence of incarceration. Currently, Delaware permits juveniles charged with adult offenses to be held in default of bail in the custody of the Department of Corrections. The trend nationwide is to hold juveniles charged with adult offenses in juvenile facilities pretrial as these facilities provide educational and rehabilitative programs. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO RELEASE OF PERSONS ACCUSED OF CRIMES. |
| SB 171 | Signed | Henry | Individuals who are released from prison face many hurdles as they re-enter the community, including difficulty obtaining identification documents. Lacking identification imposes additional hurdles as these individuals attempt to find housing and employment. This Act requires the Department of Correction to provide individuals who are being released from the custody of the Department of Correction ("DOC"), after 6 months of incarceration following conviction, with a Delaware Personal Credential Card ("Personal Credential"). An individual may present the Personal Credential to receive one free certified copy of the individual's birth certificate and one identification card or driver's license, if otherwise eligible to receive those documents.
This Act builds on the pilot that has been in place since 2012, when the DOC partnered with the Division of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Health and Social Services to obtain identification for individuals who volunteer to participate in the I-ADAPT re-entry program. Currently, individuals in I-ADAPT receive a Prisoner Re-Entry card, valid for 1 year, that can be used to obtain to obtain a free copy of their birth certificate, if they were born in Delaware, and a free identification card, if otherwise eligible to receive one. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16, TITLE 21, AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FREE IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS BEING RELEASED FROM PRISON. |
| SB 172 w/ SA 1 + HA 2 | Signed | Sokola | This bill will increase the public transparency of education funding information by directing the Department of Education to:
1. Establish, in collaboration with stakeholders, a statewide approach for districts and charter schools for reporting expenditures at the school level and the school’s share of central office expenditures so that per-pupil expenditure data is consistent and comparable across the State.
2. Report per-pupil expenditure data with key information that provide context on differences in funding such as school type, student demographics, and student outcomes.
3. Provide optional trainings to increase understanding of the data.
As a result, this bill is intended to enable all taxpayers, parents, and schools to understand their school spending and resources in order to make data-driven decisions for students.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCHOOL FUNDING TRANSPARENCY. |
| HCR 78 | Passed | Matthews | This Concurrent Resolution supports the Wait Until Eighth Initiative which promotes awareness regarding risks associatied with smartphone use in young children. | RECOGNIZING THAT DELAWARE PARENTS SHOULD WAIT UNTIL THEIR CHILDREN ARE IN EIGHTH GRADE BEFORE PROVIDING THEM SMARTPHONES. |
| SA 1 to SS 1 for SB 80 | Passed | McDowell | This amendment clarifies the approval process for DSIC charges, making it clear such charges are subject to the PSC oversight and audit process. In addition, the amendment provides that customers not principally represented by the Delaware Public Advocate will also receive notice of DSIC filings. The amendment also prohibits an electric or gas utility serving over 100,000 customers from otherwise filing an electric distribution rate case until at least January 1, 2020, if the utility utilizes the DSIC mechanism established by this legislation. Finally, the amendment includes an expiration/sunset provision, thus triggering a review by the General Assembly and Governor of the effectiveness of the legislation.
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| SA 2 to SS 1 for SB 80 | Passed | McDowell | This amendment makes a technical correction to ensure there is no double counting of costs through any potential settlement of rate cases and clarifies proposed rate case filings.
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| HCR 82 | Passed | Wilson | This resolution recognizes April 30th - May 5th, 2018 as Auctioneer Week in Delaware. | RECOGNIZING APRIL 30TH - MAY 5TH, 2018 AS AUCTIONEER WEEK IN DELAWARE. |
| HCR 83 | Passed | Briggs King | This concurrent resolution proclaims May 2018 as " Community Action Month" in the State of Delaware. | PROCLAIMING MAY 2018 AS "COMMUNITY ACTION MONTH" IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE. |
| SS 1 for SB 169 | Signed | Poore | This Act makes a technical correction to SB 169 by changing the designations of the new statutes and incorporates Senate Amendment No. 1 to Senate Bill No. 169. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SEXUAL OFFENSES AND SEXUAL RELATIONS IN A DETENTION FACILITY. |
| SA 1 to SB 172 | Passed | Sokola | This Amendment replaces the term "tuition" with "fees for student services" as an excluded expense category. The Amendment also adds Educators and the Delaware State Education Association and the Governor's Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens as representatives that must be involved in developing the standardized statewide approach. | |
