| SB 51 | Signed | Hocker | The Town Council for the Town of Millsboro determined that the way they award contracts should be improved. The amount that initiates the process is increased from $20,000 to $50,000 to better reflect the current cost of ordinary purchases that the Town must make. This Act also allows the Town of Millsboro to have the ability to award a contract to a bidder other than the lowest bidder while also laying out the factors that the Town Council must use in determining who is a responsive and responsible bidder in accordance with their bid vetting process. | AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF MILLSBORO RELATING TO CONTRACTS. |
| SB 66 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Paradee | This Act enables the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to employ Seasonal Patrol Officers without conferring on the seasonal patrol officers all the powers of investigation, detention, and arrest conferred by law on peace officers or constables under § 4701(a)(8) of Title 7. Seasonal patrol officers will assist the Department's park rangers and have limited powers to enforce the Division of Parks and Recreation's rules and regulations.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE EMPLOYMENT OF ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL TO ENFORCE THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL'S DIVISION OF PARKS AND RECREATION'S RULES AND REGULATIONS. |
| HB 131 | Signed | Viola | This bill reduces the required number of meetings that the Advisory Council on Video Lottery Planning and the Advisory Council on Charitable Gaming Planning must hold each calendar year and authorizes the Lottery Director to add certain sports lottery players to an involuntary exclusion list by order. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LOTTERIES. |
| SB 41 | Signed | Brown | This Act establishes that the age of offense and not the age of arrest determines jurisdiction for a person facing charges. Currently, if a person commits a delinquent act before age 18 but is arrested after age 18, the offense is automatically heard before the adult court of jurisdiction. See Howard v. State, 612 A.2d 158 (Del. 1992) (Table).
This Act reverses this procedure so that if the offense occurs before the age of 18 and the arrest is after a person’s 18th birthday, but before their 21st birthday, the Family Court will have jurisdiction. However, this Act makes clear that this Act does not preclude prosecuting a person to whom the Act applies as an adult, as permitted in Title 10. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO JUVENILE DELINQUENCY. |
| HB 139 | Signed | K. Johnson | This Act will enable New Castle County to collect delinquent sewer service charges under the procedures established by Chapter 87 of Title 9 for the collection of delinquent county taxes. Under the existing method for New Castle County established by Chapter 22, Subchapter II (Monition Method of Sale in New Castle County), of Title 9 for the collection of delinquent sewer service charges, a jury trial must be held if the property owner or an interested party submits an affidavit of defense denying the service charges in whole or in part. In addition, under Section 2211 of Title 9, County Council must first levy the delinquent sewer service charges as an assessment prior to the institution of any legal proceedings. This Act removes the existing sewer monition method of sale in its entirety and will enable New Castle County to collect delinquent sewer service charges in the same manner as taxes are collected under the less burdensome and more efficient monition method of sale established by Chapter 87 of Title 9. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO USE BY NEW CASTLE COUNTY OF THE MONITION METHOD OF SALE FOR THE COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT TAXES FOR THE COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT SEWER SERVICE CHARGES. |
| SB 44 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Sturgeon | This Act makes the possession or consumption of alcohol by an individual under 21 years of age a civil offense. This Act also prohibits including information concerning a civil violation of the underage possession or consumption law on an individual’s certified criminal record. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO UNDERAGE POSSESSION OR CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL. |
| HB 74 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Lynn | This bill enables a key component of the Take Care Delaware program, a partnership between law enforcement and schools to adopt a trauma-informed approach to children who have been identified at the scene of a traumatic event. The Take Care Delaware program, which will start as a pilot, operates by a police officer or emergency-care provider alerting a child’s school about the child’s presence at a traumatic event that the police officer or emergency-care provider responded to. In order to avoid violations of the State Bureau of Investigation’s dissemination statute and the Victim’s Bill of Rights in Title 11, this bill creates a narrow exception to both statutes that allows police officers and emergency-care providers to send the child’s name to their school district or charter school so that the child’s teachers can ensure the child is handled in a trauma-informed way. The Take Care Delaware program is based on the national “Handle With Care” model and includes training and other best practices for law enforcement and schools to prevent and mitigate the negative impact of childhood exposure to trauma. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE REGARDING DISSEMINATION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION. |
| SB 110 | Signed | Lockman | The Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee approved a project to work with the Governor's Office throughout 2018 and 2019 to identify antiquated boards, commissions, and councils that need statutory updates or outright repeals. The Architectural Accessibility Board was identified as needing updates to make it easier to fill vacancies and generally update language to modern legislative drafting standards.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE ARCHITECTURAL ACCESSIBILITY BOARD. |
| SS 1 for SB 14 | Signed | McDowell | This Act clarifies that the Public Advocate may appear before any federal or State court or federal or State administrative body in matters involving public utility rates, services, and practices of public utilities. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 14 differs from Senate Bill No. 14 by allowing the Public Advocate to provide public comment before only State regulatory agencies and commissions and simplifying the language regarding the hiring of attorneys, as needed.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DIVISION OF THE PUBLIC ADVOCATE. |
| HB 163 w/ HA 2 | Signed | Carson | Individuals who volunteer their services through stand-alone EMS companies have been a valuable part of public safety to the citizens of the State of Delaware. To try to bolster the ranks of these volunteers, this bill exempts anyone applying for membership of a volunteer EMS company from paying the cost of a background check done by the State of Delaware Bureau of Identification. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EMS COMPANY VOLUNTEERS. |
| HS 1 for HB 92 w/ HA 1 | Signed | K. Williams | This bill creates an Expanded Learning Opportunities Subcommittee as part of the Interagency Resource Management Committee (IRMC) to provide research, recommendations, and coordination regarding before and after school programs and summer learning opportunities for school-age children. The chairperson of the subcommittee is also added to the Interagency Resource Management Committee as a non-voting member. The creation of an Expanded Learning Opportunities Subcommittee was one of the primary recommendations of the Statewide Afterschool Initiative Task Force, which was created by the 148th General Assembly. The Task Force felt that the design and delivery of services would be enhanced by a standing body tasked with tracking developments across the country and in the State, with a view towards encouraging the development of programs and funding models that maximize positive outcomes. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. |
| SB 137 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Ennis | This Act creates the crimes of unlawful possession of a drug masking product, punishable as a class A misdemeanor, and unlawful distribution, delivery, or sale of a drug masking product, punishable as a class E felony. Drug masking products are designed to be added to human urine or human hair to defraud alcohol or drug urine screening tests. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE UNLAWFUL POSSESSION, DISTRIBUTION, DELIVERY, OR SALE OF DRUG MASKING PRODUCTS. |
| HB 191 | Signed | Griffith | This Act increases the civil jurisdictional limit for the Court of Common Pleas from $50,000 to $75,000, as recommended by the Jurisdiction Improvement Committee established by the Delaware Supreme Court Order of November 7, 2017. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CIVIL JURISDICTION. |
| SB 142 | Signed | McBride | This Act prohibits a new adult entertainment establishment or adult-oriented retail establishment from operating in a building in which an adult entertainment establishment or adult-oriented retail establishment previously operated.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ADULT ESTABLISHMENTS. |
| HB 207 | Signed | Heffernan | This Act expands the applicability of the Delaware Brownfields Development Program, Subchapter II, Chapter 91 of Title 7, by providing protection from liability for releases of regulated substances from underground storage tanks and aboveground storage tanks to any person approved as a Brownfields Developer who enters into a Brownfields Development Agreement, and otherwise meets the requirements of the Brownfields Development Program. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO UNDERGROUND AND ABOVEGROUND STORAGE TANKS. |
| SB 147 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Hansen | This Act allows the Department of Safety and Homeland Security to share accident reports and the data in the reports with the Department of Transportation. This Act also allows the Department of Transportation to provide certain de-identified data from accident reports to limited requestors.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ACCIDENT STATISTICS AND REPORTS. |
| SB 148 w/ SA 1, SA 2 | Signed | Lockman | This Act creates the Redding Consortium for Educational Equity ("Consortium"), which replaces the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission ("WEIC"). The Consortium has multiple purposes. First, it will recommend policies and practices to the Governor, General Assembly, and Secretary of Education regarding educational equity and educational outcomes in the City of Wilmington and northern New Castle County. Second, the Consortium will monitor educational progress and outcomes for students in the City of Wilmington and for all low-income, English learners and at-risk students in northern New Castle County and report on the same. Third, the Consortium will make recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly regarding improvement in public education in the City of Wilmington and northern New Castle County. Fourth, it will evaluate the need for additional or alternative educational facilities in the City of Wilmington. Fifth, it will develop policy proposals to be introduced through legislation to improve teaching and learning in district and charter schools in the City of Wilmington and northern New Castle County. Sixth, it will develop a proposal for redistricting in the City of Wilmington and northern New Castle County. Seventh, it will research the viability of the New Castle County Tax District and Tax Pool. The Act specifies who will be appointed to the Consortium and how it will be staffed. Its first meeting must occur on or before September 1, 2019. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. |
| HB 222 w/ HA 1, HA 3 | Signed | Chukwuocha | This Act allows the State Board of Education to change or alter boundaries of reorganized school districts. It allows the State Board of Education to do so based upon redistricting recommendations from the newly formed Redding Consortium for Educational Equity ("Consortium"). It requires the Consortium to provide its recommendations through a transition, resource, and implementation plan for redistricting, the contents of which are specified in the Act. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO REORGANIZATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS. |
| HB 230 | Signed | Bennett | This Act allows the Delaware Health Information Network ("DHIN") to enter into an appropriate agreement with the State Council for Persons with Disabilities (“SCPD”) to provide access to all claims data reported to the Delaware Health Care Claims Database. The SCPD’s Brain Injury Committee (“BIC”) has been discussing the BIC’s need for data with the DHIN for over a year and the DHIN and the SCPD found that utilizing existing data collection systems is more cost-effective and efficient than setting up a separate registry for Delaware’s Traumatic Brain Injury (“TBI”) patients.
Access to current and accurate TBI data from the Delaware Health Care Claims Database will assist the SCPD to do the following:
1. Enhance the ability to identify scope of service needs and gaps in services.
2. Enhance the ability to leverage federal funds because past grant opportunities were denied, in part, because of a lack of reliable and useful Delaware data.
3. Incorporate the use of the data into research studies on the effectiveness of services provided, return on efforts, and cost-effectiveness. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE HEALTH CARE CLAIMS DATABASE. |
| HB 231 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Carson | This Act authorizes the Department of Agriculture to impose civil penalties consistent with the amounts imposed in other states when livestock have been found to have run at large on the public highways or on unenclosed land within the State. This Act adds a provision as exists in the Delaware False Claims Act, 6 Del. C §1204(f), allowing for the enforcement as judgments of administrative orders that are final and no longer subject to judicial review. Lastly, the Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 3 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LIVESTOCK AT LARGE. |
| SB 162 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Hocker | This Act amends the Charter of Millville to give the Town Council the authority to impose and collect a lodging tax. | AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF MILLVILLE RELATING TO THE POWER TO IMPOSE AND COLLECT A LODGING TAX. |
| HB 234 | Signed | Heffernan | This Act gives the Delaware Secretary of State the authority to promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of this Act. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT. |
| HB 235 w/ HA 3 | Signed | Bush | This Act will prohibit political subdivisions of this State from requiring real estate licensees to obtain an additional business license or pay taxes in order to list property for sellers or represent buyers for the purchase of real estate. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO REAL ESTATE SERVICES, BROKERS, ASSOCIATE BROKERS, AND SALESPERSONS. |
| SB 168 | Signed | Ennis | This Act allows for the transfer of a particular parcel of land in Smyrna along Route 13. In the 147th General Assembly, the State was allowed to transfer this parcel of land, where a fire tower once stood, to the Town of Smyrna, but the land could only ever be used for a public purpose. The parcel in question is surrounded on both sides by parcels owned by the same private citizen. The Town and the private citizen wish to exchange their respective parcels so that the private citizen’s two parcels are thereafter contiguous. Because the land reverts to the ownership of the State if it ever stops being used for a public purpose, the Town cannot deed the land to the private individual. Therefore, this Act allows the State to receive the parcel from the Town and to then re-convey it to the Town without the requirement that it be forever used for a public purpose. The reconveyance will, however, allow the State to put an antenna on any water tower that the Town may build on the parcel or an adjacent parcel. | AN ACT TO TRANSFER LAND BETWEEN THE TOWN OF SMYRNA AND THE STATE OF DELAWARE. |
| SB 172 | Signed | McDowell | This Bill is a housekeeping measure to correct the name of the Delaware Technical and Community College as was intended in earlier legislation. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DELAWARE TECHNICAL AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE. |
| HB 246 | Signed | Longhurst | This bill adds the intentional touching of another person with semen to the definition of sexual contact. By doing so, the act of a person intentionally touching another person with semen without consent becomes the crime of unlawful sexual contact third degree. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SEXUAL OFFENSES. |
| HB 247 | Signed | Michael Smith | This bill removes the 3 year sunset provision that was part of House Bill No. 53, as amended, enacted on May 10, 2018 of the 149th General Assembly. This will allow the on-going use of certain ground-based and hand-held sparklers. | AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 242, VOLUME 81 OF THE LAWS OF DELAWARE RELATING TO SELLING OR POSSESSING FIREWORKS; EXCEPTIONS. |
| SB 175 w/ SA 1 | Signed | McDowell | Currently, the SEED program allows students a maximum of 6 semesters to complete an Associate Degree. This Bill allows SEED eligible students who complete their Associate Degree in fewer than 6 semesters to apply the remaining semesters of the grant toward a Bachelor’s Degree at either the University of Delaware or Delaware Technical and Community College. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 RELATING TO ELIGIBILITY FOR SEED GRANTS. |
