| SB 120 | Signed | Sturgeon | This Act authorizes the Division of Motor Vehicles to issue migratory shorebird special registration plates. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIAL REGISTRATION PLATES TO SUPPORT MIGRATORY SHOREBIRDS. |
| HB 237 | Signed | Q. Johnson | This Act eliminates the requirement that movie theaters selling alcohol have video cameras in each auditorium and the requirement that an employee must pass through each auditorium during a movie showing. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS. |
| HB 269 | Signed | Gray | Under the current language of Section 2.301, it is unclear what constitutes a "term" when computing term limits and determining a potential candidate's eligibility when they have previously filled a vacancy on the Council. By adding the proposed language, there will be a clear standard for determining whether a potential candidate has exceeded the two-term limit imposed by the Charter. | AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF OCEAN VIEW RELATING TO COUNCIL TERMS OF OFFICE. |
| SB 210 | Signed | Lopez | This Act amends the Charter of Lewes to give the City Council the authority to impose and collect a lodging tax.
This Act requires a two-thirds majority because it revises a municipal charter. | AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF LEWES RELATING TO THE POWER TO IMPOSE AND COLLECT A LODGING TAX. |
| HB 297 | Signed | D. Short | This Act amends the City of Seaford's Charter (“Charter”) as follows:
1. In Section 1, to make clear that the existing exceptions to the general requirement of advertising and competitive bidding requirements are meant to excluded from both the advertising and competitive bidding requirements established in the Charter. In addition, to create a new exception to the general requirement of advertising and competitive bidding for a purchase related to a Department of Public Works or Department of Electric project in the aggregate amount of not more than $50,000. Furthermore, to provide that an advertisement for bid is not required for a purchase related to a Department of Public Works or Department of Electric project in the aggregate amount of $50,000 to $99,999. For projects that do not require an advertisement for bid, the Director of the Department of Public Works or the Department of Electric, as applicable, shall solicit competitive, written proposals from a minimum of 3 contractors. Finally, purchases related to a Department of Public Works or Department of Electric project with an aggregate amount of $100,000 or greater continue to generally require competitive bidding and advertisement of bid.
2. In Section 2, to increase the City’s borrowing limit from $2 million to $3 million and make clear that a Councilman is not personally liable for a note issued under Section 37 of the Charter.
3. Throughout the Act, to make technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including as it relates to the drafting of lists, numbers, and amounts of money.
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a municipal charter. | AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF SEAFORD RELATING TO FISCAL PROCEDURES. |
| HB 331 | Signed | D. Short | This bill deletes an unnecessary restriction relating to amending the Sussex County budget. No similar provision is applicable to the Kent or New Castle County budget process. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SUSSEX COUNTY GOVERNMENT. |
| HB 334 | Signed | Bush | Section 1 of the Act addresses statutes under Chapter 33 of Title 12 and (i) amends section 3330 by adding subsections (c) and (d)—to make explicit in subsection (a) of section 3330 the applicability dates that were intended to be carried over from the applicability dates of the pre-2018 version of section 213 of Title 12 when, in 2018, section 213 was re-codified as subsection (a) of section 3330, and to provide a corresponding clarification of the applicability dates of subsection (b) of section 3330; (ii) amends section 3338 to specify that, consistent with the Uniform Trust Code, when a trustor is a party to a nonjudicial settlement agreement, then unless the transfer in trust is an incomplete gift for federal gift tax purposes, the trustor may not represent and bind any beneficiary other than the trustor, and—if the nonjudicial settlement agreement alters any beneficial interest in the trust—all of the trust’s beneficiaries must be parties to the agreement; (iii) amends section 3342 to parallel the changes to section 3338 under this Act—that is, to specify that, consistent with the Uniform Trust Code, unless the transfer in trust is an incomplete gift for federal gift tax purposes, a trustor, a guardian of a trustor, or an agent of a trustor under a power of attorney may not represent and bind any beneficiary other than the trustor with respect to a modification under section 3342, and to make it more clear that all of the trust’s beneficiaries must be parties to the modification; and (iv) amends the provisions of section 3343, to make subsection (a) more clear, to make section 3343’s provisions with respect to section 3313A more clear, to add within new subsection (c)(2) of section 3343 a provision allowing a trustee now excluded from exercising certain powers to be released with respect to the past exercise of such powers as though such trustee were being removed, and by adding a provision to section 3343 that an existing trustee is entitled to 30 days’ notice before changes under section 3343 become effective with respect to the existing trustee’s duties, unless the existing trustee waives the notice period.
Section 2 of the Act addresses statutes under Chapter 35 of Title 12 and (i) removes a superfluous word in section 3528; and (ii) amends subsection (a)(2) of section 3585 to make it clear that the report procedure described in that subsection may be used while the trustee is in the process of resigning (and not just after completion of the act of resignation or the effective date of a resignation)—but also conditions the use of the procedure upon the resigning or resigned trustee’s transferring assets to the appropriate successor in interest within a reasonable period of time after expiration of the period within which interested parties may file an action against the trustee under subsection (a)(2), and further provides in subsection (e) that certain actions are not barred against a trustee for administration of assets after the expiration of periods under section 3585.
Section 3 of the Act amends Chapter 47 of Title 12 (the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act) to make it clear within section 4703 that sustainable investment strategies aligning with the charitable purposes of the institution are authorized in managing the institution’s funds (thereby corresponding to recent similar amendments to sections 3302 and 3303 of Title 12).
Section 4 of the Act provides effective dates. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 12 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DECEDENTS’ ESTATES AND FIDUCIARY RELATIONS. |
| SB 236 | Signed | Lopez | This Act amends the Charter of Dewey Beach to give the Town Commissioners the authority to impose and collect a lodging tax. The new lodging tax is distinct from the existing accommodations tax. A rental property may be subject to either the accommodations tax or the lodging tax, but not both. In addition, the lodging tax may not be imposed before April 1, 2021, the initial rate may not exceed 1.5%, and the rate may not be increased by no more than .5% annually until the maximum rate, 3%, is reached.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a charter issued to a municipal corporation.
| AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF DEWEY BEACH RELATING TO THE POWER TO IMPOSE AND COLLECT A LODGING TAX. |
| SB 246 | Signed | Poore | Presently, a legal process does not exist for a Delaware hospital to seek the appointment of a guardian for a non-acute patient who has been a patient at the hospital for an extended period, after having been abandoned by family. This bill authorizes a hospital to petition for a court-appointed guardian for such a patient after providing two notices to the patient, the patient's surrogate, or the patient's family if there is no surrogate, of the need to seek a guardian for the patient. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY AND OBLIGATIONS OF HEALTH-CARE PROVIDERS FOR NON-ACUTE PATIENTS. |
| HB 355 | Signed | K. Johnson | This Act creates the 17-person Behavioral Health Planning and Advisory Council to the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health and ensures the Council will satisfy the requirements of Title XIX of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x-4(a)). The Act designates the Council as Delaware’s State Mental Health Planning Council under Title XIX of the Public Health Services Act (42 U.S.C. 300x). The Act also makes clear that the Council is a public body for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES. |
| HB 350 | Signed | Chukwuocha | This Act creates the crime of Aggravated Strangulation. A person is guilty of Aggravated Strangulation if the person is a law-enforcement officer, and while acting within the person’s official capacity as a law-enforcement officer, knowingly or intentionally uses a chokehold on another person. Under this Act, a chokehold is only justifiable when the person reasonably believes deadly force is warranted in order to protect the life of a civilian or law-enforcement officer. Aggravated Strangulation is a Class D felony unless the law-enforcement officer using a chokehold causes serious physical injury or death to another person thereby elevating the crime to a Class C felony. This Act also makes clear that if a person is charged under this section, such a charge shall not preclude or limit the State or any other prosecuting agency from bringing other criminal charges against the person. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CHOKEHOLDS. |
| SB 249 | Signed | Paradee | This Act extends the Clean Air Act Title V Operating Permit Program annual fees for facilities in Delaware, which have historically expired and been reauthorized by the General Assembly every three years. Existing statutory authorization to collect fees sunsets December 31, 2020. This legislation updates the fee assessments based on the work of the Title V Operating Permit Program Advisory Committee and makes additional clarifying updates to the fee provisions. For 2021-2023, the total fee will be comprised of a base fee, user fee, and a program fee. Base fees are based on the number of staff hours spent on the source’s permitting, compliance, and enforcement activities, while the user fee is based on the source’s air emissions. The program fee will be assessed based on the total base and user fees. A fee credit implemented to reduce a prior fund balance is allowed to sunset as scheduled. This Act authorizes the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to collect Title V annual fees for calendar years 2021 through 2023 at which point the authority sunsets and would need to be reauthorized. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE CLEAN AIR ACT TITLE V OPERATING PERMIT PROGRAM. |
