| HB 232 | Signed | Matthews | This Act would both raise the jurisdictional limit of the Justice of the Peace Court to $25,000 and allow Justice of the Peace to consider claims in excess of the jurisdictional limit where the underlying matter involves a commercial tenancy and possession of the rental unit is at issue. Currently, if a party is owed rent in excess of the jurisdictional limit they must either submit to the jurisdictional limit of the Court and forego the portion of the claim which exceeds the jurisdictional limit or bifurcate the case, filing both for possession in the Justice of the Peace Court and a debt action in a court of competent jurisdiction. While this Act would increase efficiency in terms of allowing one court to consider all aspects of the case it would in no way preclude a party from bifurcating the action if they chose to do so. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 AND TITLE 25 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO JURISDICTION OF THE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE COURT AND SUMMARY POSSESSION. |
| SB 169 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Hansen | This Act adopts the Uniform Civil Remedies for Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Act. This Act addresses an increasingly common form of abuse that can cause severe and often irreversible harm: the disclosure of private, sexually explicit images without consent. Much of the abuse is carried out electronically through internet websites, social media, email, or text messages, making it an interstate problem that is particularly suited for treatment by uniform state laws. This Act provides a uniform, comprehensive, clear, fair, and constitutionally sound definition of this harmful conduct and remedies for the harm it causes.
Some intimate images disclosed without consent were originally created with consent or obtained within a confidential relationship. In other cases, the images were originally created or obtained without consent through surreptitious recording devices or other forms of voyeurism, or through theft, computer hacking, coercion, bribery, fraud, or force.
Like many existing privacy laws, this Act applies only to sensitive content created or obtained under circumstances in which the individual had a reasonable expectation of privacy. Also similar to existing privacy laws, the Act includes limited exceptions for certain disclosures, including those made in the course of law enforcement, legal proceedings or education, medical treatment, or investigations of misconduct. This Act also includes an exception for disclosures relating to matters of public concern or public interest and disclosures reasonably intended to assist the victim. The Act further notes federal statutory limitations on the liability of providers and users of interactive computer services. The Act is narrowly drafted to avoid imposing liability on a discloser who lacks the requisite awareness of any of these elements: (1) that the image was created or obtained under circumstances in which the individual had a reasonable expectation of privacy or that the image was obtained through theft, bribery, false pretenses, voyeurism, or other wrongful acts, (2) that the individual shown in the image did not consent to the disclosure, or (3) that the individual shown was identifiable. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE UNIFORM CIVIL REMEDIES FOR UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF INTIMATE IMAGES ACT. |
| HB 335 | Signed | Bush | This Act amends Delaware’s probate code by adding a new section to provide restricted access to a decedent’s safe deposit box located in a financial institution and held in the decedent’s sole name, for the limited purpose of retrieving the decedent’s last will and declaration of last remains. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 12 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO RESTRICTED ACCESS TO SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES FOR RETRIEVAL OF DECEDENT’S LAST WILL AND DECLARATION OF LAST REMAINS. |
| HB 351 | Signed | Osienski | Prior to the pandemic occasioned by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), approximately 500 initial unemployment claims were filed in Delaware each week. Between March 15 and May 30, 2020, the Department of Labor received over 100,000 initial claims, bringing the average number of pandemic related unemployment, extended and new federal benefit claims to an average of 10,000 per week. Although it is too early to know the total amount of pandemic-related claims that will be appealed to the Board, the massive increase in overall claims is expected to generate a commensurate increase in the number of appeals.
Section 1 of this Act authorizes the expansion of the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and authorizes it to hold more hearings if and when necessary to hear unemployment insurance appeals and will sunset on June 30, 2021.
Section 2 of this Act defers extended benefits under state law until after the payment of pandemic emergency unemployment compensation, as is required by the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (Public Law 116-136), Section 2107(a)(5). | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 29 AND 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. |
| HB 353 | Signed | Osienski | This Act would ensure that employers are not charged for the benefit wages of employees who they had to terminate, furlough, or lay off due to the economic shutdown needed to respond to the COVID-19 public health crisis. The intention of the Department of Labor is to use other sources of federal funds to repay the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund for the COVID-19 related benefits paid to these claimants, instead of charging the employers. It is not the intention to increase taxes on employers, and for most employers, this Act will avoid a significant increase in their unemployment tax assessment rates from COVID-19 related charges. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 RELATING TO NON-CHARGING OF COVID-19 RELATED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS TO EMPLOYERS. |
