| HB 197 | Signed | Gray | This bill modernizes the fees agents who sell Delaware State Park permits and Surf Fishing Vehicle permits may now impose. Licensing agents may now add a service charge of up to $2.50 for a state park permit, and a service charge of up to $5.00 for a surf fishing vehicle permit. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SERVICE CHARGES OF LICENSING AGENTS. |
| SB 144 w/ SA 1 + HA 2 | Signed | Pinkney | This Act modernizes the hate crime statute and consolidates related offenses together with the hate crime statute in the Criminal Code.
Changes to the hate crime statute include:
(1) That the hate crime be motivated, in whole or in part, on a bias. This reflects instances where a hate crime is committed but is only motivated in part by hate in addition to another component.
(2) That the focus be on the defendant’s belief or perception. Currently our law focuses on the victim’s actual race, gender, religion, or other immutable characteristic, rather than focusing on the state of mind of the defendant. This change refocuses the inquiry on the defendant’s state of mind, and specifically, what the defendant believes to be true at the time the act was committed.
(3) Prohibiting any crime committed in whole or in part on a belief or perception of an immutable characteristic of a group. This Act adds “group” to make clear that a hate crime can be committed because of the hate towards a group at large.
In addition, this Act does the following:
(1) Combines and updates the existing desecration and desecration of a burial place sections maintaining the existing penalties.
(2) Establishes a right of civil remedies to allow individuals to seek relief from hate crime, desecration, and religious symbol burning related injury.
(3) Requires law enforcement to report violations and investigations of violations of hate crimes to the Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC HEALTH, ORDER, AND DECENCY. |
| HB 279 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Bush | This Act establishes certification and continuing education requirements for central service technicians working in hospitals and freestanding surgical centers. Central service technicians are an important part of the healthcare team responsible for decontaminating, inspecting, assembling, disassembling, packaging, and sterilizing reusable surgical instruments and equipment. This Act requires individuals who perform the tasks of a central service technician to pass a nationally accredited examination and to hold either a certified registered central service technician credential or certified sterile processing and distribution technician credential within 18 months of hire. This Act grandfathers anyone working as a central service technician in a health care facility on or before January 1, 2023. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CERTIFICATION OF CENTRAL SERVICE TECHNICIANS. |
| HS 1 for HB 302 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Baumbach | House Bill No. 302 clarifies that the creation or possession of an altered or fake vaccination document is forgery in the second degree. This crime includes electronic vaccination documents because the existing definition of "written instrument" under § 863 of Title 11 includes electronic equivalents. This Act does not address electronic vaccination records because the existing crime of misusing computer system information, § 935 of Title 11, clearly covers tampering with computer records, which includes vaccination records.
House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 302 revises the language describing the altered or fake vaccination document so it cannot be read as requiring each of the details listed.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FORGERY OF PROOF OF VACCINATION. |
| HB 313 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Collins | This Act amends the Millsboro Charter to require the town auditor to make and deliver the annual audit report to the Town Council by the date of the Council's regular meeting in January after the end of the fiscal year.
If the Town receives 100% principal loan forgiveness from a federal, state, or local government, a special election is not required for the project.
Additionally any portion of principal forgiveness value granted shall not count toward the Town's aggregate limit of any borrowing authorization previously approved by a special election vote for the proposed loan. | AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF MILLSBORO RELATING TO THE POWER TO BORROW MONEY AND ISSUE BONDS, AND ANNUAL AUDIT. |
| HB 329 | Signed | Lynn | This bill updates the State Bureau of Identification’s definition of “criminal justice agency” in two ways. First, by adding the Division of Management Support Services in the Department of Services for Children, Youth & Their Families to reflect the shift in some criminal justice functions to that Division from the Division of Family Services. Second, by clarifying that the Office of the Child Advocate is a criminal justice agency. The Office of the Child Advocate provides legal representation to children in foster care, and the Investigation Coordinator, located within the Office of the Child Advocate, is a member of the criminal multidisciplinary response to child abuse and neglect. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE STATE BUREAU OF IDENTIFICATION. |
| HB 334 w/ HA 2 + SA 1 | Signed | Bentz | This bill permits health-care providers who are licensed in a state other than Delaware to deliver health-care services by telehealth and telemedicine only if a health-care provider-patient relationship has been established in accordance with § 6003 of Title 24. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 RELATING TO PRACTICE BY TELEHEALTH AND TELEMEDICINE. |
| HB 354 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Morrison | This Act amends Delaware’s Whistleblower Protection Act to preclude an employer from reporting or threatening to report an employee’s citizenship or immigration status or a family members citizenship or immigration status to a federal, state, or local agency, in response to the employee engaging in a protected activity under Delaware’s Whistleblower Act. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DELAWARE’S WHISTLEBLOWERS PROTECTION ACT. |
| HB 339 w/ HA 1, HA 2 | Signed | Bush | This Act provides protection to homeowners from sellers that may have misled buyers (or their settlement attorneys) regarding a criminal judgment that attached to real property. It prevents innocent owners from potentially becoming a second victim by having a prior owner’s lien attach for more than 7 years after the settlement. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 10 AND 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE REAL PROPERTY LIEN OF CRIMINAL-RELATED JUDGMENTS. |
| HB 368 | Signed | Wilson-Anton | This Act deletes from the Delaware Code a derogatory and highly offensive term for Italian-, Spanish-, and Portuguese-American immigrants. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FIREWORKS. |
| SB 261 | Signed | Ennis | This act streamlines the appointment process for the Delaware Nutrient Management Commission, expands the definition of dairy farmer to include all cattlemen, consolidates the appointment authorities, and simplifies the number of representatives. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 3 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT. |
| SB 268 | Signed | Gay | This Act reflects the Administrative Office of the Courts’ current managerial authority and budgetary control over the Judicial Information Center, the Office of State Court Collections Enforcement, and the law libraries. Title 10 § 1941 is repealed in its entirety as the use of the law libraries is no longer limited solely to judges. Spaces have been modernized to accommodate use by lawyers, self-represented litigants, and members of the public to conduct legal research and access other legal resources. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF UNITS WITHIN THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS. |
| SB 271 | Signed | Gay | The Justice of the Peace Court actively discourages the acceptance of warrants from citizens, yet the statute as it currently stands may be interpreted to allow such warrants. This Act abolishes citizen warrants in the Justice of the Peace Court and creates a requirement that all warrants must issue only by information sworn to by a law-enforcement officer.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND THE ISSUANCE OF ARREST WARRANTS. |
| HS 1 for HB 206 w/ HA 1 | Signed | K. Williams | This bill requires criminal background checks for any current or prospective employee, contractor, and volunteer of the Division of Health and Social Services (DHSS) who visits children in their homes and in the community and has regular, direct access to children or adolescents under the age of 18. The background check includes fingerprinting for Delaware and national background checks as well as a check of the Child Protection Registry. An individual who has a disqualifying criminal conviction or is on the Child Protection Registry at Level III or IV may not be an employee, contractor, or volunteer in any capacity that involves visiting children in their homes or the community or having regular, direct access to children. DHSS, if it chooses, may use its Background Check Center, which processes background checks for individuals working in home-care and long-term care facilities.
It differs from the original bill in that it permits DHSS to use its Background Check Center to accomplish these additional background checks, specifies Child Protection Registry status that is disqualifying, and makes other minor technical changes. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AND VOLUNTEERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES. |
| SB 13 w/ SA 1, SA 1 to SA 1 + HA 1 | Signed | Pinkney | This Act creates a “Ban the Box” policy for postsecondary institutions in the state. “Ban the Box” or “Beyond the Box” policies refer to the removal of questions about one’s criminal conviction history on a college or job application. Research shows that questions about criminal conviction history deter individuals from applying to an institution and increase the likelihood of rejection, with a disproportionate effect on people of color.
This Act promotes diversity by prohibiting academic institutions from inquiring into an applicant’s criminal conviction history, with limited exceptions for inquiries into certain types of offenses such as stalking and sexual assault. If the institution elects to deny an applicant because of a conviction for such an offense, it must disclose that fact to the applicant. After an applicant has been admitted, an institution may inquire into the applicant’s criminal conviction history for the limited purposes of offering counseling and making decisions concerning the applicant’s participation in campus life.
In addition, the Act requires the Department of Education to compile and complete an annual report on admissions from each academic institution, including the race and gender of the applicants and of the accepted students.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EDUCATION. |
| HB 408 | Signed | Chukwuocha | This Act would add designation that the holder is a veteran to the Delaware Driver License or Identification Card upon request. Adding designation that the holder is a veteran to a Driver License or Identification Card would eliminate the need for a veteran to carry a separate card or official discharge forms in order to prove their service. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO INDICATING THE HOLDER IS A VETERAN ON DRIVER LICENSES AND NONDRIVER IDENTIFICATION CARDS. |
| HB 425 w/ HA 3 | Signed | Schwartzkopf | This bill makes needed changes to the Lyme Disease Oversight Board by adding 2 members including an infectious disease epidemiologist and a licensed veterinarian or entomology specialist. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE LYME DISEASE OVERSIGHT BOARD. |
| HB 439 | Signed | Dorsey Walker | This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's ("JLOSC") review of the Water Infrastructure Advisory Council ("WIAC"). This Act clarifies quorum, removes a prohibition against WIAC members voting when attending a meeting virtually, and authorizes WIAC to adopt procedural rules to carry out its functions. 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 RELATING TO THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ADVISORY COUNCIL. |
| SB 308 w/ SA 1 + HA 2 | Signed | Mantzavinos | This bill brings Delaware into conformity with national standards on fire safety dampers and smoke dampers. It requires all buildings of public accommodation and shared residential buildings to conform to standards that will ensure life-saving alarms and fire dampening efforts are safe and up to nationally recognized standards. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FIRE-RESISTANCE-RELATED CONSTRUCTION. |
| HB 459 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Shupe | This Act amends the Charter of the Town of Ellendale in the following ways:
1. Replaces the legal description in the Charter, instead referring to the legal description found in the Sussex County Recorder of Deeds.
2. Some technical corrections and updates to antiquated language.
3. Clarifies if a municipal election falls on January 1st, the election will be held on the Second Saturday of January.
4. Clarifies public notice requirements for Special Meetings of the Town Council.
5. Clarifies that in the absence of an ordinance regarding Quorum requirements, Mason’s Rules of Order shall apply.
6. Clarifies that for a Councilmember to lose their seat, the crime being committed must be a felony
7. Public Notice of Council Meetings is to be posted at least one hour prior to the start of the meeting.
8. Removes from the Collection of Town Taxes from the Clerk’s duties, and assigns those duties instead to a Collector of Taxes, as an alternative to the Town Treasurer.
9. In determining late fees, the Town will rely on a fee schedule, rather than 1% per centum per month.
10. Removes certain powers given to the Town by the Charter, such as the prevention of vice, prohibition of gaming, regulating the observance of the Sabbath, and the ability to levy a per capita tax on all eligible voters
11. Removes a $50,000 limit on real estate taxes.
12. The town is now permitted to borrow $100,000 on behalf of the town, as opposed to the previous limit of $60,000.
13. In the Town Budget, it will no longer be required to include the value of supplies and materials on hand.
14. Raises the amount from $5,000 to $10,000 for contracts in which competitive bidding is not required.
15. Annexation requirements now are applicable when the proposed annexation exceeds 10 acres.
16. Exercise the powers given other municipalities as set out in the Municipal Tax Increment Financing Act and the Special Development District Act.
17. Enter into certain contracts without competitive bidding in connection with municipal tax increment financing and special development districts.
18. Collect special ad valorem taxes and special taxes related to the municipal development districts.
19. Levy special ad valorem taxes, special taxes, and ad valorem taxes in amounts it deems necessary for any municipal tax increment financing and any municipal development districts
| AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF ELLENDALE. |
| HB 461 | Signed | Griffith | This Act modifies Superior Court’s statute pertaining to creation of the Court’s record. Previously, the statute only contemplated stenographic recording of court proceedings. Technology has advanced which permits the Court to utilize other methods, in addition to stenographers, to create the court’s record.
This Act updates the statutory language related to court reports and is consistent with language used by other Delaware Courts. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COURT REPORTERS. |
| HB 490 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Schwartzkopf | Delaware’s Motor Vehicle Statutes contemplate for vehicle obstructing traffic enforcement by law enforcement agencies. It is not always possible for law enforcement officers to enforce the right-of-way regulations in areas effectively due to a number of considerations, including officer availability and safety. This bill would enable the state and municipal authorities to enforce right-of-way regulations in identified areas more effectively. This bill only imposes civil penalties for violations and does not impose points on an individual’s driver’s license. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE USE OF ELECTRONIC TRAFFIC MONITORING FOR VEHICLE OBSTRUCTIONS SYSTEM. |
