| HB 19 w/ HA 2 + SA 1, SA 2 | Signed | Longhurst | This bill defines and regulates electric bicycles. Section 1 adds electric bicycles to the definitions contained in Title 21. Section 2 includes electric bicycle operators and passengers as vulnerable users when on a highway, crosswalk, road shoulder or sidewalk and prescribes rights and responsibilities attendant to the operation of electric bicycles. Section 3 adds electric bicycles to the definition of vehicle. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ELECTRIC BICYCLES. |
| HB 255 w/ HA 1 | Signed | K. Johnson | This Act criminalizes the deprivation of civil rights modeled after federal law (18 U.S.C. 242) and enforced by the Delaware Department of Justice’s Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust. The new crime of deprivation of civil rights would be a Class A misdemeanor, which could elevate to a Class D or Class B felony depending on the nature of the injury or harm. This new crime of deprivation of civil rights serves as a predicate offense for hate crimes, or for racketeering if committed by an enterprise. By including conduct committed under color of any ordinance, regulation, or custom, this law accounts for conduct by actors in areas such as banking, lending, leasing, government contracts or political operatives. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CIVIL RIGHTS. |
| HB 276 | Vetoed | Bennett | At least 36 states allow for the medical use of marijuana. However, federal firearm laws have not kept pace and currently prohibit an individual who is “an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” from possessing or purchasing a firearm. It is still unlawful under federal law to use or possess marijuana.
This Act makes clear that an individual is not disqualified under Delaware law from possessing a firearm because the individual is a registered qualifying patient under the Delaware Medical Marijuana Act, if the registered qualifying patient is not a person prohibited under § 1448 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code.
This Act makes also clear that a registered qualifying patient may engage in a firearm transaction between unlicensed persons under § 1448B of Title 11 if the transaction is exempt under § 1448B(c) of Title 11 and the registered qualifying patient is not otherwise a person prohibited under § 1448 of Title 11.
A registered qualifying patient’s purchase of a firearm through a federal firearms licensee (“FFL”) is still prohibited under federal law.
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 AND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE ELIGIBILITY OF REGISTERED QUALIFYING PATIENTS UNDER THE DELAWARE MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACT TO PURCHASE OR POSSESS FIREARMS. |
| HB 314 | Signed | Heffernan | This bill clarifies House Bill 307 from 2018 by making it clear that a 6-month or 12-month mandatory commitment to Level 5 incarceration or institutional confinement for a juvenile only applies to adjudications of delinquency for the charge of Robbery First Degree or Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony if the offense was committed after the child’s 16th birthday. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MANDATORY SENTENCES FOR JUVENILES. |
| HB 318 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Dorsey Walker | This Act establishes a period of time when a license for a nonpublic school teacher, specialist, or administrator employed by this State and for a public education employee, i.e., a Department of Education employee, adult education employee, and prison education employee, does not expire. The Act defers the expiration of the license for an individual who is or is the spouse of active-duty military, is or is the spouse of a member of the National Guard, is or is the spouse of an individual in the military reserve, and for an individual who is or is the spouse of retired military. The Act provides that a license does not expire for 180 days after the date the individual or the individual’s spouse returns from active deployment if the person or the person’s spouse holds an initial license and for 270 days after return from active deployment if the person or the person’s spouse holds a continuing or advanced license. This does not apply to public school educators who are licensed and certified in accordance with subchapters II and III of Title14. This Act also replaces the Associate Secretary, Administration and Innovation with the Associate Secretary, Educator Support throughout Section 121.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LICENSES FOR DEPLOYED ACTIVE DUTY, ACTIVATED RESERVE, AND NATIONAL GUARD MILITARY PERSONNEL. |
| HS 1 for HB 293 | Signed | Baumbach | House Bill No. 293 requires that meetings of public bodies that are open to the public must provide an opportunity for public comment. Meetings of a public body of the General Assembly are excluded from the requirement to provide an opportunity for public comment because under § 9 of Art. II of the Delaware Constitution, the rules of proceedings for legislative meetings are established by the Senate and House of Representatives of each General Assembly.
House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 293 differs from House Bill No. 293 by revising the limitations a public body may impose on public comment as follows:
1. It requires that the time for public comment provide a meaningful opportunity for the public to engage with the public body.
2. Allows a public body to impose reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on the length of the public comment period and the amount of time allotted for each person providing public comment.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and 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 TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC COMMENT AT OPEN MEETINGS. |
| SS 1 for SB 14 w/ SA 1, SA 3 + HA 1 | Signed | Ennis | This bill provides a mechanism to grant pension increases to retired State Employees, retired Judges, and retired “New” State police. This bill dedicates a minimum of 2.33% of payroll to be deposited annually to the Post Retirement Fund. This bill also provides for a pension increase as determined by the Board of Pension Trustees. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE STATE EMPLOYEES' PENSION PLAN. |
| HB 337 | Signed | Bush | This Act makes it easier to properly clear title to real property after a person dies if the person held real property jointly with the right of survivorship. With more frequency, a deceased person may die as a resident in a county that is different from the county in which the deceased owned real property. This Act provides relief to those who are the surviving joint owner of a person who died in a county that is different than the county where the real property is located. The surviving joint owner of real property may not have anything to do with the deceased person’s estate, or the probate of it, making it difficult for the surviving joint owner to obtain exemplified copies from different states or countries, which results in the loss of valuable time and money to the surviving joint owner. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 12 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO JOINTLY HELD REAL-ESTATE AFFIDAVITS AND FILING AT THE REGISTER OF WILLS. |
| HB 348 | Signed | S. Moore | This Act provides nationally certified occupational therapists with a salary supplement for receiving national certification. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing language to the standards of the Delaware Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE BASIC SALARY SCHEDULE FOR SCHOOL-BASED PHYSICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS. |
| HB 367 w/ HA 1, HA 2 | Signed | Bennett | This Act makes the State Council for Persons with Disabilities consistent with current practice by revising its responsibilities to collect data regarding persons with disabilities. This Act also amends the members of the Council and clarifies the definition of “persons with disabilities”. 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 STATE COUNCIL FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. |
| HB 380 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Griffith | According to a survey conducted by the American Bar Association, 90 percent of early-career lawyers have student loans, averaging $130,000. The same survey found that Black borrowers accumulated more debt to obtain their law degree compared to other borrowers of other racial/ethnic backgrounds, and that most young lawyers who borrowed for their education reported that their debt caused them to delay or forego pursuing traditional life milestones, such as purchasing a home, marriage, and starting a family. According to the survey, an overwhelming majority of borrowers – roughly 80 percent – indicated their debt influenced their choice of job or career in some way. Most borrowers reported that salary factored more heavily into their job selection than anticipated. Nearly a third of the sample indicated their position was less focused on public service or doing good than intended when they started law school.
In Delaware, the Office of Defense Services, and the Department of Justice, the primary employers of attorneys working for the state, found that student loan debt was an enormous burden. Attorneys reported monthly payments between $500 and $1,000 and debts exceeding $100,000. The student loan crisis, coupled with sizable salary pay gaps between the state and private sector, has created recruitment and retention issues in the legal sector of state government and has made it difficult to provide improved access to justice.
This Act establishes a Student Loan Repayment Program for attorneys employed with the State of Delaware working as attorneys. The program allows qualified applicants to apply for a payment from the State to the applicant’s lending agency to pay a portion of the applicant’s student loan debt. The purpose of the program is to improve recruitment and retention for legal service providers at a time when the state is having difficulty attracting attorneys passionate about public service. The amount of the award shall be no less than $2,500 and no more than $5,000 annually for 10 years. There is a salary cap of $110,000. The program will be administered by the Criminal Justice Council and overseen by a committee of stakeholders in the state’s legal system.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE PUBLIC ATTORNEY STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM. |
| HB 376 | Signed | D. Short | This Act authorizes the Delaware Burn Camp Corporation created by Subchapter VII to determine its own Board of Directors.
This Act will phase in the new directors as the current directors complete their terms or upon the occurrence of a vacancy. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE BURN CAMP. |
| HB 386 | Signed | Baumbach | This Act prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant declaw a cat as a condition for entering into or renewing a rental agreement. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 25 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO RENTAL AGREEMENTS. |
| SB 267 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Mantzavinos | The bill requires that third-party cost-sharing assistance utilized by patients is applied toward the enrollee's health insurance deductibles and any out-of-pocket limits. Additionally, the bill defines what constitutes a “cost-sharing requirement” as well as how to calculate the assistance when applying to patient’s deductibles and out-of-pocket limits. This bill applies to both carriers and pharmacy benefits managers with an effective date of January 1, 2024. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE TO ENSURE FAIRNESS IN COST-SHARING FOR PRESCRIPTION DRUGS. |
| SB 269 | Signed | Paradee | This bill creates a special license plate for the Boy Scouts of America. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES. |
| HB 390 | Signed | Baumbach | This Act designates the Dryptosauridae as the official dinosaur of this State. Dryptosauridae bones have been found in the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. The only other dinosaur bones that have been found in Delaware are those of a hadrosaurid, most likely Hadrosaurus foulkii, which New Jersey has already designated as its official state dinosaur.
Students at Shue-Medill Middle School, in the Christina School District, researched and identified the Dryptosauridae as the best choice for the official state dinosaur for Delaware. The Delaware Museum of Nature and Science assisted the students with this research and the decision that the Dryptosauridae would be the best choice for Delaware’s official state dinosaur was reached through a school-wide vote. A reconstruction of a dryptosaurid skeleton, Dryptosaurus aquilunguis, will be on display in the new PaeloZone of the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science.
Using their research, the students drafted the whereas clauses for this Act to explain the basis for their decision, which includes all of the following:
1. The Dryptosauridae was bird-like but was also a predator and is related to Tyrannosaurus rex.
2. Delaware’s state bird is the blue hen chicken, so it would be meaningful to have a bird-like state dinosaur.
3. Delaware is also home to the Dover Air Force Base, and this dinosaur relied on speed to escape from predators and was incredibly fast.
4. The Dryptosauridae went to the ancient shoreline, but feasted on land like Delaware’s shore birds do now, so it is a reminder of Delaware's ecosystems and how populations, birds, and sea life must be protected. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DESIGNATING THE DRYPTOSAURIDAE THE OFFICIAL DINOSAUR OF DELAWARE. |
| HS 1 for HB 377 | Signed | S. Moore | This Act requires the Department of Education to conduct an annual workforce study of early childhood professionals to support the development of a plan and implementation of a system of supports to grow and deepen the early childhood workforce. The first study is due by November 15, 2022, the plan by January 31, 2023, and implementation of the system should be in place by September 1, 2023.
The COVID pandemic revealed and heightened an existing difficulty in attracting and maintaining well qualified professionals in child care jobs, which are frequently low-paying compared to K-12 jobs. Since reliable, widely available, high quality child care options are a foundation for the whole workforce, and because the early childhood years are so important to childhood development and school readiness, it is a priority for the State that this crisis be addressed in a systematic, holistic fashion. The Department of Education is tasked with leading this rethinking and prioritization of early childhood careers – through the development of reliable data systems which can help bring living wages, financial and other support for academic and credential attainment, and coordination with CTE programs and institutions of higher education to uplift the profession and support individuals seeking to make a career in early childhood education. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION. |
| HB 401 | Signed | Matthews | This Act amends Title 21 to specify the requirements for an applicant to obtain or renew a motor vehicle dealer license and aligns the requirements with other state licensing requirements. The current law only requires the applicant to show they have and will comply with the laws of this state and other states. Due to the statute’s current ambiguity the Division of Motor Vehicles is often asked to review an applicant’s criminal history prior to submission of a full application which makes it difficult for the Division to determine if the applicant qualifies for licensure. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO VEHICLE DEALERSHIP OWNERS LICENSES. |
| HB 427 | Signed | Schwartzkopf | House Bill 373, passed by the 151st General Assembly, clarified that persons 14 and 15 years of age can be employed in such places where alcoholic beverages are served, but cannot be involved in the sale or service of alcoholic beverages. Currently, the Department of Labor (DOL) has a robust process for youth (those not yet 18) to apply for a work permit. Youth may not work in the state unless they have a DOL-issued work permit which is required to be kept on file with the employer. The OABCC statute requires an additional work permit. Youth must obtain two, separate work permits after going through two separate processes to obtain one job. This legislation will streamline that process for our youth, requiring them to obtain just one work permit from the Department of Labor.
Additionally, this legislation will permit employees in the Office of the Alcoholic Beverage and Control Commissioner (“OABCC”) to work in any of the three counties. Sussex County is experiencing an increase in growth. The OABCC has just one licensing inspector who is responsible for performing licensing inspections for the entire state. With this change, the OABCC could create a more efficient operation to serve all three counties for those who are licensed to sell and serve alcoholic beverages in the state.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS. |
| HB 432 | Signed | Griffith | This Act prohibits minor parents from executing a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative drafting Manual.
This Act takes effect 180 days after enactment into law.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 13 AND 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO VOLUNTARY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS OF PATERNTIY. |
| HB 436 | Signed | Chukwuocha | This bill extends the dates in which the recommendation and plan of the Redding Consortium for Educational Equity must be reviewed and acted upon by the State Board of Education. The extension is necessary due to delays mostly caused by the COVID pandemic. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE REDDING CONSORTIUM FOR EDUCATIONAL EQUITY. |
| HB 438 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Dorsey Walker | This Act is part of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's ("JLOSC") review of the Delaware Nursing Home Residents Quality Assurance Commission ("DNHRQAC") and the recommendations that JLOSC approved during its review. This Act specifies the matters that DNHRQAC must include in its annual report, and 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 DELAWARE NURSING HOME RESIDENTS QUALITY ASSURANCE COMMISSION. |
| HB 457 | Signed | Dorsey Walker | This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's ("JLOSC") review of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association ("DIAA"). As part of JLOSC's review of DIAA, JLOSC recommended the following updates to the DIAA statute, which this Act fulfills:
- Establish term limits for certain DIAA Board members of no more than 3, 3-year terms for a total of 9 years.
- Add language to address the removal of a board member for gross inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance.
- Change DIAA Board member composition to add a third school district superintendent or assistant superintendent to create equitable representation among all 3 counties in this State; add a third nonpublic school representative; ensure that 1 of the 6 public members is a parent of a current or recent student athlete from a member school; and make the Department of Education member a voting member.
- Clarify quorum and number of votes required to approve an act of the DIAA Board.
- Authorize DIAA to pursue sponsorship opportunities and other non-tournament related revenue streams, and the purchase of general liability insurance relating to the rental of non-State venues for DIAA-sponsored events.
- Clarify when a member's county of residence is a qualification versus the county in which the school the member is representing is a qualification.
- Make technical corrections throughout DIAA's statute, to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Among the technical corrections is correction of references to the “state Board” when the references are intended to use the defined term “State Board” for the State Board of Education. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION. |
| SB 316 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Pinkney | This Act caps the amount that an individual, group, or State employee plan may charge for diabetes equipment and supplies, other than insulin, at $35 per month. This cap does not apply to accident-only, specified disease, hospital indemnity, Medicare supplement, long-term care, disability income, or other limited benefit health insurance policies. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO INSURANCE COVERAGE OF DIABETES EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES. |
| HB 476 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Griffith | This Act requires all law-enforcement agencies to remove all Gold Alert notifications of missing persons from all social media and all websites within 72 hours of being notified that the missing person has been located. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE GOLD ALERT PROGRAM. |
