| HB 104 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Bush | The state’s pre-application process for land use process, known as PLUS, was created 20 years ago and has served to increase coordination among state and local agencies. In doing so, it has fulfilled its intent of providing predictability and consistency for the development community, especially in the area of major projects. Given that success, this bill assists in expediting the process for economic development projects in the State of Delaware with some exemptions from the PLUS process. A project located in Investment Level 1 or 2 under the Strategies for State Policies and Spending that is consistent with local zoning and any local comprehensive plan that will create full-time jobs is exempt from the pre-application process unless required by the local government or requested by the applicant. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LAND USE PLANNING. |
| SB 117 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Pettyjohn | This Act authorizes paramedics and other EMS providers to provide medical care to police dogs injured at the scene of an emergency. This Act also grants civil immunity to paramedics and other EMS providers who provide medical services to police dogs, so long as their efforts to assist the police dog were in good faith. However, this Act clarifies that in a situation where a human and a police dog need emergency medical care at the same time, the medical services personnel are prohibited from providing care to the police dog over the human, if the care of the police dog would hinder the human’s care. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE MEDICAL CARE OF POLICE DOGS INJURED IN THE LINE OF DUTY. |
| SB 6 w/ SA 1 + HA 1, HA 2 to HA 1 | Signed | Huxtable | In 1682 or 1683, the Sussex County Court, created by William Penn, created the land grant that is the subject of this Act (“Warner Grant”). As this Act describes, the Warner Grant consists of land in and adjacent to the City of Lewes largely consisting of what is now Cape Henlopen State Park. As the United States District Court for Delaware would later find, the Warner Grant created a “right of common” held in trust for the benefit the people of Lewes and Sussex County. See United States v. 1,010.8 Acres Situate in Sussex County, 56 F. Supp. 120 (D. Del. 1944).
In the early 1970s, nearly 300 years after the Warner Grant was created, a dispute arose over the meaning of the Warner Grant and who had authority to enforce the right of common under the Warner Grant when the City of Lewes leased land in the Warner Grant to a real estate company for the purpose of constructing a housing development. Lawsuits were filed by members of the public and the Attorney General. Eventually, the 130th General Assembly settled that dispute by enacting Chapter 108 of Volume 62 of the Laws of Delaware to establish the Warner Grant Trust (“Trust”) and set the boundaries of the lands in the Trust, known as the Warner Grant Trust Lands (“Lands”).
In light of recent proposals for the use of the Lands, the 152nd General Assembly finds that clarification is necessary as to the permitted uses of the Lands and as to how future disputes are to be litigated. To that end, this Act does all of the following:
(1) Makes clear that the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (“Department”), as trustee of the Warner Grant Trust Lands, must administer the Lands for the public benefit and adhering to 3 governing priorities: (1) conservation, (2) nature education, and (3) public recreation.
(2) Makes clear that the Department must administer the Lands so that a private benefit or financial gain to a for-profit enterprise or public-private partnership is not detrimental to the public benefit.
(3) Provides that the Court of Chancery has original jurisdiction over disputes regarding the Lands.
(4) Provides that the Attorney General must represent Delawareans in the enforcement of the Trust and, if the Attorney General declines to do so, any resident of Sussex County may sue to enforce the Trust and the Court of Chancery must award attorney’s fees to the plaintiffs who prevail in enforcing the Trust.
(5) Includes a provision in the Delaware Code, § 4523 of Title 7, referencing the Department’s duties under this Act to preserve memory of this Act for future generations.
Section 1 of this Act amends Chapter 108, Volume 62 of the Laws of Delaware, as amended by Chapter 99, Volume 72 of the Laws of Delaware, which contains 10 sections labelled Section 1 through Section 10. Section 2 of this Act amends the Delaware Code to create a new § 4523 of Title 7. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE AND CHAPTER 108, VOLUME 62 OF THE LAWS OF DELAWARE, AS AMENDED BY CHAPTER 99, VOLUME 72 OF THE LAWS OF DELAWARE, RELATING TO CLARIFYING THE WARNER GRANT TRUST AND THE JURISDICTION OF THE COURT OF CHANCERY AS ARBITER OF DISPUTES REGARDING THE WARNER GRANT TRUST LAND. |
| SB 120 | Signed | Buckson | This bill adds workforce and affordable housing programs to the current list of realty transfer tax eligible expenditures for New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Counties. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EXPENDITURE OF REAL ESTATE TRANSFER TAX PROCEEDS. |
| SB 121 | Signed | Gay | This Act codifies that the Child Protection Accountability Commission, in conjunction with the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and their Families, is responsible for developing, maintaining, and conducting child abuse mandatory reporting, multidisciplinary response, and related trainings under this Chapter. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE CHILD PROTECTION ACCOUNTABILITY COMMISSION |
| SB 122 | Signed | Gay | This Act authorizes the Office of the Child Advocate and Office of the Investigation Coordinator to provide child victim data and information to the Office of Investigative Services during presentence investigations of defendants convicted of felony child abuse, endangering the welfare of a child or death of a child. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11, TITLE 16, AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO AUTHORIZED INFORMATION SHARING FOR CHILDREN. |
| SB 124 | Signed | Gay | This Act clarifies when reports of child abuse or neglect, including suspected human trafficking of a child, are required to be made orally to the Department’s report line and when they may be made via the Department’s online reporting portal. This Act also clarifies that licensed professionals who make reports may not remain anonymous. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE REPORTING OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT. |
| SB 129 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Walsh | The Act updates the Delaware Code concerning animal shelter standards and treatment of animals in shelters to reflect best practices, which are currently already being followed by most shelters. The Act also fills in gaps in existing law, such as by requiring that animals be vaccinated against rabies before adoption or release and by setting standards for feeding and access to water, facilities and enclosures, and sanitation and disease control.
The Act also makes technical changes 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 ANIMAL SHELTERS. |
| SA 1 to SB 129 | Passed | Walsh | This Amendment deletes the definition of "euthanasia rate" from the bill. | |
| HCR 56 | Passed | Morrison | This Concurrent Resolution acknowledges June 2023 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month in the State of Delaware. | ACKNOWLEDGING JUNE 2023 AS LGBTQ+ PRIDE MONTH IN DELAWARE. |
| SA 1 to SB 6 | Passed | Huxtable | This Amendment does all of the following:
(1) Makes clear that a use of or activity on the Warner Grant Trust Lands does not need to meet all 3 of the governing priorities (i.e. conservation, nature education, and public education) to be a permitted use or activity.
(2) Makes clear that fishing and birding are permitted recreational activities in the Warner Grant Trust Lands.
(3) Makes clear that a use or activity in existence on January 1, 2023, including the concession stand, the rental of facilities by organizations, or a public-private partnership that supports the 3 governing priorities, is a permitted use or activity under the Warner Grant Trust.
(4) Removes a sentence on the Attorney General’s duty to enforce the Warner Grant Trust. This sentence is unnecessary given the Court of Chancery’s ruling in In re Certain Lands, 1976 Del. Ch. LEXIS 148 (Del. Ch. May 27, 1976) that the Attorney General’s duty is to enforce a charitable trust like the Warner Grant Trust.
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| SA 1 to SB 117 | Passed | Pettyjohn | This Amendment clarifies that an injured police dog’s handler must be present, if available, while the dog is being provided medical treatment and during transport to a veterinary facility, defines “handler”, and makes a technical correction. | |
