| SB 51 w/ HA 1, HA 2, HA 4 | Signed | Paradee | This Act prohibits food establishments from providing consumers with ready-to-eat food or beverages in polystyrene foam containers or with single-service plastic coffee stirrers, cocktail picks, or sandwich picks. It also prohibits food establishments from providing single-service plastic straws, unless requested by a consumer. These restrictions take effect on July 1, 2025.
This Act provides the following exemptions to the prohibitions on single-service plastic implements and polystyrene foam containers:
1. The definition of "polystyrene foam food service packaging" excludes coolers or ice chests used for the processing or shipping of seafood and containers used to contain, transport, or package raw, uncooked, or butchered meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, fruits, or vegetables.
2. The prohibition on plastic straws does not apply to patients or residents of hospitals or long-term care facilities and for plastic straws that are attached to pre-packaged goods, such as juice boxes.
3. The restriction on providing ready-to-eat food in polystyrene foam food service packaging does not apply to any of the following:
• Fire companies.
• Health-care providers that provide long-term, acute, and outpatient health-care services.
• Nonprofit organizations, including religious institutions.
This Act also makes technical corrections 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 THE USE OF SINGLE-SERVICE PLASTIC IMPLEMENTS AND POLYSTYRENE CONTAINERS IN FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS. |
| HB 138 | Signed | K. Williams | This Act establishes a Delaware Educator Apprenticeship Program to be developed by the Department of Education. The Department of Education will work with the Department of Labor to create a program that places aspiring teachers in paid positions in schools, while the teacher candidates complete the training and schooling necessary to become a Delaware credentialed teacher. This program will complement the Grow Your Own Educator Program and teacher residency programs to create a low-cost pathway for aspiring teachers to earn their teaching credentials and will address the educator shortage in Delaware.
A pilot program will be created for the 2023-24 school year between 1 institute of higher education and 1 district or charter school. The program shall be expanded if interest and funding is available for the 2024-25 school year and thereafter.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TEACHER APPRENTICESHIPS. |
| SB 109 | Signed | Poore | Under this bill, when the State incurs costs for impounding an animal and the owner fails to pay the costs, the time in which ownership of the animal reverts to the State is reduced from 30 days to 15 days. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO IMPOUNDMENT OF ANIMALS. |
| SS 1 for SB 87 | Signed | Huxtable | This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 87. Like Senate Bill No. 87, this Act does the following:
(1) Clarifies that the exemption from the realty transfer tax for conveyances to or from an organization exempt from tax under § 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code when the purpose of the conveyance is to provide owner-occupied housing to low and moderate income households applies to rehabilitating residential properties and reselling the properties without profit and to constructing residences on properties and reselling the properties without profit.
(2) Exempts any portion of a conveyance in which it is the grantee’s intent to construct affordable housing units and the conveyances are financed using funding provided by the federal government, this State, or a county or municipality of this State for the purpose of constructing affordable housing units, defined as a residential dwelling for a household whose income does not exceed 80% of the median income for the area as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(3) Clarifies that individuals are first-time homebuyers if they intend to occupy the property being conveyed as their principal residence after the construction of a residence on the property to include circumstances where the residence cannot be built within 90 days after the property is purchased.
(4) Corrects the first-time homebuyer definition related to individuals purchasing as joint tenants or cotenants to replace “none” with “neither” to conform the number of joint tenants or cotenants indicated by the indefinite pronoun to the number indicated by the use of “both” later in the sentence.
(5) Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 87 by removing the exemption created by Senate Bill No. 87 for any portion of a conveyance financed through the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE REALTY TRANSFER TAX. |
| SB 155 | Signed | Hoffner | This bill creates a special license plate for Plastic Free Delaware, Inc., a nonprofit whose mission is to reduce single-use plastic pollution and build a culture of zero waste in Delaware through educational programs, awareness building, and policy initiatives. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES. |
