| HA 2 to HB 223 | Passed | Minor-Brown | This amendment makes minor changes to the description of the new continuing education requirement and directs licensees to the Child Protection Accountability Commission as a resource for continuing education programming relating to child abuse, exploitation and trafficking. | |
| SB 213 | Signed | Hocker | This Act amends the Charter of the Town of Millville to restore the authority of the Town Council to impose and collect a lodging tax. This authority to impose and collect a lodging tax was enacted under Senate Bill No. 162 (150th) in 2019 but was inadvertently repealed under House Bill No. 138 (151st) in 2021.
This Act 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 THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF MILLVILLE RELATING TO THE POWER TO IMPOSE AND COLLECT A LODGING TAX. |
| SB 214 | Signed | Hocker | This Act amends the Charter of the Town of Millsboro to give the Town Council the authority to impose and collect a lodging tax.
This Act 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 THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF MILLSBORO RELATING TO THE POWER TO IMPOSE AND COLLECT A LODGING TAX. |
| SB 231 | Signed | S. McBride | This Act removes the sunset provision in Chapter 453, Volume 83 of the Laws of Delaware relating to the program established under §9011A of Title 29 to assist individuals who are in or have experienced foster care in Delaware with driver education, driver licensing, and motor vehicle insurance and associated barriers and costs. The Act also amends §9011A of Title 29 to clarify the scope and administration of the program, and amends the definition of “youth in foster care” under §3921 of Title 18 to maintain consistency with 29 Del. C. §9011A(g)(1). | AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 453, VOLUME 83 OF THE LAWS OF DELAWARE, AND TITLE 18 AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROVIDING FOR DRIVER EDUCATION TRAINING, A DRIVER'S LICENSE, OR MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE FOR AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS IN OR HAS EXPERIENCED FOSTER CARE IN DELAWARE. |
| SB 243 | Signed | Gay | This Act deletes the current Charter of the Village of Ardencroft (the "Village") and replaces it with a new charter that differs in several respects.
Among other changes, the Act changes the Village's governing body from the "Town Meeting" to the "Village Assembly."
The Act also adds a requirement for residents to qualify as eligible voters. Under the current charter, eligible voters are persons 18 or older who have resided in the Village for a period of 30 consecutive days. The new charter provides that an "eligible voter" means a resident who is 18 years or older, and defines "resident" to mean a person who has resided in the Village for a period of 30 consecutive days and who currently resides in the Village for the majority of the calendar year. In addition, the Act clarifies that "resident" includes persons renting housing units in the village, as well as resident leaseholders.
The Act decreases the minimum required number of regular meetings of the governing body from 6, under the current charter, to 4, under the new charter, and clarifies that they may be held virtually, in whole or in part, and that they are open to the public, which includes persons who are not eligible to vote.
Finally, the Act removes the current charter's provisions concerning a town police force. | AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE VILLAGE OF ARDENCROFT. |
| SB 253 | Signed | Lockman | This Act amends Section 3-701 of the City of Wilmington’s Charter to provide that, with the exception of the City Solicitor, all persons appointed to serve as attorneys in the law department shall attain tenure upon 3 years of continuous satisfactory full-time service and may not be removed from their positions except for just cause. The Wilmington Charter is also being amended to provide tenure status to attorneys who have already served 3 years of continuous satisfactory full-time service. | AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF WILMINGTON RELATING TO ASSISTANT CITY SOLICITORS. |
| SB 267 | Signed | Mantzavinos | This Act clarifies various aspects of the State’s unclaimed property laws, specifically:
Section 1 clarifies and confirms current practice regarding the definition of “foreign country” or “foreign jurisdiction.”
Section 2 clarifies and confirms current practice regarding the definition of “owner.” This section is not intended to limit holder reimbursement claims, where a holder seeks to claim from the state previously reported property that the holder returned to the owner subsequent to the filing of the report.
Section 3 conforms Delaware's unclaimed property statute more closely to the 2016 Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (RUUPA), clarifying that foreign-addressed property that is reportable to (or specifically exempted by) a foreign country is not reportable to Delaware. This section applies to reports filed and property remitted after the effective date of this Act. This Section shall not be construed to allow for holder refunds under 12 Del. C. § 1144 for reports filed or property remitted prior to the effective date of this Act.
Section 4 limits the filing of amended reports by holders seeking a refund of property when claims have been filed and paid on the property; when the original report was filed in conjunction with an examination or voluntary disclosure agreement submission; or after 3 years, when the holder seeks a refund due to an error in a cost of goods sold (COGS) calculation, as it usually pertains to the reporting of gift card property. This section is not intended to limit holder reimbursement claims, where a holder seeks to claim from the state previously reported property that the holder has since returned to the owner.
Section 5 clarifies when the owner notice requirements enacted on February 2, 2017, took effect.
Section 6 clarifies and confirms current practice that holders must pay and deliver property at the same time they file their report.
Section 7 section enacts provisions that have allowed Texas to successfully pursue claims in bankruptcy for unclaimed property reported, but not paid to the state, prior to a bankruptcy, should Delaware pursue similar claims in the future.
Section 8 clarifies the state’s indemnification obligations and definition of good faith generally and specifically for property reported "early" (before the full dormancy period has run). This section also establishes that the State Escheator may enter into written indemnification agreements with holders requesting to report and remit property "early" (before the full dormancy period has run). The amendment of this section to clarify the State Escheator’s complete discretion to grant or deny early escheatment requests under § 1155(b) merely recognizes the unreviewable discretion already provided under that section.
Section 9 clarifies and confirms current practice, allowing the State Escheator to decline to take custody of physical property, including savings and bearer bonds, any property that may present a future litigation risk to the state, worthless or nonfreely transferable securities, and virtual currency for which no ready public market exists.
Section 10 clarifies and confirms current practice, allowing the State Escheator to submit an affidavit after a review of business records and procedures as evidence of owner notice and publication.
Section 11 eliminates inefficient administrative processes and ensures that unclaimed property reported as owned by state agencies and discretely presented component units included in the state’s annual comprehensive financial report of the state remains in the state’s General Fund to be allocated only via the conventional legislative budget process. This section is similar to a statute adopted by Illinois.
Section 12 clarifies and confirms current practice that during an examination, the State Escheator may send or direct a holder or agent to send an owner notice letter (commonly called a “due diligence letter”) in the format specified by the State for any item identified as potential unclaimed property, including items that may be part of a sample population in conjunction with estimation, extrapolation, and statistical sampling, even if the item is not or would not be reportable to Delaware.
Section 13 clarifies that requests to the Secretary of Finance to review certain discretionary determinations of the State Escheator during expedited examinations must be submitted in writing within 30 days of the State Escheator’s determination.
Section 14 clarifies and confirms current practice that Voluntary Disclosure Agreements administered by the Secretary of State must comply with all provisions of this title.
Section 15 states that Sections 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of this Act take effect on enactment.
Section 16 states that it is the intent of the General Assembly that Sections 5, 10, 12, 13, and 14 of this Act take effect upon enactment and also apply retroactively to any claims, examinations, voluntary disclosure agreements, or litigation pending as of the effective date of this Act.
Section 17 states that it is the intent of the General Assembly that Sections 2, 4, and 11 of this Act take effect upon enactment and also apply retroactively to reports filed or property remitted prior the effective date of this Act.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 12 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO UNCLAIMED PROPERTY. |
| SB 268 | Signed | Mantzavinos | Sections 1 and 2 of this Act update Chapter 8 of Title 12, the Uniform TOD Security Registration Act. Section 1 of this Act does the following:
(1) Adds a new definition to § 801 of Title 12 to define “cash equivalents”.
(2) Amends the definition of “registering entity” in § 801 of Title 12 to confirm that registering entities may include securities dealers, banks, savings banks, trust companies, investment advisers, and other financial institutions that maintain securities accounts for customers.
(3) Amends the definition of “security” in § 801 of Title 12 to confirm that interests in or obligations of a corporation; a limited liability company or any series of a limited liability company; a partnership, whether general or limited, or any series of a partnership; and a trust, including a common law trust, a voting trust, a business trust, or a statutory trust, or any series of a trust, constitute a “security” for purposes of the Unform TOD Security Registration Act.
(4) Amends the definition of “security account” in § 801 of Title 12 to make ministerial changes to the language of the definition and to expand the definition to include investment management accounts, securities accounts, custody accounts, or other agency accounts for the investment or custody of securities maintained with a bank, a savings bank, a trust company, a securities dealer, an investment adviser, or other financial institution.
Section 2 of this Act amends § 805 of Title 12 to confirm that registration in beneficiary form with respect to an uncertificated security or a security account need not include the names of beneficiaries if the names of all beneficiaries are otherwise maintained by the registering entity. This avoids, for example, any requirement for the book entry of an uncertificated security or the name of a security account to include the names of all beneficiaries, so long as the registering entity otherwise maintains the names of such beneficiaries.
Sections 1 and 2 of this Act are not intended to override provisions of an entity’s operating agreement or governing provisions, and will take effect subject to any implementing requirements of the agreement or governing provisions, such as transfer or ownership restrictions.
Sections 3 and 4 of this Act pertain to “letters of wishes” by trustors and add a new definition to § 3301 of Title 12 and a new subsection to § 3315 of Title 12. Letters of wishes have long been created by trustors as a means of assisting fiduciaries to understand the discretionary terms of the trust’s governing instrument, to understand the application of those terms as intended by trustors, and to assist fiduciaries to exercise distribution discretion. Accordingly, Sections 3 and 4 of this Act acknowledge existing and common practice by affirming that the standard of review of a fiduciary’s decision to consider or not to consider a letter of wishes is the same “abuse of discretion” (within the meaning of § 187 of the Restatement (Second) of Trusts, not §§ 50 and 60 of the Restatement (Third) of Trusts) standard described in § 3315 of Title 12. The new provisions recognize that a letter of wishes is a non-binding document intended to provide guidance and insight into the trustor’s intent relevant to a particular trust. New subsection (c) of § 3315 of Title 12 specifically provides 3 safe harbors for determining that a fiduciary has not abused its discretion, by stating that the following do not constitute an abuse of that fiduciary’s discretion: (1) the fiduciary’s decision not to consider a letter of wishes with respect to an unambiguous provision of the trust’s governing instrument; (2) the fiduciary’s decision not to consider a letter of wishes not meeting the criteria of the new subsection (c) of § 3315 of Title 12; and (3) the fiduciary’s decision to consider a letter of wishes meeting the criteria of the new subsection (c) of § 3315 of Title 12, with respect to an ambiguous provision of a trust’s governing instrument. In addition, the new subsection (c) of § 3315 of Title 12 provides that the letter of wishes is not binding on the fiduciary, that the fiduciary has no duty to follow the letter of wishes, and that the fiduciary’s exercise or non-exercise of a discretionary power does not create an inference that the fiduciary improperly exercised such power or abused the fiduciary’s discretion under § 3315(a) of Title 12.
Sections 3 and 4 of this Act, however, are not intended to override the Court of Chancery’s decision in Bishop v. McNeil, 1999 Del. Ch. LEXIS 186, 1999 WL 743489 (Del. Ch. 1999), in which the Court declined to take into account a letter to construe the provisions of an unambiguous governing instrument for a trust because the letter was extrinsic evidence of trustor intent. Thus, Sections 3 and 4 of this Act are not intended to affect the law regarding the Court’s interpretation of unambiguous governing instruments for trusts, for which the Court may not consider extrinsic evidence, or to affect the law regarding the Court’s interpretation of ambiguous governing instruments for trusts, for which the Court may consider extrinsic evidence, including any such letter of wishes.
Section 5 of this Act adds new paragraph (32) to § 3325 of Title 12 to provide trustees of trusts with a statutory power to hire, retain, and compensate providers of programs and education for trust beneficiaries that may help prepare the beneficiaries for inheriting wealth, by helping to develop wealth-management skills, enhance beneficiary mental health and well-being, particularly as those areas may be impacted by the trust itself, and to reduce the potential for the trust to disincentivize the beneficiaries’ productivity or impact their mental health or well-being. The trustee may provide these programs and services or may hire and pay third parties or affiliates from the trust estate to provide these services and, in each case, without diminution of the trustee’s regular compensation to which the trustee would otherwise be entitled to receive for serving as trustee.
Section 6 of this Act amends § 3339 of Title 12, regarding designated representatives, to do all of the following:
(1) Provide specifically that when a trustor appoints a designated representative for beneficiaries, the appointment may be with respect to beneficiaries who are minors, who are incapacitated, who are unborn, or whose identities or locations are not known and not reasonably ascertainable.
(2) Make clearer that when notice of the appointment is required to be given to parents of the represented person or to a guardian of the property of the represented person, the requirement applies only to those beneficiaries who are minors or who are incapacitated.
Section 7 of this Act adds new § 3345 of Title 12 to enable trustors to create what is to be known as a “Beneficiary Well-Being Trust” by expressly referencing § 3345 of Title 12 in the trust’s governing instrument. Section 3345 of Title 12 recognizes a growing concern of trustors that while there are many advantages to passing wealth through generations in trust, such as tax savings, creditor protection, consolidated investment and management, and protection of assets from imprudent waste, trusts may grow in value so that considerable wealth may become available to the beneficiaries, sometimes before beneficiaries have had an opportunity to learn and know the value of money and the personal and social responsibilities that access to wealth entails. The purpose of the Beneficiary Well-Being Trust is to provide wealth management training and services for the beneficiaries’ mental health and well-being and to educate beneficiaries about their family history and legacy, family values and dynamics, family governance, and philanthropy, all as more fully described in § 3345 of Title 12. The governing instrument of a Beneficiary Well-Being Trust may provide for additional powers, duties, rights, and interests of the beneficiaries, trustees, and advisers to the fullest extent permissible under § 3303 of Title 12. The trustees and advisers of a Beneficiary Well-Being Trust may provide beneficiary well-being programs or may hire and pay third parties or affiliates from the trust estate to provide beneficiary well-being programs and, in each case, without diminution of the trustee’s or adviser’s regular compensation to which the trustee or adviser would otherwise be entitled to receive for serving as trustee or adviser.
Section 8 of this Act amends § 3547 of Title 12, regarding virtual representation, to extend the principles of the section by allowing a designated representative of a beneficiary under § 3339 of Title 12 to represent virtually those whom the beneficiary could virtually represent, including, under the circumstances already permitted under § 3547 of Title 12, someone who is a minor, is incapacitated, is unborn, or whose identity or location is not known and not reasonably ascertainable; a presumptive remainder beneficiary of a trust; a contingent successor remainder beneficiary of a trust; the holder of a power of appointment over a trust; or the beneficiaries of a trust that is itself the beneficiary of another trust, if there is not a material conflict of interest between the designated representative and those who are to be virtually represented.
Section 9 of this Act provides an effective date for this Act and makes clear that this Act applies to trusts created before, on, or after the effective date of this Act. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 12 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DECEDENTS’ ESTATES AND FIDUCIARY RELATIONS. |
| SS 1 for SB 248 | Signed | S. McBride | This Act clarifies that for purposes of the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, where an employee is leased by an employee leasing company or a professional employment organization, "employer" refers to the employer client of the employee leasing company or professional employment organization, and not to the employee leasing company or professional employment organization.
This Act is a substitute for and differs from Senate Bill No. 248 by omitting language concerning whether individuals covered by certain collective bargaining agreements are "employees" for purposes of the Program. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE PROGRAM. |
| HA 2 to SB 3 | Passed | S. Moore | This Amendment does all of the following:
(1) Clarifies that a qualified voter who is duly registered has an absolute right to vote by absentee ballot without an excuse.
(2) Clarifies that a qualified voter who desires to cast an absentee ballot must request an absentee ballot from the Department of Elections for each election cycle, unless the qualified voter is granted permanent absentee status. This State’s current absentee voting law authorizes permanent absentee status for various reasons (see § 5503(k) of Title 15 of the Delaware Code) and this Amendment adopts those reasons.
(3) Clarifies that early, in-person voting for the general election, a primary election, and a special election is to occur on 10 calendar days before the date of the general election, primary election, and special election, including the Saturday and Sunday immediately before the election. | |
| HA 1 to HB 311 | Passed | Romer | This Amendment adds that the prohibition of possession of a firearm in a Safe School Zone does not apply to any individual who is in possession of a firearm in or upon any part of the buildings or grounds of a college or university if the individual has written authorization from the administration of the college or university, or a designated representative of the administration. | |
| SS 2 for SB 150 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Mantzavinos | This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 150. Like Senate Bill No. 150, this Act requires included facilities have sufficient staff to meet the needs of each resident and requires dementia care services training for staff. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 150 in the following ways: (1) it removes the definition of activity services; (2) it defines direct care, secured memory care unit, and memory care services; (3) it requires that assisted living facilities providing dementia care services to residents in a secured memory care unit create a staffing plan that ensures the facility has sufficient staff to meet the scheduled, reasonably foreseeable unscheduled, and evolving needs of residents and; (4) it charges the Department of Health and Social Services with reviewing the staffing plan during each annual inspection and during any other inspection in which the Department deems it relevant; (5) it revises initial dementia care services training requirement by limiting the requirement to individuals that provide care in a secured memory care unit of an assisted living facility, creating separate training requirements, both in terms of duration and content, for individuals that provide direct care and non-direct care to residents receiving dementia care services in secured memory care units of assisted living facilities; (6) it revises the annual dementia care services training requirement to mirror initial dementia services training requirements; (7) it establishes dementia care services training requirements for individuals employed by temporary staffing agencies; (8) it gives the Department of Health and Social Services the discretion to accept other required dementia care services training to satisfy the dementia care services training requirements; (9) it details the transferability of training between facilities and temporary staffing agencies; and (10) it narrows the scope from all long-term care facilities to only assisted living facilities. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DEMENTIA CARE SERVICES IN LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES. |
| SS 1 for SB 151 | Signed | Mantzavinos | This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 151. Like Senate Bill No. 151, this Act requires included facilities to disclose information related dementia care services in the form determined by the Department of Health and Social Services, and it establishes requirements for the dissemination of that information. Like Senate Bill No. 151, any violation of this Act is an unlawful practice under § 2513 of Title 6 and a violation of subchapter II of Chapter 25 of Title 6 of the Delaware Code. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 151 in the following ways: (1) it narrows the scope of the disclosure requirements to apply only to assisted living facilities that advertises, markets, or otherwise represents that the facility provides dementia care services; (2) it revises the definition of dementia care services, and defines direct care, memory care services, and secured memory care unit; (3) it replaces the term agent with the term authorized representative; (4) it revises the list of information that must be included in the disclosure form; (5) it clarifies the Department’s and the facility’s role in preparing and completing the disclosure; (6) it removes the requirement that an included facility must publish the disclosure on the facility’s website; and (7) it grants the Department of Health and Social Services the authority to investigate potential violations and refer cases to the Department of Justice. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MANDATORY DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION IN LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES OFFERING DEMENTIA CARE SERVICES. |
| HA 3 to HB 319 | Passed | Morrison | This amendment does the following: (1) it clarifies that the prohibition applies to a “direct” supervisor; (2) it simplifies the provision relating to adoption of an anti-nepotism policy in parts of state government outside of the executive branch; (3) it incorporates a definition of relative from the State merit employee rules. | |
| SCR 174 | Passed | Lawson | This Senate Concurrent Resolution recognizes the valuable contributions that the Lions Clubs International makes to our local communities, as well as the world at-large, by designating June 12, 2024, as "Delaware State Lions Day" in the State of Delaware. | RECOGNIZING THE VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION THAT THE LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL MAKES TO OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES, AS WELL AS TO THE WORLD AT LARGE, BY DESIGNATING JUNE 12, 2024, AS "DELAWARE STATE LIONS DAY" IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE. |
| SCR 177 | Passed | Pettyjohn | This Senate Concurrent Resolution proclaims Wednesday, June 12, 2024, as “Women Veterans Day” in the State of Delaware. | PROCLAIMING WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2024, AS "WOMEN VETERANS DAY" IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE. |
| SCR 182 | Passed | Buckson | This Senate Concurrent Resolution designates the week of June 10-16, 2024, as "National Men's Health Week" in the State of Delaware. | DESIGNATING THE WEEK OF JUNE 10-16, 2024, AS "NATIONAL MEN'S HEALTH WEEK" IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE. |
| SCR 184 | Passed | Buckson | This Senate Concurrent Resolution proclaims June 17th as "Delaware Day of Service". | PROCLAIMING JUNE 17TH AS "DELAWARE DAY OF SERVICE". |
| SCR 185 | Passed | Gay | This Senate concurrent resolution honors Wilmington attorney, historian and author Harvey Bernard Rubenstein on his 50 years of service as a member of the Delaware Heritage Commission, on the occasion of his being elevated by the Commission to emeritus status and thanks him for his years of service to our state as a truly public-spirited citizen. | HONORING HARVEY BERNARD RUBENSTEIN, ESQ. FOR HIS HALF CENTURY OF SERVICE AS A MEMBER OF THE DELAWARE HERITAGE COMMISSION AND HIS DISTINGUISHED CAREER OF SERVICE TO THE STATE OF DELAWARE. |
| HA 3 to HB 223 | Passed | Minor-Brown | This Amendment provides an effective date of January 1, 2025. | |
| HA 1 to HS 1 for HB 383 | Passed | Harris | This amendment to House Substitute 1 for House Bill 383 clarifies an exemption to the definition of "covered entity” and changes the deadline for covered entities to provide an annual report. | |
| HA 2 to HB 311 | Passed | Romer | This Amendment adds the definition of qualified law-enforcement officer to the Safe School Zone law and excludes qualified law-enforcement officers acting in their official capacity within a Safe School Zone from the statutory restriction. This Amendment also provides an exemption for a qualified retired law-enforcement officer in or upon the buildings or grounds of a college or university This Amendment also adds an effective date of January 1 following its enactment into law and makes a technical correction to the existing Delaware Code. | |
| HA 2 to HS 1 for HB 383 | Passed | Harris | This Amendment to House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill 383 removes wholesale distributors from the requirements and prohibitions against 340B drug discrimination. The Board of Pharmacy may still conduct investigations of a wholesale distributor that may possess evidence concerning a complaint filed with the Board concerning a violation of this Act. | |
