Delaware General Assembly

CHAPTER 83

FORMERLY

SENATE BILL NO. 64

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

WHEREAS, Delaware’s Uniform Electronic Transaction Act (“UETA”) was enacted by the 140^th General Assembly in July, 2000, to provide the framework for the creation of enforceable electronic contracts and validation of electronic signatures; and

WHEREAS, the fundamental purpose of the UETA is to remove perceived barriers to electronic commerce by insuring that electronic transaction are treated legally on a par with paper transaction; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (“DNREC”) has specific certifications that must be made to its Federal counterpart, the United State Environmental Protection Agency (“US EPA”) regarding electronic information submitted by persons or facilities to DNREC’s US EPA delegated regulatory programs in order to process and issue environmental permits and receive compliance and monitoring data; and

WHEREAS, the US EPA requires that States with program delegation be able to certify that the State’s laws regarding electronic filings meet its minimum requirements to ensure that electronic reports can play the same role as their paper counterparts in providing evidence of what was reported and to what identified individuals certified with respect to the report; and

WHEREAS, because under the current language of 6 Del. C. § 12-A102 (16), DNREC likely cannot comply with US EPA electronic filing requirements by EPA’s September 30, 2007 deadline;

WHEREAS, the addition of “governmental” into the definition of “Transaction” in subsection 12-A102 (16) of Title 6 of the Delaware Code conforms the language of that subsection to the language of the definition of “Transaction” in Subsection 7A Part 1, 211 (1999) of the UETA Model Act

WHEREAS, in order for DNREC to be able to certify compliance with US EPA electronic filing requirements by EPA’s September 30, 2007 deadline, and to ensure the continued flow of electronic data from persons or regulated facilities to DNREC to enable electronic transactions in the submission, review and issuance of environmental permits and compliance and monitoring data, the definition for “Transaction” should be amended as follows:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1 Amend 6 Del. C § 12-A-102(16) to read as follows: “Transaction’ means an action or set of actions occurring between 2 or more persons relating to the conduct of business, commercial, or governmental affairs.”