CHAPTER 78
FORMERLY
SENATE BILL NO. 140
AS AMENDED BY HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1
AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT BEING CHAPTER 143, VOLUME 57, LAWS OF DELAWARE, ENTITLED "AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE TOWN OF SOUTH BETHANY".
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware [two-thirds of all members elected to each House thereof concurring therein]:
Section 1. Amend Section 5(a) of Chapter 143, Volume 57, Laws of Delaware, by striking the first sentence of said paragraph (a) and substitute in lieu thereof a new sentence to read as follows:
"An election shall be held in the Town of South Bethany for Town Commissioners on the first Saturday in July, 1970, and annually thereafter on the last Saturday before the last Monday in May, from Noon until eight o'clock in the evening, and at such places as shall be determined and fixed by the Town Commissioners."
Section 2. Amend Section 5(a) of Chapter 143, Volume 57, Laws of Delaware, by striking the last two sentences of said subsection (a) in their entirety.
Section 3. Amend Section 7 and 8 of Chapter 143, Volume 57, Laws of Delaware, by striking all of the present Sections 7 and 8 and substitute new Sections 7 and 8 to read as follows:
"Section 7. Qualifications for voting; Registration of voters (a) Every person who shall have reached the age of eighteen years, who is a citizen of the United States, who for at least three months preceding the day of election has been the legal owner of real estate in the Town of South Bethany, and who on the day of election is not delinquent in the payment of taxes either to the State of Delaware, County of Sussex, or the Town of South Bethany Beach; or if not the legal owner of real estate in said Town has been a resident of the Town for six (6) months immediately preceding the date of the election and meets the qualifications for voting in elections held for representatives to the General Assembly of the State of Delaware, shall be entitled to vote at the annual municipal elections, special elections and referenda, except as otherwise provided in this Chapter.
(b) The Commissioners shall by ordinance provide for the registration of voters and may prescribe registration and voting places, provided there shall be at least two registration days per year, the last one not more than thirty (30) days prior to any election or referendum. The hours of registration shall be as provided by ordinance. The ordinance may provide for permanent registration lists.
Section 8. Treasurer and Assessor
The Town Council of South Bethany shall appoint a Treasurer and an Assessor and the terms of such appointed officers shall be for two (2) years. A Commissioner may be appointed Treasurer or Assessor; and in such cases the term of Treasurer and Assessor may extend beyond the term of office of said Commissioner."
Section 4. Amend Section 9 of Chapter 143, Volume 57, Laws of Delaware, by striking said section in its entirety and substitute a new section to read as follows:
"Section 9. Qualifications for Commissioners
No person shall be eligible to hold office as a Commissioner except a person who at the time of filing as a candidate has been a real property owner of the Town for a period of one year immediately preceding the date of filing; or who, not the legal owner of real estate in the Town, has been a resident of the Town for one year immediately preceding the date of filing and who meets the qualifications for voting as set forth in Section 7, is a citizen of the United States, has attained the age of twenty-one years, and is a non-delinquent taxpayer."
Section 5. Amend Section 10 of Chapter 143, Volume 57, Laws of Delaware by striking the words "Treasurer or Assessor" as the same appears in said section.
Section 6. Amend Section 12 of Chapter 143, Volume 57, Laws of Delaware, by striking the last sentence of said section and substitute in lieu thereof a new sentence to read as follows:
"All meetings, except the organization meeting, shall be open to attendance by the public."
Section 7. Amend Section 19 of Chapter 143, Volume 57, Laws of Delaware, by striking the words "on the fifteenth day of May" as the same appears in the second paragraph of said section and substitute in lieu thereof the following:
"after the fifteenth of April and before the fifteenth of May".
Section 8. Amend Section 21 of Chapter 143, Volume 57, Laws of Delaware, by striking the word "election" as the same appears immediately after the word "his" and before the word "and".
Section 9. Amend Section 30 of Chapter 143, Volume 57, Laws of Delaware, by adding thereto a new paragraph to read as follows:
"The Council shall have the power to levy a tax on the gross receipts of any business activity, as defined by the Council, conducted within the corporate limits of the Town; provided, that such tax in any year shall not exceed three percentum (3%) of the gross receipts of such business activity."
Section 10. This Act shall become effective immediately upon the signature of the Governor, with the exception of Section 1 of this Act which shall become effective January 1, 1976.