SPONSOR:

Rep. Dorsey Walker & Sen. Gay

Reps. Griffith, K. Johnson, Spiegelman, Yearick; Sens. Hansen, S. McBride, Pettyjohn, Richardson

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 384

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO STATEWIDE CONTRACTS TO SUPPORT EMPLOYMENT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.

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

Section 1. Amend § 9602, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 9602. Definitions.

For the purposes of this chapter:

(9) “Public office building” means any a building owned or leased by the State and used for governmental purposes. It does not include public schools or buildings a public school or a building at residential institutions operated by the this State. “Public office building” does not mean a building or property that is used as a public recreational facility, owned or leased by the this State, and operated or occupied by the Department of National Resources and Environmental Control or the State Forestry Department. “Public office building” does not mean food service located in or on the property of any a public building on the Delaware Turnpike.

Section 2. Amend § 9605, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 9605. Procurement requirements for the State.

(b) Agencies of this State shall give preference to procuring any product or service under this chapter to a product or service of the Delaware Industries for the Blind. Upon approval by the Commission, the Director of Government Support Services may provide a waiver of the preference requirement under this subsection. [Repealed.]

Section 3. Amend § 9606, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 9606. Food service in public office buildings.

(a) If any an agency of this State intends to operate or continue food service in a public office building, that agency shall procure such the food service from the Delaware Division for the Visually Impaired under the vending facility program authorized by 20 U.S.C. § 107 et seq. No agency shall An agency may not charge the Division for the Visually Impaired or its food service vendors rent for food service operations operated under this section. In the event the Delaware Division for the Visually Impaired certifies in writing that it is unable to provide food service to an agency of this State who requests such the service, the agency may seek food service from another provider.

SYNOPSIS

This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee’s (“JLOSC”) review of the Division for the Visually Impaired. Under this Act, the Delaware Industries for the Blind (“DIB”) is repealed. DIB closed operations in March 2017 after experiencing several challenges, including all of the following:

- Responding to the recession.

- Reduction of resources permitted for state agencies to award employee recognition rewards.

- Being classified as a sheltered workshop.

- An ineffective and inefficient business model that ultimately resulted in cash flow issues.

This Act also makes needed updates to § 9606, Title 16, which relates to the Blind Enterprise Program, a program under Delaware’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, authorized by the federal Randolph-Sheppard Act, and monitored by the federal Rehabilitation Services Administration.

Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.