Delaware Bills | MyRepTracker

signed · Delaware · House May 30, 2017

HB 116: AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF DOVER TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN MATTERS RELATING TO LEVY AND COLLECTION OF SPECIAL AD VALOREM TAXES, SPECIAL TAXES, AND AD VALOREM TAXES IN CONNECTION WITH A MUNICIPAL TAX INCREMENT FINANCING AND A MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS FINANCING.

This Act amends the Charter of the City of Dover to allow the City Council of Dover to levy and collect special ad valorem taxes, special taxes, and ad valorem taxes in amounts it deems necessary for any municipal tax increment financing under the Municipal Tax Increment Financing Act and any municipal development districts under the Municipal Special Development District Financing Act.

signed · Delaware · House May 30, 2017

HB 115: AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 18, TITLE 22 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MUNICIPAL SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS.

This Act amends the definition of "municipality" in 22 Del. C. 1801(4) to allow the City of Dover to take advantage of the economic development opportunities afforded by Municipal Special Development Districts, and enables such municipality to pledge the special tax levied on the property in the special development district to the payment of bonds issued by other issuers in the State for the purposes of the municipal special development district financing act.

signed · Delaware · House May 30, 2017

HB 117: AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 17, TITLE 22 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MUNICIPAL TAX INCREMENT FINANCING.

This Act amends the definition of “municipality” in the Municipal Tax Increment Financing Act to allow the City of Dover to take advantage of the economic development opportunities afforded by the Municipal Tax Increment Financing Act, and enables such municipality to pledge the tax levied on the tax increment to the payment of bonds issued by other issuers in the State for the purposes of the Municipal Tax Increment Financing Act.

signed · Delaware · House May 30, 2017

HB 91: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.

This Act would enhance the ability of the prescription monitoring program to make informed determinations as to prescribers who may be making extraordinary prescriptions of opiates or other controlled substances, and to refer such cases to law enforcement or professional licensing organizations for further review. The Act would also provide a more usable standard for provision of specified information to law enforcement agencies upon a showing of need.

signed · Delaware · House May 30, 2017

HB 119: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS.

This legislation will allow Kent County to utilize Special Development District tax financing, an economic development tool which New Castle County already possesses.

signed · Delaware · Senate May 30, 2017

SB 41: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COVERAGE FOR SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS AND DRUG AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCY.

In an effort to reduce overdose deaths relating to the growing epidemic of opioid addiction, this Act requires carriers to provide coverage for medically necessary inpatient treatment of alcohol and drug dependencies and prohibits carriers from imposing precertification, prior authorization, pre-admission screening, or referral requirements for the diagnosis and treatment, including in-patient treatment, of drug and alcohol dependencies. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

signed · Delaware · House May 30, 2017

HB 100: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 6, 16, 18, AND 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TREATMENT FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE.

The denial by private and public health benefit administrators of adequate coverage for substance abuse treatment has been identified as a major source of failed treatment efforts by persons addicted to controlled substances. These denials have also been identified as a cause of the shortage of adequate treatment facilities in Delaware. This Act seeks to ensure that persons with private and public insurance coverage have the ability to insist that they receive the substance abuse coverage to which they are entitled by law and by their insurance plans. It does so by (1) allowing the Department of Justice to provide legal assistance where appropriate to persons seeking benefits from the state’s Medicaid program, traditional health plans, or from employer-funded health benefit plans (which are exempt from state regulation), (2) requiring the state’s Medicaid program and private insurance carriers to provide notice to persons who are denied substance abuse treatment of the possibility of legal assistance in challenging those claim denials, and (3) permitting the Department of Justice to use funds in its Consumer Protection Fund to offset the cost of providing medical and legal expertise to DOJ and the Department of Insurance for the purpose of assisting persons with controlled substance addictions who are seeking treatment. This Act contains a sunset provision so that the General Assembly can assess the impact of its provisions on private and public health care costs and effective treatment of substance abuse before making its provisions permanent.

signed · Delaware · House May 26, 2017

HB 150: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE COMMISSION ON DELAWARE AFRICAN AND CARIBBEAN AFFAIRS.

This Act creates the Delaware African and Caribbean Affairs Commission.

signed · Delaware · House May 18, 2017

HB 23: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.

This Act requires that any student over the age of 16 who wishes to leave school prior to graduation must obtain the written consent of the parent or guardian, and attend an exit interview where information is supplied regarding the likelihood of diminished earning potential and the increased likelihood of unemployment associated with dropping out. The school is also directed to explore whether there are support services, interventions or programs that might assist the student in remaining enrolled. The intent is to lower the dropout rate and encourage students to complete high school.

signed · Delaware · House May 18, 2017

HB 66: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATED TO TAX ADMINISTRATION.

Section 1 of this Act provides that the statute of limitations period for a substantial underpayment of a license fee or gross receipts tax will commence at the end of the period for which the license is issued, in order to parallel the normal limitations period for the assessment of an underpayment of this type of tax. Section 2 of this Act provides that notice of a judgment must have been provided to the taxpayer not later than the date of the notice given prior to the revocation of a professional license resulting from non-payment of taxes. Section 3 of this Act conforms Delaware’s deadlines for filing certain information returns to those established in the Internal Revenue Code. In an effort to combat identity theft and taxpayer fraud, federal filing dates were recently changed. For example, starting in 2017 the federal deadline for an employer to file aggregated W-2 data with the IRS will be January 31, which is the same date on which W-2s are distributed to individual taxpayers. Prior to this change, the IRS did not receive W-2 data until March 1 meaning that there has been a one-month window in which it could not readily confirm the authenticity of W-2s filed with taxpayers’ returns. Like other states and the IRS, Delaware has had to devote considerable resources to combating fraud and identity theft. By conforming to the new federal standard, Delaware will have data on hand that will help identify and isolate fraudulent filings. As the State’s employers will already be required to comply with the new federal deadlines, conforming Delaware’s filing dates will result in no additional administrative burden. Sections 4 and 5 of this Act adjust Delaware’s deadlines for filing income tax returns for pass-through entities (partnerships and S corporations) and corporations to be consistent with the new deadlines set forth in the Internal Revenue Code. For tax years beginning after December 31, 2015, the federal deadline for pass-through entities taxed as partnerships and as S corporations to file returns will be March 15 or the 15th day of the third month following the end of the pass-through entity’s fiscal year, while the federal deadline for a C corporation to file an income tax return will be April 15, or the 15th day of the fourth month after the end of the C corporation’s fiscal year. As the State’s business entities will already be required to comply with the new federal deadlines, conforming Delaware’s filing dates will result in no additional administrative burden. Finally, this Act deletes a provision of the Code that was effective only for tax returns due in 1958 and 1959.

signed · Delaware · House May 18, 2017

HB 48: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO JUVENILE EXPUNGEMENTS.

This bill fixes a drafting error in Senate Bill 198 of the 148th General Assembly that inadvertently made it harder for juveniles to get mandatory expungements by adding the term ‘violent misdemeanor’ as an excepting factor that would prevent a youth from receiving an expungement. Previously, violent misdemeanors were never included in the state’s statute regarding mandatory expungements. The bill also strikes the definition of violent misdemeanor, which is no longer applicable to the state’s juvenile expungement statute.The phrase “sex offense” was added after the word “felony” for clarity and to mirror the definition in § 1016. No substantive change is made by this clarification.

signed · Delaware · House May 18, 2017

HB 51: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FEES FOR EDUCATOR LICENSURE.

In 2016, the Legislature provided a reimbursement for teachers employed in Delaware who had to pay the 1-time licensure fee. By using "teacher", we inadvertently excluded specialists including school media specialists, school counselors, school nurses, et cetera. This Bill changes "teacher" to "educator" to include specialists and other educators.