Delaware Bills

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 27, 2020

HB 323: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE EMISSIONS TESTING.

This Act allows the owner of a vehicle which has a “check engine” light illuminated to be able to pass the Division of Motor Vehicles’ (DMV) On-board Diagnostic (OBD) test emission inspection if a Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) certified emissions repair technician determines that the vehicle is operating within the manufacturer’s designed emission thresholds. If the DNREC technician cannot determine whether the vehicle will operate within the required thresholds, the technician may issue documentation to the vehicle owner which will require the DMV to disregard the OBD test and use an alternative test to determine if the vehicle will pass the emissions portion of the inspection. Because not all “check engine” lights relate to an emission problem, this bill will prevent unnecessary costly repairs while still maintaining the integrity of the emissions inspection process by using alternative tests when prudent.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 27, 2020

HB 319: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MASSAGE AND BODYWORK.

A placard must be prominently displayed at all entrances of massage and bodywork establishments that have failed to obtain a valid license or have a license that is suspended, revoked, or expired. This bill provides that no placard can be removed unless the establishment is validly licensed and the removal of the placard is approved by the Division of Professional Regulation. This bill makes the unlawful removal of the placard a Class A misdemeanor, punishable of up to 1 year in jail and up to a $2300 fine.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 27, 2020

HB 326: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATED TO ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS.

This Bill would allow two Microbreweries to share brewing equipment and maintain their separate premises to sell their product to consumers and/or wholesalers.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 27, 2020

HB 327: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES.

Transporters of mobile homes must have a hauling permit under Title 21, Chapter 45 to transport mobile homes on public roadways. This bill eliminates the need to also obtain a temporary registration to transport the mobile home.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 27, 2020

HB 317: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 3 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PESTICIDES CONTAINING A NEONICOTINOID.

This Act classifies pesticides containing a neonicotinoid as a restricted use pesticide and prohibits the use of a pesticide containing a neonicotinoid on land owned or maintained by the State. Neonicotinoids have been linked to impaired memory, movement, and death in bees, which are critical to crop production.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 27, 2020

HB 325: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE BASIC SALARY SCHEDULE FOR TEACHERS, NURSES, PRINCIPALS, SUPERINTENDENTS, AND OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEES.

This bill adds nationally certified occupational therapists to the list of employees entitled to receive a salary supplement for receiving national certification and makes technical changes to the section consistent with the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 27, 2020

HJR 11: DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO REPORT ON THE AMOUNT OF FUNDS NEEDED TO ADEQUATELY REPAIR AND MAINTAIN SUBDIVISION STREETS.

This Joint Resolution directs the Secretary of the Department of Transportation to report to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Controller General, Governor, and Director of the Office of Management and Budget by December 7, 2020, on the amount of funds needed to adequately repair and maintain subdivision streets.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 27, 2020

HB 175: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 15 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO VOTING BY MAIL.

This Act allows any qualified voter evidencing a desire to vote by mail in writing to the State Elections Commission to vote by mail in primary, general, and special federal elections. The State Elections Commission shall administer the program, creating rules and regulations that allow processing and scanning of mail ballots ahead of Election Day without tabulation until Election Day, dropping off mail ballots at any polling place on Election Day and dropping off mail ballots in a secure drop box of each county Department of Elections office before and leading up to Election Day.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 27, 2020

HB 238: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO OPTIONAL MID-YEAR UNIT COUNT.

This Act permits a school district to conduct on the last day of January an optional unit count of pupils who enrolled after the actual unit count was conducted and certified by the Department of Education. A school district will qualify for one-half of the value of the Division I and Division II state financial support for each additional unit under the optional unit count.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 305: AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO § 11, ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO PROHIBITING THE IMPOSITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY.

This Act is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to prohibit the imposition of the death penalty. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly when the General Assembly amends the Delaware Constitution.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 304: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CIGAR LOUNGES UNDER THE CLEAN INDOOR AIR ACT.

This Act amends the Clean Indoor Air Act to allow cigar lounges. No one under the age of 21 years may enter a cigar lounge and a cigar lounge may not share indoor common space with other businesses unless there is a separate ventilation system that does not allow smoke from the cigar lounge to enter the nonsmoking spaces. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

in committee · Delaware · House Mar 12, 2020

HB 309: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE REDISTRICTING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

The constitutional requirement to create new legislative districts following the U.S. Census was intended to ensure equal representation at all levels of government. However, Delaware’s current process of redistricting is deeply flawed. It allows the majority party in each legislative chamber to gerrymander state legislative maps in a self-serving attempt to preserve and expand partisan political power. All other considerations have become secondary in this process. This defect is common to many states and some have tried to address the issue by creating election commissions charged with redrawing legislative lines. The challenge in such a system is ensuring that these commissions can conduct their function in a balanced, objective, and non-partisan fashion. This bill proposes a new method that avoids this significant hurdle by leveraging partisan self-interest to create a protocol that results in an equitable outcome. This fresh approach to reapportionment is described in a paper by 3 Carnegie Mellon University professors entitled: “A Partisan Districting Protocol with Provably Nonpartisan Outcomes.” It utilizes a system analogous to a proven, prudent method for instructing 2 children to fairly divide a piece of cake between themselves. The first child cuts the cake, while the second has the option of selecting which piece he or she wishes to consume. In the protocol outlined in this bill, the two competing parties are the partisan caucuses of each General Assembly chamber. The first caucus will initially draw all the legislative districts, observing established legal redistricting standards. The second caucus will have the ability to “freeze” a set number of the districts, locking their boundaries into place. They will then be able to redraw the remaining districts as they wish, delivering the new maps back to the first caucus. This group will then also engage in the freeze and redraw process, with the cycles continuing until all the districts have been defined. With both sides getting equal “bites of the apple,” each has a practical ability to affect the outcome and a reason to work together to achieve a mutually acceptable conclusion. The bill also includes safeguards to ensure public notification and participation in the process, as well as a contingency to allow the judicial branch to draw the new legislative maps should the General Assembly be unable to achieve the task. This legislation assumes calling the General Assembly into special session to approve the finalized maps, providing enough time for the process to be conducted in a deliberative manner.

Bill results