This Act amends section 137 of Title 17 of the Delaware Code to increase the requirement for a qualified independent appraisal from $10,000.00 to $25,000.00, to align with the current maximum threshold permitted by the Federal Highway Administration. This will allow DELDOT to more quickly complete smaller dispositions as property values continue to increase. This House Substitute corrects an error in the synopsis of the original bill.
This Act amends Title 14 to provide the Department of Education the authority to adopt rules and regulations regarding the transportation of public school students.
HB 500 authorizes the State of Delaware and its transportation authorities to issue bonds and allocate funds for capital projects in fiscal year 2027. The bill allows the state to sell general obligation bonds and the Delaware Transportation Authority to sell revenue bonds to finance infrastructure improvements. It also sets specific rules for how these funds can be spent and reprograms existing money within the state's transportation trust fund. This legislation directly impacts the state's budget and the funding available for transportation construction and upgrades.
This Act amends the Delaware Code to allow open-end contracts for highway construction or reconstruction for up to five (5) years. This Act is intended to conform Delaware’s procurement statutes to the time limits permitted for contracts by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and still ensure that adequate security is maintained to cover all bids and ongoing work.
This Act removes the requirement that certain reports to the State Aid to Municipalities for Streets Program be notarized and printed and permits reports to be submitted by electronic submission with a unique identifier. This Act also requires that the annual report that is submitted to the State Treasurer also be submitted to the Department of Transporation.
This Act expands the use of green lights to include vehicles and equipment used for road construction and maintenance activities. Other states have already expanded their laws to allow green lights on these types of vehicles and equipment in addition to snow plows. This Act removes potential confusion over whether those lights may be operated in Delaware.
This Act changes the statutory speed limit for residential districts to 20 miles per hour. This Act provides a 5-year window for signage to be updated.
This Act clarifies that penalties associated with section 4512 of Title 21, relating to truck parking, are applicable to parking violations in both residence and non-residence districts. This Act further clarifies that truck tractors (with and without attached trailers) may be prohibited from stopping, standing, or parking on highways in the same manner as trailers and semitrailers.
HB 266 (Delaware Code Title 21 amendment) allows large Delaware municipalities to permit the rental of low-speed motorized scooters through local ordinances or regulations. This directly affects cities (like Wilmington or Newark) and scooter rental companies by giving local governments authority to establish rules for scooter operations. The key provision removes a barrier by enabling municipalities to create their own permitting systems for scooter rentals, rather than requiring state-level approval. The bill passed the House unanimously and is now before the Senate Environment Committee.
This Act makes it unlawful to possess, operate any motor vehicle with, purchase, install, manufacture, sell, offer to sell, or otherwise distribute a number plate flipping device. A “number plate flipping device” means a manual, electric, or mechanical device designed or adapted to be installed on a motor vehicle that does either of the following: a. Switch between two or more number plates for the purpose of allowing a motor vehicle operator to change the number plate displayed on the operator's vehicle; or b. Hide a number plate from view by turning the number plate so that the number plate registration number is not visible. The penalty for violation of this statute is for the first offense, a fine not less than $50 nor more than $200, imprisonment not less than 30 days nor more than 90 days, or both. For each subsequent like offense, such person shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $300, be imprisoned not less than 90 days nor more than 6 months, or both. The Act also makes technical changes to existing code language to conform to the Legislative Drafting Manual. A reference to farm vehicles being exempt from registration is removed, because that exemption was removed from the Code in 2014. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to create a new crime within the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, or Justice of the Peace Court.
