This Concurrent Resolution recognizes September 2022 as "Prostate Cancer Awareness Month" in the State of Delaware
This Act is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to make necessary technical corrections identified by the General Assembly's Division of Research. Specifically, these technical corrections consist of the following: Section 1 and Section 12 of this Act work in concert to transfer the date of the commencement of the terms of the members of the General Assembly from the Constitution’s Schedule to Article II (relating to the General Assembly) to avoid confusion and for ease of locating this information. Section 2 of this Act deletes § 24 of Article II of the Delaware Constitution to remove antiquated language to conform the Delaware Constitution to existing practice. This Section dates back to the Delaware Constitution of 1792 when the State Treasurer was also considered what we now know as the State Accountant, the Budget Director, the Director of Revenue, and the Secretary of Finance. The purpose of this Section was to provide the General Assembly with one, detailed report indicating that the State’s books were balanced and finances were being managed properly. Over time, as other, more specific roles were created within State government, the State Treasurer’s role in these aspects were shifted to other executive branch officers. Today, this constitutional requirement is now being met by several different state agencies in several different forms, all culminating in final products overseen by entities like the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council (DEFAC), the Cash Management Policy Board, and the General Assembly itself, and take the form of final reports issued to the General Assembly, administrative paperwork, and legislation like the annual appropriations act and annual capital improvement act. Section 3 of this Act corrects a codification error. The sentence stricken in Section 3 of this Act was originally to be struck by Chapter 607, Volume 50 of the Laws of Delaware in 1956. However, the sentence remains in the Delaware Constitution to this day. See Opinion of the Justices, 405 A.2d 694, 697 fn. 6 (1979). Section 4 of this Act updates the name of the State officer and State agency involved in determining whether the Governor is able or unable to discharge the Governor’s duties, which has changed since the adoption of this Section in 1969. Section 5 and Section 13 of this Act work in concert to transfer the date of the commencement of the terms of certain State and County elective executive branch officers from the Constitution’s Schedule to Article III (relating to the Executive) to avoid confusion and for ease of locating this information. Section 6 of this Act designates § 2 of Article V to make an internal reference clear. Section 7 of this Act makes changes to ensure the accurate adoption of an amendment to the Constitution proposed in 1998 by 71 Del. Laws, ch. 398. The amendment proposed in 1998 was proposed by Senate Bill No. 277 of the 139th General Assembly, which was later replaced by Senate Substitute No. 1 to Senate Bill No. 277. Senate Substitute No. 1 to Senate Bill No. 277 passed the General Assembly. When the 140th General Assembly concurred in the proposed amendment, the General Assembly used the language of Senate Bill No. 277 instead of Senate Substitute No. 1 to Senate Bill No. 277. See 72 Del. Laws, ch. 437 (Senate Bill No. 394 of the 140th General Assembly). This change ensures the original intent to concur in the language of Senate Substitute No. 1 to Senate Bill No. 277 is achieved. To properly achieve this change, the version of § 6 of Article V that existed before the passage of 72 Del. Laws, ch. 437 is shown as struck through in this Section. Section 7 of this Act also makes additional technical corrections to conform existing law to current practice and to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Sections 8 and 9 of this Act hyphenates “three fourths” to ensure consistent hyphenation of the supermajority vote requirements throughout the Constitution. Section 10 also makes additional technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual; specifically, to ensure use of the serial comma in two places in this Section. Section 10 of this Act corrects an incorrect reference to another provision of the Delaware Constitution. The reference to “Section 30” has existed in Section 7 of Article XV of the Delaware Constitution since its adoption in 1897; however, in 1951, a constitutional amendment was adopted to reorganize Delaware’s Judiciary. See 48 Del. Laws, ch. 109. That reorganization resulted in deletion and renumbering of Sections originally contained in Article IV of the Delaware Constitution, as adopted in 1897, but did not account for the internal reference to Section 30. Section 11 of this Act hyphenates “two thirds” to ensure consistent hyphenation of the supermajority vote requirements throughout the Constitution. House Bill No. 130 of the 151st General Assembly proposes an amendment to this Section and makes a technical correction to the first “two thirds” but not the second. This Section is intended to ensure that, on the 152nd General Assembly’s concurrence in House Bill No. 130 and this Act, the correct hyphenation of “two thirds” is achieved throughout this Section. 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 to amend the Delaware Constitution.
While the consumption of marijuana while driving is an unclassified misdemeanor under § 4764(d) of Title 16 of the Delaware Code, this Act also makes the consumption of marijuana while driving a motor vehicle violation, like alcohol currently is. Thus, this Act enables law enforcement officers to charge a lesser offense and to use a traffic ticket rather than a criminal summons or warrant. This would enable an individual to avoid a conviction for a misdemeanor, as well as provide a better understanding to the general public that marijuana usage while operating a motor vehicle has the same dangers of impairment as drinking an alcoholic beverage. Section 2 of this Act eliminates the definition of “consume” to remove the requirement that the officer observe the act in order for the act to be a crime since “consume” should be given its ordinary meaning for consistency with other provisions in the Delaware Code. Section 3 of this Act provides for a license loss for the consumption of marijuana by those under the age of 21 who drive, operate, or have actual physical control of a motor vehicle. This places the consumption of marijuana in this context on par with the consumption of alcohol. 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 or to expand the scope of an existing crime within the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, or Justice of the Peace Court.
Because 9-1-1 dispatchers work mostly 12-hour shifts, they face scheduling difficulties for filling out their 40-hour-work week and covering shifts for sick workers. This Act allows their overtime to be calculated based on a 14-day pay period to give them flexibility in scheduling shifts and covering for sick co-workers.
This bill creates a special license plate for Whitetails Unlimited.
This Act provides state employees 30 days of leave with pay to attend training camp or special duty on orders as members of the military reserve of the United States or the National Guard. This is an increase from 15 days leave with pay currently provided.
This Bill requires motor vehicle insurance policies, under the personal injury protection provisions (PIP), to provide coverage for up to $650 for any 1 person extricated and $1200 for all persons extricated in any 1 accident by an emergency medical services vehicle. Emergency medical services vehicle is a vehicle duly licensed in Delaware that uses rescue tools used by emergency rescue personnel to extricate the injured person from a vehicle. The Act also requires the Insurance Commissioner to develop a uniform billing form for reimbursement and that volunteer fire and ambulance companies submit financial reports regarding expenses incurred in the use of rescue tools to the State Fire Prevention Commission.
This Concurrent Resolution recognizes the young men participating in the 2022 session of Delaware’s Boys State and commends its sponsor, the American Legion Department of Delaware.
This Resolution recognizes Thursday, June 16, 2022, as “Staff Appreciation Day” in the House of Representatives.
This Concurrent Resolution acknowledges June 2022 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month in the State of Delaware.
