This Act expands the Disabled Veterans School Tax Credit to include a deceased disabled veteran's surviving spouse. HB 214 with HA 1, passed by the 151st General Assembly, created the Disabled Veterans Property Tax Relief and Education Expense Fund. School boards are currently authorized to create a credit against school taxes for up to the full amount of school tax liability for property owned by a disabled veteran who meets certain requirements. This Act would allow a disabled veteran's surviving spouse to maintain the credit that their deceased veteran spouse was claiming if their deceased veteran spouse, immediately before death, was both claiming the credit and had not had the right to claim the credit withdrawn and the surviving spouse meets all of the following requirements: (1) Was a titled owner of the qualified property before the deceased veteran’s death. (2) Has not remarried. (3) Owns and occupies the qualified property as their principal residence. A surviving spouse is no longer eligible to maintain the credit if they do any of the following: (1) Remarry. (2) Stop being a titled owner of the qualified property. (3) Stop occupying the qualified property as their principal residence. This Act requires the Secretary of Finance, in consultation with the receiver of taxes and county treasurer, to establish a process to determine the eligibility of a surviving spouse and to allow an eligible surviving spouse to maintain the credit without disruption after the death of their disabled veteran spouse. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
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This Act makes the State Council for Persons with Disabilities consistent with current practice by revising its responsibilities to collect data regarding persons with disabilities. This Act also amends the members of the Council and clarifies the definition of “persons with disabilities”. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act makes it easier to properly clear title to real property after a person dies if the person held real property jointly with the right of survivorship. With more frequency, a deceased person may die as a resident in a county that is different from the county in which the deceased owned real property. This Act provides relief to those who are the surviving joint owner of a person who died in a county that is different than the county where the real property is located. The surviving joint owner of real property may not have anything to do with the deceased person’s estate, or the probate of it, making it difficult for the surviving joint owner to obtain exemplified copies from different states or countries, which results in the loss of valuable time and money to the surviving joint owner.
House Bill 373, passed by the 151st General Assembly, clarified that persons 14 and 15 years of age can be employed in such places where alcoholic beverages are served, but cannot be involved in the sale or service of alcoholic beverages. Currently, the Department of Labor (DOL) has a robust process for youth (those not yet 18) to apply for a work permit. Youth may not work in the state unless they have a DOL-issued work permit which is required to be kept on file with the employer. The OABCC statute requires an additional work permit. Youth must obtain two, separate work permits after going through two separate processes to obtain one job. This legislation will streamline that process for our youth, requiring them to obtain just one work permit from the Department of Labor. Additionally, this legislation will permit employees in the Office of the Alcoholic Beverage and Control Commissioner (“OABCC”) to work in any of the three counties. Sussex County is experiencing an increase in growth. The OABCC has just one licensing inspector who is responsible for performing licensing inspections for the entire state. With this change, the OABCC could create a more efficient operation to serve all three counties for those who are licensed to sell and serve alcoholic beverages in the state.
This bill provides a mechanism to grant pension increases to retired State Employees, retired Judges, and retired “New” State police. This bill dedicates a minimum of 2.33% of payroll to be deposited annually to the Post Retirement Fund. This bill also provides for a pension increase as determined by the Board of Pension Trustees.
According to a survey conducted by the American Bar Association, 90 percent of early-career lawyers have student loans, averaging $130,000. The same survey found that Black borrowers accumulated more debt to obtain their law degree compared to other borrowers of other racial/ethnic backgrounds, and that most young lawyers who borrowed for their education reported that their debt caused them to delay or forego pursuing traditional life milestones, such as purchasing a home, marriage, and starting a family. According to the survey, an overwhelming majority of borrowers – roughly 80 percent – indicated their debt influenced their choice of job or career in some way. Most borrowers reported that salary factored more heavily into their job selection than anticipated. Nearly a third of the sample indicated their position was less focused on public service or doing good than intended when they started law school. In Delaware, the Office of Defense Services, and the Department of Justice, the primary employers of attorneys working for the state, found that student loan debt was an enormous burden. Attorneys reported monthly payments between $500 and $1,000 and debts exceeding $100,000. The student loan crisis, coupled with sizable salary pay gaps between the state and private sector, has created recruitment and retention issues in the legal sector of state government and has made it difficult to provide improved access to justice. This Act establishes a Student Loan Repayment Program for attorneys employed with the State of Delaware working as attorneys. The program allows qualified applicants to apply for a payment from the State to the applicant’s lending agency to pay a portion of the applicant’s student loan debt. The purpose of the program is to improve recruitment and retention for legal service providers at a time when the state is having difficulty attracting attorneys passionate about public service. The amount of the award shall be no less than $2,500 and no more than $5,000 annually for 10 years. There is a salary cap of $110,000. The program will be administered by the Criminal Justice Council and overseen by a committee of stakeholders in the state’s legal system.
The Justice of the Peace Court actively discourages the acceptance of warrants from citizens, yet the statute as it currently stands may be interpreted to allow such warrants. This Act abolishes citizen warrants in the Justice of the Peace Court and creates a requirement that all warrants must issue only by information sworn to by a law-enforcement officer.
Delaware’s Motor Vehicle Statutes contemplate for vehicle obstructing traffic enforcement by law enforcement agencies. It is not always possible for law enforcement officers to enforce the right-of-way regulations in areas effectively due to a number of considerations, including officer availability and safety. This bill would enable the state and municipal authorities to enforce right-of-way regulations in identified areas more effectively. This bill only imposes civil penalties for violations and does not impose points on an individual’s driver’s license.
This Act would add designation that the holder is a veteran to the Delaware Driver License or Identification Card upon request. Adding designation that the holder is a veteran to a Driver License or Identification Card would eliminate the need for a veteran to carry a separate card or official discharge forms in order to prove their service.
This bill updates the State Bureau of Identification’s definition of “criminal justice agency” in two ways. First, by adding the Division of Management Support Services in the Department of Services for Children, Youth & Their Families to reflect the shift in some criminal justice functions to that Division from the Division of Family Services. Second, by clarifying that the Office of the Child Advocate is a criminal justice agency. The Office of the Child Advocate provides legal representation to children in foster care, and the Investigation Coordinator, located within the Office of the Child Advocate, is a member of the criminal multidisciplinary response to child abuse and neglect.