This Act provides updates to Title 30 relating to the Realty Transfer Tax. First it clarifies that the exception for spouses is not solely limited between a husband and wife and instead applies to spouses in general. It also adds an exception for conveyances between grandparents and their grandchildren or the spouse of such a grandchild.
The purpose of this bill is to incentivize the construction and operation of a limited number of high-efficiency Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) electrical generation facilities, with an output of between 100 MW and 500 MW, by creating an Electricity Production Tax Credit (EPTC) and bonus credits. These credits would offset state corporate tax liability while facilitating the increased availability of clean, cost-effective, high-efficiency, and energy production. CCGT power plants are proven technology that can provide significant dispatchable power production to meet Delaware’s growing need for dependable energy, while promoting grid stability that will enable the integration of renewable energy generation. Having the CCGT facilities built within Delaware will improve the energy security of our citizens while reducing power transmission charges and energy loss. The value of the Electricity Production Tax Credit (EPTC) can be increased via bonus credits if the CCGT power-generating facility is built on a brownfield or the current or former site of a power plant. Additional bonus credits can be earned if the plant’s operation exceeds certain high-efficiency thresholds and if it incorporates carbon-capture technology into the design. The value of the credits realized by the facility operator would result from the quantity of electricity delivered. Most CCGT plants operate at a capacity factor of 50% to 85%. A 500 MW power plant, operating within these margins, would be expected to produce somewhere between 2.2 million and 3.7 million MWh per year. At a maximum annual 65% production capacity, a 500 MW plant could serve the needs of approximately 210,000 homes. The total value of the credits for each eligible facility receiving the tax credits established under this bill is limited to $15 million annually. The number of facilities eligible for the tax credits established under this bill will be no more than three statewide.
This Act requires that each county reassess the value of real property in the county at least once every 10 years instead of the current 5 year requirement.
This Act requires health spas selling subscription services online to provide a prospective buyer of such a subscription the right to cancel the automatic renewal online. The option to cancel is also to be presented on the website in a clear and conspicuous manner to simplify such cancellation for the buyer.
Due to continuing concerns over the negative health effects secondhand smoke will have on the youth of Delaware, this bill adds Smoking Restrictions within vehicles if a person under the age of eighteen (18) is in the vehicle. Also, it makes clear that a police officer will not stop or detain a car solely on suspicion of having violated this Statute.
This Act increases the Senior Real Property Tax credit to $750 from $400 as authorized in the Appropriations Bill for fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, which effectively amended Title 29, § 6102(q)(3) from $500 to $400.
Section 716(a) of Title 24 prohibits annual or lifetime numerical limits on chiropractic visits for the treatment of back pain. The treatment of chronic back pain through chiropractic supportive care can prevent patients from requiring opioid pain medications or more expensive treatments. This Act prohibits the denial of insurance coverage under § 716(a) for chiropractic supportive care, which constitutes maintenance therapy. This requirement applies to policies, contracts, or certificates issued, renewed, modified, altered, amended, or reissued after December 31, 2023. In addition, this Act clarifies, but does not expand, the insurance coverage subject to the requirements under § 716(a), states that the requirements under this subsection cannot be waived by contract, and requires that the regulations implementing § 176 establish utilization review standards. This Act also updates the definitions in Chapter 7 of Title 24 to be consistent with the current scope of chiropractic practice and makes corresponding revisions to the terms used in existing law. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This bill creates a special license plate for the Boy Scouts of America.
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.
This Act requires the Department of Education to conduct an annual workforce study of early childhood professionals to support the development of a plan and implementation of a system of supports to grow and deepen the early childhood workforce. The first study is due by November 15, 2022, the plan by January 31, 2023, and implementation of the system should be in place by September 1, 2023. The COVID pandemic revealed and heightened an existing difficulty in attracting and maintaining well qualified professionals in child care jobs, which are frequently low-paying compared to K-12 jobs. Since reliable, widely available, high quality child care options are a foundation for the whole workforce, and because the early childhood years are so important to childhood development and school readiness, it is a priority for the State that this crisis be addressed in a systematic, holistic fashion. The Department of Education is tasked with leading this rethinking and prioritization of early childhood careers – through the development of reliable data systems which can help bring living wages, financial and other support for academic and credential attainment, and coordination with CTE programs and institutions of higher education to uplift the profession and support individuals seeking to make a career in early childhood education.
