Sen. Bryan Townsend

This bill changes the earned income tax credit from nonrefundable to refundable. This bill creates a table for the percentage of earned income credit for tax years 2018 and after. Currently, if spouses file a joint federal return but separate State returns, only the spouse with the higher taxes due can use the State earned income tax credit. This bill eliminates that limitation starting with tax year 2018 and provides that the credit shall be divided equally between such spouses.

The continued existence and dissemination of a juvenile criminal record hampers an individual’s ability to become a successful and productive member of society. These criminal records are a hindrance to employment, education, housing, credit, and military service. This Act streamlines Delaware’s juvenile expungement code by providing the Delaware Family Court the option to immediately order an expungement in the event that a felony case was terminated in favor of the juvenile (i.e. a juvenile was found not guilty, or the charges were dropped). Delaware law currently allows the Court to do this for misdemeanor and violation cases.

This Act expands the Juvenile Civil Citation Program to provide law enforcement officers with the discretion to refer any first-time juvenile offender engaged in any misdemeanor-level behavior to the civil citation program, where the juvenile can be required to participate in counseling, treatment, community service, or any other appropriate intervention. A juvenile who successfully completes the requirements of the civil citation program will not have an arrest or prosecution indicated on their record. Under the current law, officers may make referrals to the civil citation program for only very limited types of misdemeanor offenses. The Act will also allow a second referral to the civil citation program if 1 year has passed since the first referral and the second offense is not for the same misdemeanor. Under current law, a juvenile is not eligible for a second referral until 18 months have passed since the first referral. This Act will also provide access to the Delaware Criminal Justice information System to the civil citation community provider to enable the provider to properly assess referred juveniles. This program provides an alternative to arrest and adjudication, thus avoiding the collateral consequences associated with a criminal record while still allowing the system to compel the juvenile and the juvenile’s family to seek and participate in appropriate services to address root causes of delinquent behavior. The expansion of the civil citation program under this Act is consistent with the mission of the juvenile justice system, which is the rehabilitation and treatment of juveniles, not punishment. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Individuals who are released from prison face many hurdles as they re-enter the community, including difficulty obtaining identification documents. Lacking identification imposes additional hurdles as these individuals attempt to find housing and employment. This Act requires the Department of Correction to provide individuals who are being released from the custody of the Department of Correction ("DOC"), after 6 months of incarceration following conviction, with a Delaware Personal Credential Card ("Personal Credential"). An individual may present the Personal Credential to receive one free certified copy of the individual's birth certificate and one identification card or driver's license, if otherwise eligible to receive those documents. This Act builds on the pilot that has been in place since 2012, when the DOC partnered with the Division of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Health and Social Services to obtain identification for individuals who volunteer to participate in the I-ADAPT re-entry program. Currently, individuals in I-ADAPT receive a Prisoner Re-Entry card, valid for 1 year, that can be used to obtain to obtain a free copy of their birth certificate, if they were born in Delaware, and a free identification card, if otherwise eligible to receive one.

This Substitute Act does all of the following: (1) Expresses the General Assembly's and Governor's opposition to the 2019-2024 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program ("Draft Proposed Program"). (2) Requests the Department of Justice review the Draft Proposed Program, and any other actions taken by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior targeted at approving an oil and gas leasing program, and take any appropriate legal steps to prevent the sale of oil and gas leases off the coast of the State of Delaware. (3) Directs the Department and the Coastal Zone Industrial Control Board to enforce compliance with the Coastal Zone Act. (4) Directs the Department to review Delaware law to ensure these laws properly reflect Delaware's environmental policy objectives for purposes of their use in the consistency review process under the Coastal Zone Management Act. (5) Directs the Department to report to the Chair of the Senate Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Committee and the Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee any legislative changes that are identified as necessary. This Substitute Act differs from the original Act in that it replaces Section 2 and 3 of the original Act with a new Section 2 that provides the Department of Justice with more flexibility to prevent the sale of oil and gas leases off Delaware’s coast.

This Act has the effect of renaming the Delaware Department of Transportation Welcome Center on Interstate 95 at 530 JFK Memorial Highway, Newark, Delaware as the "Biden Welcome Center" in honor of the Biden family. This gesture is made because of the exemplary service to the State of Delaware the Bidens have provided, and because of their lifelong promotion of this State.

This Act makes the Delaware equal accommodation law internally consistent, correctly organized, and aligned with the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"). This Act corrects the potential for confusion in Chapter 45 of Title 6 in the following ways: 1. The current law states that the purpose of Chapter 45 is to prohibit discrimination based upon physical disability but Chapter 45 actually prohibits discrimination against individuals with physical or mental disabilities. This Act corrects the purpose language in § 4501 of Title 6 by changing the term "physical disability" to "disability" so that it accurately states the scope of the protection provided by of Chapter 45. 2. The current law uses the term "support animal" while the ADA and other states use the term "service animal." This Act replaces the term "support animal" with "service animal" to use the same term as the ADA. 3. The current law defines "support animal" as assisting only individuals with physical disabilities and does not address service animals that assist individuals with nonphysical disabilities, even though Chapter 45 prohibits discrimination against individuals with physical or mental impairments. This Act uses the ADA definition of service animal, which requires that the dog be trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. 4. The current law places the prohibition against discriminating against an individual with a support animal in the definition section rather than in the prohibited practices section. This Act moves the requirement that a service animal be permitted to accompany an individual with a disability in public places from the definition of disability to the statute that lists unlawful practices. With these corrections, this Act restructures and corrects the language in Chapter 45 of Title 6 so that it is consistent with the ADA and clear that an individual with any disability, including an individual with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or other psychiatric, intellectual, or mental disability, may be accompanied by a service animal in a public place. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act requires that feminine hygiene products be provided free of charge to individuals in custody at facilities operated by the Department of Correction and facilities operated by the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.