This Act establishes an independent and nonpartisan Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the position of the Inspector General. The OIG will protect the health and safety of Delaware residents, assist in the recovery of misspent or inappropriately paid funds, and strengthen government integrity and the public trust in government operations by doing all of the following: 1. Investigate the management and operation of state agencies to determine if there has been waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, corruption, or other conduct that is harmful to the public interest. 2. Coordinate with other agencies, recommend corrective actions and statutory revisions, and, if necessary, make referrals to law enforcement. 3. Provide reports to the Governor, Attorney General, and General Assembly, and these reports will be available to the public on the OIG website. The Inspector General will be selected through a process that requires a Selection Panel to provide 3 names to the Governor for consideration. The Governor will select a nominee from these 3 names for appointment as Inspector General and submit the nominee for confirmation by the Senate. Under this Act, the Selection Panel work must begin upon enactment and the work of the Office of the Inspector General must begin by March 1, 2023.
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This Act is companion legislation to Senate Bill 270. Currently, state code requires all school districts to match state- appropriated minor improvement funds with 40% local funds, regardless of a district’s ability to do so. This bill changes the requirements for the school district match for minor capital improvement funds to use the more equitable formula in place for major school construction projects.
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.
This Act seeks to increase the supply of homes available to rent for low-income individuals and families by providing incentives to landlords who participate in a government-sponsored rental assistance program. To that end, this Act creates a Landlord Mitigation Fund, administered by the Delaware State Housing Authority ("DSHA"), to provide payment for certain types of claims for payment or reimbursement for certain expenses incurred by participating landlords. The Act provides that the DSHA shall set the maximum amount that a landlord may recover from the Landlord Mitigation Fund, per claim and per tenancy. In addition, the Act provides that the DSHA has sole discretion to determine payment from the Landlord Mitigation Fund. Payment is subject to the availability of funds in the Landlord Mitigation Fund. A landlord who has received payment from the Landlord Mitigation Fund is prohibited from taking legal action against, or pursuing collection from, a tenant for damages attributable to the same tenancy, except to the extent the landlord seeks damages in excess of the amounts received from the Landlord Mitigation Fund. The Act is a substitute for and differs from Senate Bill No. 167 by eliminating claims for payment of a security deposit from the types of claims for which reimbursement from the Landlord Mitigation Fund may be sought. In addition, this Act removes dollar limitations on reimbursement from the Landlord Mitigation Fund and instead authorizes the DSHA to determine such limitations. The Act further eliminates the requirement that the DSHA create and maintain a waitlist, in the event that funds do not exist in the Landlord Mitigation Fund to pay eligible claims. The Act also creates exceptions to the limits on remedies for landlords receiving a payment from the Landlord Mitigation Fund. Finally, the Act eliminates the requirement that a tenant repay to the DSHA amounts paid to a landlord for a claim pursuant to subsection (b)(3) or (b)(4).
This concurrent resolution creates the School Violence Task Force to make findings and recommendations to ensure children feel safe travelling to and from school and within the school building for adequate learning to occur.
The Delaware Fair Housing Act and Residential Landlord-Tenant Code both prohibit discrimination based on source of income, which is defined as including rental payments from any government program, but both laws also provide that a landlord's nonparticipation in a government-sponsored rental assistance, voucher, or certificate system cannot be the basis for an administrative or judicial proceeding. This Act revises both the Delaware Fair Housing Act and Residential Landlord-Tenant Code to repeal the exception to discrimination based on source of income that allows a landlord to discriminate against tenants who participate in government-sponsored rental assistance programs. This exemption contributes to a lack of affordable housing in this State. There is currently a severe shortage of affordable housing for extremely low-income households in Delaware, with only 38 affordable rental units available for every 100 extremely low-income households. In addition, studies have shown that people who use government subsidies to move from high-poverty neighborhoods to communities with more opportunity have measurable health improvements and the children in these families earn more in adulthood than children who remain in high-poverty neighborhoods. At least 12 states and the District of Columbia have fair housing laws that protect against discrimination based on source of income that covers recipients of government subsidies. As of the end of 2019, half of all voucher households in the United States were protected by discrimination laws. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a charter issued to a municipal corporation.
This Concurrent Resolution recognizes the month of October 2022 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
This bill creates a special license plate for Whitetails Unlimited.
This concurrent resolution recognizes June 21, 2022 as "Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler Day" in Delaware.
This Act clarifies what constitutes a sawmill in the State of Delaware and adds definitions related to agriculture and silviculture. This Act recognizes forest products as unadulterated materials and makes clear their importance to support a thriving industry that maintains sustainable and healthy forests. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.