Committee Agenda Report: Week of 6/20/22

Written By Dustyn Thompson

Prepared By Dustyn Thompson, David Rugg, Julie McIndoe

As a reminder, this is the last “official” week of committee hearings. Yes, we told you that last week…but here we go again!

The House is still offering a call-in option and the Senate committees are all still virtual only.

Bills coming up the week of 6/20/22:

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Bill Number Sponsor Summary/Description Committee Date Time Registration Link
HB 404 Rep. Minor-Brown Allows entry to professions and occupations with licensing requirements for individuals with a criminal history to the maximum extent consistent with public safety. Senate Legislative Oversight & Sunset 6/21/22 10:00 AM Register Here
HB 455 Rep. Minor-Brown Expands on earlier efforts to safeguard reproductive rights and includes protections for providers and out-of-state residents seeking or receiving reproductive services in Delaware and expands the field of qualified medical professionals who can perform abortions before viability to include physician assistants and certified nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives who are approved by the Board of Nursing. Senate Legislative Oversight & Sunset 6/21/22 10:00 AM Register Here
HB 409 Rep. Morrison Requires all employers in the State to provide employees with a minimum of 1 hour of earned sick time and safety leave for every 30 hours worked. For employers with fewer than 10 employees, the time may be unpaid, job-protected time instead of paid time. House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce 6/21/22 11:00 AM 1-888-272-8703 Password: ECON
SS1 for SB35 Sen. Walsh Defines specific violations of wage payment and collection laws as wage theft and creates a new criminal offense of wage theft, with a mechanism for the Department of Labor to refer completed investigations to the Department of Justice for prosecution. House Labor 6/21/22 12:00 PM 1-866-403-9129 Password: LABOR
SB 315 Sen. Walsh Streamline processes so that injured workers will experience fewer interruptions or delays in the payment of benefits than under the current law. Also included are protections for the Workers’ Compensation Fund to ensure that there are no overpayments. House Labor 6/21/22 12:00 PM 1-866-403-9129 Password: LABOR
SB 277 Sen. McBride Increases opportunities for federally qualified health centers (FQHC) and government-operated dental clinics to serve the indigent and other underserved communities with dental care and improves flexibility with updated provisional licensing processes for FQHC and government-operated dental clinic applicants. House Health & Human Development 6/21/22 1:00 PM 1-800-285-6670 Password: HEALTH
Sen. McBride Provides assistance in obtaining a driver's license for youth in long-term foster care due to barriers created by logistical and financial burdens caused by their living and custody situations. House Health & Human Development 6/21/22 1:00 PM 1-800-285-6670 Password: HEALTH
HS2 for HB 344 Rep. Minor-Brown Places responsibility for the development of bias and cultural competency training for healthcare employees in a subcommittee of the Delaware Perinatal Quality Collaborative. The subcommittee will develop training guidelines designed for use in all healthcare fields which will be reviewed and revised as necessary. House Health & Human Development 6/21/22 1:00 PM1-800-285-6670 Password: HEALTH
HB 485 Rep. Lambert Continues work started with the passage of HB 222 to ensure blood lead tests for school, child care, and early intervention programs enrollment meets standards and allow for the efficient transmission of blood lead screen data to schools, child care facilities, and early intervention service providers to provide a better opportunity to assist children with different levels of lead exposure. House Health & Human Development 6/21/22 1:00 PM 1-800-285-6670 Password: HEALTH
SB 326 Sen. Walsh Requires certain State programs to provide semi-annual reports to the General Assembly about compliance with federal and State law and regulations that require meaningful access to services for individuals with limited English proficiency and effective communication for individuals with disabilities. Senate Elections & Government Affairs 6/22/22 11:30 AM Register Here
SB 260 Sen. Gay This Act increases the maximum amount of money the Department of Justice can keep in the Consumer Protection Fund at the end of each fiscal year from $3 million to $10 million. Increasing the retention cap from $3 million to $10 million will promote greater stability in funding. House Judiciary 6/22/22 12:00 PM 1-866-403-9129 Password: JUDICIARY
SS1 for SB 270 Sen. Hansen Establishes an evaluation and assessment system created by the Department of Education to determine whether a school facility is in good repair to assure that school facilities are clean, safe, and functional for staff and students. This Act also requires the Division of Public Health to create a routine indoor air quality monitoring program that includes temperature and humidity standards that is published on the Department of Health and Social Services website. House Education 6/22/22 3:00 PM 1-888-272-8703 Password: EDUCATION
SB 293 Sen. Hansen 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. House Education 6/22/22 3:00 PM 1-888-272-8703 Password: EDUCATION
SB 13 w/ SA 1, SA 1 to SA 1 Sen. Pinkney Ban the Box - removes questions about one’s criminal conviction history on a college or job application. Research shows that questions about criminal conviction history deter individuals from applying to an institution and increase the likelihood of rejection, with a disproportionate effect on people of color. House Education 6/22/22 3:00 PM 1-888-272-8703 Password: EDUCATION
SS1 for SB 167 Sen. Lockman 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. House Housing & Community Affairs 6/22/22 5:00 PM 1-866-403-9129 Password: HOUSING
SS1 for SB 240 Sen. Sturgeon This Act prohibits landlords from renting a dwelling unit that the landlord knows has a current bed bug infestation. This Act also obligates landlords to notify prospective tenants if an adjacent unit or units are currently infested with or are being treated for bed bugs. In addition, the Act sets forth the steps a landlord must take upon receiving notice of an actual or suspected bed bug infestation. House Housing & Community Affairs 6/22/22 5:00 PM 1-866-403-9129 Password: HOUSING
HB 477 Rep. Dorsey Walker Allows tenants to bring an action of rent escrow to pay rent into the court because of asserted defects or conditions. Alternatively, the tenant may refuse to pay rent and raise the existence of the asserted defects or conditions as an affirmative defense to an action for summary possession or action for nonpayment of rent. House Housing & Community Affairs 6/22/22 5:00 PM 1-866-403-9129 Password: HOUSING
SB 90 Sen. Lockman 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. House Housing & Community Affairs 6/22/22 5:00 PM 1-866-403-9129 Password: HOUSING
SB 264 Sen. Sokola Requires the Delaware Department of Agriculture to promulgate rules and regulations, that will not become effective until July 1, 2024, classifying neonicotinoid pesticides designed or intended for use in outdoor applications as state restricted use pesticides, creating a list of chemicals that belong to the neonicotinoid class of chemicals, and banning the retail sale of neonicotinoid pesticides to the public for outdoor applications. House Agriculture 6/23/22 1:00 PM 1-866-403-9129 Password: AG

SOME Of Top Priority Legislation This Week:

Housing

The recent partial building collapse in Wilmington and subsequent evictions (after some tenants had just paid their rent) due to the condemnation of the property highlighted the challenges faced by renters in our community. This week we have four good bills meant to address some of these obstacles. One of them is at least partially a result of the Adams Street incident. The others were already in the works.

HB 477   The foundation of this bill is the very reasonable premise that meaningful sanctions should be imposed upon those who allow dangerous conditions to exist in the properties they rent out. And there must be mechanisms to prevent these conditions from happening in the first place and for effecting necessary repairs. The bill also allows tenants to pay rent to an escrow account or refuse to pay rent when a property is not habitable.

SB 90  Revises both the Delaware Fair Housing Act and Residential Landlord-Tenant Code to prohibit landlords from discriminating against tenants based on whether they receive federal or state housing assistance. This bill passed the Senate by a party-line vote.

SS1 SB 167 This bill is a companion to SB 90 and passed the Senate unanimously. The reason is obvious. The purpose of the bill is to increase the supply of homes available for rent for low-income individuals and families. Landlords would be able to file reimbursement claims for eligible expenses from the Landlord Mitigation Fund, a program administered by the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) and financed through a combination of available state funds, federal money, and other sources. These costs include improvements required by public housing inspections. It appears that Republicans would like to have the right to discriminate against poor people if they choose to, but also want help with repairs and other expenses.

SS1 SB 240  This Act prohibits landlords from renting out properties that the landlord knows to have a current bed bug infestation and notifying prospective tenants if an adjacent unit or units are currently infested/are being treated for bed bugs. The Act also sets forth the steps a landlord must take upon receiving notice of an actual or suspected bed bug infestation.

House Housing & Community Affairs

Supporting Reentry

Successful reentry policies require a holistic approach and must include the reunification of families, access to stable housing, and eliminating barriers to employment, education, and training. We have two bills this week that support returning citizens' efforts to acquire both qualifications and employment.  

HB 404  Delaware has expanded many opportunities for occupational or workforce training through Department of Labor funding and the expanded SEED program. But what good is training when you can’t become licensed? Many professional license requirements prohibit individuals with any criminal convictions. There are even “good moral character” clauses that allow a licensing board to deny a license for an arrest without a conviction. This contributes to a large segment of the population being unable to work, even if their arrest or conviction occurred years ago. The Delaware Fair Chance Licensing Act makes it the State policy to allow entry to occupations with licensing requirements for individuals with past convictions and arrests while taking into consideration public safety. The bill identifies certain kinds of criminal history elements that should not be considered by licensing boards and identifies factors that should be considered in determining whether a criminal history record should prohibit licensure.

Senate Legislative and Oversight Committee

Prior criminal history also can limit educational opportunities. Research shows that 7 out of 10 applicants with prior criminal convictions do not finish higher education applications once they reach the criminal history box. Recognizing the suppressive effect of including criminal history Fourteen states have passed Ban the Box in Education legislation. SB 13  would add Delaware to that list. It prohibits academic institutions from inquiring into an applicant’s criminal conviction history, with limited exceptions for inquiries into certain types of offenses such as stalking and sexual assault. If the institution elects to deny an applicant because of a conviction for such an offense, it must disclose that fact to the applicant. After an applicant has been admitted, an institution may inquire into the applicant’s criminal conviction history for the limited purpose of offering them counseling and making decisions concerning the applicant’s participation in campus life.

House Education

Workforce

Some sectors of the American workforce seemed to make gains during the pandemic. In reality, the volatile economy (rising inflation, supply chain issues) has eaten up much of these gains. Three bills are up in committee this week that support Delaware workers’ rights.

HB 409 Requires all employers in the State to provide employees with a minimum of 1 hour of earned sick time and safety leave for every 30 hours worked. For employers with fewer than 10 employees, the time may be unpaid, job-protected time instead of paid time. This bill does not reflect a revolutionary idea. Fourteen trifecta states (states where Democrats control the House, the Senate, and the governor's office) have passed and implemented this type of legislation. Its committee assignment is suspicious (House Economic Development Banking/Insurance and Commerce) As a point of reference, The Paid Parental Leave Act was assigned to the Health and Human Services Committee. Health and Human Services or Labor would be more appropriate settings to hear this bill. Let’s hope it survives.

House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce

The two remaining workforce bills are appropriately assigned to the House labor committee.

SS1 SB35 Defines specific violations of wage payment and collection laws as wage theft and creates a new criminal offense of wage theft, with a mechanism for the Department of Labor to refer completed investigations to the Department of Justice for prosecution.

SB 315 Streamline processes so that injured workers will experience fewer interruptions or delays in the payment of benefits than under the current law. Also included are protections for the Workers’ Compensation Fund to ensure that there are no overpayments.

House Labor

6/21/22

12:00 PM

Meeting Link: TBD

Password: LABOR

Meeting Livestream 

Dustyn Thompson
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