Students in Leanna Vitti’s fourth grade class at Wilbur Elementary School spoke before the House Health & Human Development committee Monday to advocate for a bill that seeks to stop smoking in cars that contain kids. House Bill 118, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Hensley, R-Odessa, would create a civil citation for people who smoke in a car that also contains …
Division of Alcohol starts process to create legal pot industry
The legalization of marijuana in Delaware will mean the state’s police agencies stop ticketing people for having it, but they’ll continue to pull people over for appearing to be under the influence. Police already had stopped charging people with criminal possession for small amounts of pot in 2019, when Attorney General Kathy Jennings said she would no longer prosecute for …
State opens public comment period on paid family leave rules
The Delaware Department of Labor this week opened the 30-day public comment period on proposed regulations for the state’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave insurance program. It will take effect Jan. 1, 2025, and employees and employers to pay into it before it can be drawn on the following year. Largely based on the federal Family Medical Leave Act …
First of 7 climate change bills moves to House floor
As part of a suite of other climate bills, the House Natural Resources & Energy Committee approved a bill that would require Delaware to lower its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 2050. House Bill 99, which is sponsored by Rep. Deb Heffernan, D-Bellefonte, says net state greenhouse gas emissions must be 50% of the 2005 levels by 2030 and …
Bill promises officer families death benefits after suicide
A bill that establishes suicide as a line-of-duty death, allowing families of the deceased to receive receive benefits, passed the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee Tuesday. Delaware law now does not list suicide as a line-of-duty death that would enable an officer’s family to file for benefits. House Bill 133, sponsored by Rep. Sherry Dorsey-Walker, D-Wilmington, makes clear …
Julianne Murray elected Republican party chair
The Delaware Republican Party’s convention started off with a speech decrying various ills that Democrats caused, from the electric vehicle mandate to paid family leave, and from early voting to letting 16-year-olds vote in school board elections. That came from Richard Foster, the temporary chair for the convention, meeting Saturday at the Modern Maturity Center in Dover. Later, Loren Spivack, …
Habitat for Humanity gets $1.2M to help seniors age in place
Sussex County Habitat for Humanity has received a $1,248,610 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide low-income seniors with safety and accessibility improvements — such as grab bars, railings and lever-handled doorknobs — so they can age in place. “With this grant, the three Delaware Habitats will … complete 180 low-barrier, high-impact home modifications over the course …
Senators: Animal abuse laws could prevent other forms of abuse
Two bills that aim to prevent animal abuse unanimously passed through the Senate floor Tuesday. Senate Bill 71, sponsored by Sen. Stephanie Hansen, D-Middletown, would require law-enforcement agencies, the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families and the Department of Justice to report suspected animal cruelty to the Office of Animal Welfare. The reports would only be required …
House looking to codify rules on remote participation
When the Delaware House began meeting in January, it adopted temporary rules for operations. House Resolution 3 governs how the House operates, from how bills are voted on to how parking spaces are allocated to each member. House Resolution 10, which includes the permanent rules, awaits a vote by the whole House. It received four votes on its merits …
Marijuana legal in Delaware Sunday; Carney won’t sign, veto
Gov. John Carney said Friday that even though he disagrees with legalizing marijuana and creating a regulated and taxed industry, he will allow the two bills that do that to become law without his signature. “I want to be clear that my views on this issue have not changed,” he said in a Friday afternoon press release. “I understand there …