| HB 67 w/ HA 2 | Signed | Osienski | This Act creates a new chapter in Title 21 pertaining to the towing of vehicles without the consent of the owner or operator. It makes violations of the chapter an unlawful practice enforceable by the Consumer Protection Unit of the Department of Justice. The Act creates the following requirements for the towing and storage of vehicles without the consent of the owner or operator:
Photographic evidence must be taken to document the unauthorized parking of a vehicle before it may be towed, and written authorization to tow a specific vehicle is required before the vehicle may be towed from a private parking area.
Tow companies and storage facilities must publicly display their rates.
Towing and storage rates must be reasonable, with reasonableness calculated in relation to the fees imposed by the companies for consensual towing and storage or based on average rates in the county.
A maximum total towing rate of $250 and daily storage rate of $50 is imposed.
Tow companies must decouple or drop vehicles that have not been removed from parking areas if the owner returns before removal. The drop fee may not be more than 50% of the tow fee.
Storage facilities must be open or accessible to the public from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. five days a week, and tow companies must make reasonable accommodations to redeem vehicles after-hours.
Individuals must be allowed to retrieve at no cost during business hours personal belongings from vehicles held in storage.
Storage facilities may charge a fee of up to $50 for after-hours access to or retrieval of a vehicle.
Tow companies and storage facilities must accept credit cards, or have an ATM available with a reasonable access or service fee.
Where a tow is completed in violation of the chapter, the owner or operator is entitled to both reimbursement of the tow and storage fees as well as damages incurred to retrieve an illegally towed vehicle.
Tow companies may not patrol for illegally parked cars, unless they have a contract to do so and comply with the requirements applicable to any other unauthorized towing of a vehicle.
Tow companies may not pay or give other benefits to obtain information about cars parked without authorization. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE REMOVAL OF MOTOR
VEHICLES FROM PRIVATE OR PUBLIC PROPERTY BY PRIVATE TOW COMPANIES. |
| SB 102 w/ SA 1 | Signed | Walsh | This Act would limit the opportunity to remain as a licensed apprentice electrician after an individual has already completed an apprentice program approved by the Board of Electrical Examiners.
Apprenticeship is meant to be a first step on a career journey, not a destination. Since the apprentice electrician license was created, the ranks of apprentices have steadily swollen, but a significant number of those apprentices have not moved forward toward more advanced licensing. As the number of these apprentices grows beyond the capacity for more senior licensees to supervise their work, the situation is likely to create confusion among and to threaten the safety of consumers of electrical services in Delaware and the general public.
This bill also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
| AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE BOARD OF ELECTRICAL EXAMINERS. |
| HB 136 | Signed | Ross Levin | A placard must be prominently displayed at any entrance of a massage and bodywork establishment that has failed to obtain a valid license or has a license that is suspended, revoked, or expired. This Act provides that no placard can be removed unless the removal of the placard is approved by the Division of Professional Regulation. This Act makes the unlawful removal of the placard a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail and up to a $2300 fine.
Technical corrections are also made to existing statutory language to conform with the requirements of the Legislative Drafting Manual. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MASSAGE AND BODYWORK. |
| HS 2 for HB 105 | Signed | Ross Levin | Pay range transparency empowers job applicants with crucial information to negotiate salaries and make informed career decisions. It also encourages businesses to proactively review compensation practices, address unjustified pay disparities, and strengthen their ability to attract and retain top talent.
This Act requires that employers include salary or wage range information and a general description of benefits in all postings for job opportunities, and ensures that applicants have access to that information prior to any offer or discussion of compensation. Employers are required to maintain records relating to job descriptions and wage rates for employees for at least 3 years. The Department of Labor may bring an administrative action to enforce the pay transparency provision. This Act does not apply to employers with 25 or fewer employees. The Act takes effect 2 years after its enactment.
House Substitute No. 2 to House Bill No. 105 differs from House Substitute No. 1 to House Bill No. 105 as follows:
It provides that where a job opportunity is covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the compensation or compensation range disclosed in a notification should be one that has been agreed upon for disclosure in the CBA itself.
It provides that the pay transparency provision becomes applicable to postings for opportunities covered by a CBA only when the CBA is amended, modified, or renewed after the effective date of the Act, to give the parties opportunity to consider the disclosed range in the course of negotiating a CBA.
It provides that an employer is not liable for job postings that are digitally replicated and published without the employer’s consent.
It specifies that the pay transparency provisions in this section apply to Delaware-based jobs or non-international remote positions offered by an employer based in Delaware.
It makes the record preservation requirement consistent with § 907 of Title 19. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES. |
| HS 2 for HB 48 w/ HA 1 | Signed | Neal | HS 2 to HB 48 seeks to streamline accessible parking laws and improve enforcement of accessible parking laws in Delaware. Although federal and state laws currently require specific design and construction requirements for accessible spaces, these laws are often ignored and rarely enforced. To that end, this Act requires that a permit be issued by the local county or municipal authority to ensure that accessible parking spaces are compliant with the design and construction requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and any existing local laws. This Act permits a county or municipal government to assess a civil penalty of up to $500 on an individual or entity that does not construct and maintain ADA compliant parking spaces.
This Act also increases the fine for unlawfully occupying an accessible parking space. Rather than imprisonment, the penalty for unlawfully occupying an accessible parking space may include community service. All accessible parking space signs must display the current maximum fine.
HS 2 to HB 48 differs from HB 48 in that it does the following:
(1) Requires state facilities to obtain approval through the Architectural Accessibility Board in lieu of a permit.
(2) Removes state-specific accessible parking provisions of the bill and adopts the federal accessible parking provisions that are already in effect under the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design issued by the Department of Justice on September 15, 2010, and its accompanying guidance.
(3) If an existing accessible parking space is not ADA compliant within 5 years of the effective date of this Act, authorizes a civil penalty to be assessed against the individual or entity that is responsible for maintaining the accessible parking space.
(4) Requires that all accessible parking space signs display the current maximum fine for unlawfully occupying an accessible parking space. | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 9, 21, AND 22 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ACCESSIBLE PARKING SPACES. |
