The Delaware General Assembly recessed on Sunday, June 30 for the year.  Here is a list of bills that ABC was watching throughout the session.  If you have any questions, please e-mail ecapodanno@abcdelaware.com

Senate Bill 255 which increases GC/prime contractor tabled for the year

SB 255– SB 255 was tabled in the State Senate for the year. The sponsor of the legislation is planning on developing a stakeholder group that will meet in the fall to see if a compromise can be worked out. ABC will be represented in the stakeholders group. The bill increases liability for GC/prime contractors on wage issues and contractor registry for all contractors on your project. For a copy of SB 255, click here. The bill contains three provisions, including the one we spoke about last year with regards to all contractors being on the registry.

1. Provides that a prime general contractor is jointly and severally liable for a violation of the Wage Payment and Collection Act that is committed by a subcontractor, regardless of whether the subcontractor is in a direct contractual relationship with the prime general contractor.
2. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action to collect wages under the Wage Payment and Collection Act.
3. Provides that a prime general contractor is jointly or severally liable for a violation of the Delaware Contractor Registration Act by a subcontractor.

Revised Prevailing Wage on Custom Fabrication passes General Assembly

SS 1 to SB 307 – a new bill on offsite fabrication and prevailing wage passed the State Senate last week and heads to the House of Representatives. For a copy of the new bill, please click here. ABC asked that they repeal the law altogether which was originally passed last year and got denied. The new bill tries clarifying the definition of offsite fabrication on lines 10, 11 and 12 and what it applies to. Keep in mind that this is already law but hasn’t been enforced by OMB or DOL. There is an amendment to this new bill that would eliminate the bill that passed last year (SB 102) and have this new one (SB 307) take effect on January 1, 2025. That would mean no prevailing wage rates on offsite fabrication for the rest of this year (2025). The new bill would take effect on January 1, 2025. There is still confusion on enforcement and who is responsible to pay these rates.

Legislation passed on DBE requirements as part of best value contracting

HB 387, legislation that would add DBE requirements to the best value bidding process in Delaware passed the General Assembly. For a copy of this bill, please click here. The bill introduced by the Office of Management and Budget for the State of Delaware will be for projects over $30 million and include Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Participation in these jobs. The contract award will be based on a form of best value and allows the project to be scored based on DBE usage between 10% and no more than 30%. ABC is supportive of increasing participation of DBE/MBE/WBE firms on state funded construction projects. We are concerned that moving to best value contracting will take away the lowest responsible bidder awards that the State has always used.

Changes to Unemployment Compensation System becomes law

HB 433 – This Act revises the experience rating methodology for assigning unemployment assessment rates to employers under the Unemployment Insurance Code in Delaware, replacing the current benefit wage ratio methodology with the benefit ratio methodology used by 19 other states. For a copy of this bill, please click here. The new methodology is meant to be more responsive to changes in the economy over time, to better sustain the solvency of the Unemployment Trust Fund, and to be easier to administer. The unemployment assessment rate for an employer under this new methodology would be calculated by combining a benefit ratio assessment, an employer size add-on, and an employer industry add-on. The supplemental tax for operations and technology costs that is already included in the Unemployment Code would continue to be added to each employer’s overall assessment rate. This bill also reduces new employer unemployment assessment rates and phases in a permanent taxable wage base over three years- $12,500 for calendar year 2025, $14,500 for calendar year 2026, and $16,500 for calendar year 2027 and thereafter. The new methodology would be in effect at the beginning of the calendar year 2027. Until the effective date of that new tax rate structure, this Act would also provide temporary relief to employers who pay unemployment tax assessments in calendar year 2025 and 2026 by reducing new employer tax rates, simplifying tax rate schedules, reducing or holding constant overall employer tax rates, and reducing the maximum earned rate. This Act also makes technical corrections to existing Code to conform to the Legislative Drafting Manual and reinserts a historical provision that applied only to 2023.

State Capital Budget tops out at $1.1 billion

The state’s capital projects budget passed the General Assembly on June 30, 2024. The bond bill total is $1, 116 billion. Here is the breakdown:  The bill puts almost $328 million into transportation and infrastructure; $200 million into K-12 and higher education; $247 million into the Office of Management and Budget; $47 million for DNREC; $157 million for State Department; and $17 million each for University of Delaware, Delaware State and Delaware Tech. For a full copy of the State bond bill, click here.

Governor signs $6.1 billion budget

The Delaware General Assembly approved a $6.1 billion budget for fiscal year 2025, ensuring funds for raises for state employees, rising health care costs and new investments in Delaware’s public schools.  The 2025 budget is a nearly 9% increase from last year’s $5.6 billion operating budget approved by state lawmakers, but it does not raise taxes on Delawareans The operating budget bill, Senate Bill 325, sets aside reserve funds to protect state services amid an economic downturn; invests in critical services for Delaware’s seniors and those with intellectual and developmental disabilities; and helps provide early childhood education to income-eligible families, among other services.  The reserve funds include $50 million to help cover future raises for educators, an effort that began during last year’s budget negotiations to bring base starting salaries to $60,000. It includes $347.8 million to the state’s rainy day fund. The adopted operating budget funds a third year of state employee pay raises with all merit employees slated to receive a 2% increase, according to a Joint Finance Committee news release. Negotiated raises and step increases will also be fully funded.  The funding ensures the state continues its efforts to increase base salaries for Delaware’s educators, specialists and support staff.  It also includes $132 million to cover the state’s share of employee and retiree health insurance premiums; $94 million to cover inflationary costs and higher usage of Medicaid services; and $39 million for projected enrollment growth in Delaware public schools.

Community Outreach plan requirement for permitting doesn’t move forward

HS 1 to HB 248 – a bill that mandates developers must submit, with their permit application, a Community Outreach Plan didn’t move forward this year. For a copy of this bill, click here.  The Community outreach plan at a minimum must: (1) identify a facility community liaison; (2) schedule a community meeting in or within 3 miles of the boundaries of the underserved community; (3) provide a written overview of information to be provided in the permit application; (4) publish the community meeting notice on-line and in at least 1 newspaper and, if available, 1 in the predominate non-English language if the underserved community is identified as limited English proficiency, at least 30 days prior to the scheduled community meeting. The community meeting must allow for interaction and questions and answers. The community meeting must be recorded or transcribed and made publicly available. Any written materials and oral and visual presentations must be accurate, free of technical language, and written in plain English consistent with federal guidelines. The applicant must also provide an Underserved Community Outreach Report to DNREC as part of the permit application and review process by DNREC. The Report must include: (1) The community demographics that qualify it as an underserved community; (2) Community liaison’s contact information; (3) Benefits of the qualified project to the community; (4) Proposed activities and their impact on air, water, soil, and health; (5)That releases of emissions over permit levels will be reported in accord with DNREC regulations; (6) Description of operations conditions or control measures that serve to reduce or mitigate pollution associated with the permit application; (7) Compliance history of facility over last 5 years and verification that any fines, penalties and remedial obligations have been fulfilled; and (8) all applicable state and federal permits held by the facility. All material provided by mail or at the community meeting and all notices must also be provided to DNREC.

Overburdened Community Permit legislation did not move this year

HB 422 – This Act defines certain facilities which will require an applicant seeking a permit for a new facility, or expansion of an existing facility, or renewal of an existing permit, located in an overburdened community, as defined in the Act, to provide an environmental justice impact report did not move forward this session. For a copy of this bill, please click here. Facility includes the following commercial, municipal, or industrial businesses located in, or within, a ½ mile radius of an overburdened community: (1) manufacturers of animal food, meat, seafood, tobacco, manufactured homes, chemicals, cement, asphalt, ready-mix concrete, primary metal, nonmetallic mineral products, ammunition or transport equipment; (2) manufacturers of fossil or bio-based fuels, distillates, chemicals and pharmaceuticals; or industrial scale storage of such materials; (3) pulp, paper, paperboard and sawmills; (4) commercial rail, port or water freight docks; (5) landfills, transfer stations, resource recovery, scrap metal or recycle centers or compost operators; (6) warehouses, and distribution, trucking and logistic centers larger than 75,000 square feet; (7) industrial or municipal sewage treatment centers, animal waste management or processing operations and sludge processors; (8) large, concentrated animal feeding operations, as defined by the size threshold in the federal Clean Water Act, regardless of their discharge status; (9) energy generators, as defined in §1001 of Title 26; (10) medical waste incinerators (with the exception of those attendant to a hospital or university intended to process self-generated medical waste); and (11) commercial, municipal, or industrial projects or installations that are not listed in (1) through (10) that are similar in scale, and that currently contribute or upon permit approval would contribute to the cumulative pollution in an overburdened community, which are identified by the Department in conjunction with the Environmental Justice Board. For all permit applications, the environmental justice impact report would be required at least 60 days before a required community information session and public hearing.  The community information session and public hearing on the permit would be required to provide an opportunity for meaningful public participation by the overburdened community. Following the public hearing the Secretary would be required to consider the recommendation of the Environmental Justice Board and the testimony presented at the public hearing and an analysis of the environmental justice impact report.

FMLA clarification legislation passes General Assembly

SS 1 to SB 248 – This act adding to the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program passed the General Assembly. It clarifies that for purposes where an employee is leased by an employee leasing company or a professional employment organization, “employer” refers to the employer client of the employee leasing company or professional employment organization, and not to the employee leasing company or professional employment organization. For a copy of the bill, please click here.

Electrical Apprenticeship Ratio legislation stalls in the Senate          

SB 222 – This legislation closes a loophole in the current law which allows 100% of the work being completed on a jobsite to be done by workers only possessing an apprentice license. For a copy of this bill, click here. Currently, under Delaware law, an apprentice license can be acquired with little or no experience in the electrical trade. The current law only holds the worker responsible and allows the contractor to avoid any fines. This legislation corrects that inequity by also holding the contractor responsible and subject to fines.

New Developer requirements on street maintenance passes General Assembly

HS 1 to HB 297 – this Act increases the funding required to be secured by a developer to ensure the developer fulfills the developer’s obligations to construct and complete improvements within a subdivision. For a copy of the bill, please click here.

Traffic Safety legislation enacted by General Assembly

HS 1 to HB 247 – the “Everyone Gets Home Act” makes changes to the Delaware Code to sharpen the Department of Transportation’s focus on the three most common types of fatal crashes: intersection (including driveway); roadway departure; and mid-block pedestrian. For a copy of the bill, please click here. This Act clarifies the Department’s authority to designate controlled-access facilities as a safety counter measure for both intersection and midblock pedestrian crashes and, when the facility designation has received the consent of county government, requires counties to use their own authority to assist the Department in consolidating vehicle entrances and exits to and from the facility. In addition, this Act authorizes the Department to designate roadways as low-speed streets and low-speed local roads in order to address fatal roadway departure crashes related to vehicle speed and permits counties to request such designations to meet their own traffic safety goals. Finally, this Act expands the Department’s discretion to deploy new traffic-control devices in order to reduce fatal crashes.