144th GA Business Report Card

HB 92 – Sponsored by Representative Hudson. Introduced on 3/22/07. An act to amend Title 18 of the Delaware Code to create an arbitration procedure for disputes between insurance carriers and health care providers. This legislation creates a low-cost arbitration process that health care providers can use to resolve payment disputes with insurance carriers. Signed by the Governor on 6/28/07. This bill was endorsed by the Chamber.

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HS 1/HB 121 – Sponsored by Representative Miro. Introduced on 4/5/07. An act to amend Title 11 of the Delaware Code relating to specific offenses. This Act establishes as a specific crime the felony offense of organized crime with the offense being a Class G felony if it is in excess of $1,000, or if the perpetrator has been convicted previously twice before the theft, otherwise a Class A misdemeanor. Signed by the Governor on 7/5/07. This bill was endorsed by the Chamber.

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HB 174 – Sponsored by Representative Stone. Introduced on 5/16/07. An act to amend Title 6 of the Delaware Code relating to electronic postmarks and the uniform electronic transactions act. This Bill provides that a legal requirement to send, communicate, or transmit a record by registered or certified mail is satisfied by an electronic record. Housed passed measure 6/27/07. The bill was endorsed by the Chamber.

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HB 180 – Sponsored by Representative Miro. Introduced on 5/30/07. An act to amend Title 11 of the Delaware Code relating to selling of stolen property. This Bill creates a Selling Stolen Property charge, which is used when a person receives stolen property and then sells it to another person. It is a Class A misdemeanor unless the value of the property sold is $1,000 or more, or unless the seller has been convicted two or more times of Selling Stolen Property, in which case it is a Class G felony. Signed by the Governor on 7/17/07. The bill was endorsed by the Chamber.

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HS 1/HB 197 – Sponsored by Representative Valihura. Introduced on 6/13/07. An act to amend Title 9 of the Delaware Code establishing New Castle County to utilize tax increment financing and special development districts to fund costs related to redevelopment. This Bill enables New Castle County to take advantage of the opportunity to have redevelopment infrastructure impact costs financed through the use of tax increment financing (TIF) and the establishment of special development districts (SDD). Signed by the Governor on 6/14/07. This bill was endorsed by the Chamber.

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HB 214 – Sponsored by Representative Stone. Introduced on 6/14/07. An act to amend Title 18 of the Delaware Code relating to captive insurance companies. Signed by the Governor on 7/18/07. This bill was endorsed by the Chamber.

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SB 36 – Sponsored by Senator Marshall. Introduced on 6/5/07. An act to amend Title 19 and 29 of the Delaware Code relating to collective bargaining. The Bill amends the Public Employment Relations Act to specify the mediation and binding arbitration process. Further the Merit System is modified to make the salary and wage schedule, allowances, reimbursements, insurance, and paid time off, hazardous duty pay, health insurance, pension benefits established in Title 29 of this Code as amended or benefits for retired employees, examination, appointment and promotion processes, subject to Merit Board determination. House passed on 6/29/07. This bill was NOT endorsed by the Chamber.

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S 1/SB 67 – Sponsored by Senator Adams. Introduced on 4/3/07. An act to amend Title 4 of the Delaware Code relating to breweries and mircobeweries. This Bill would allow all manufacturers of beer to sell products made at the premises to be sold at the premises for off-premise consumption. Currently such sales are limited to microbreweries. In addition, this bill would allow all breweries to provide samples to visitors of their premises in a manner approved by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner. Signed by the Governor on 5/23/07. This bill was endorsed by the Chamber.

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SB 97 – Sponsored by Senator Marshall. Introduced on 5/16/07. An act to amend Title 6 of the Delaware Code relating to the Delaware false claims and reporting act. This Act amends the Delaware False Claims and Reporting Act to meet the guidelines set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General for Delaware to receive a 10 percent increase above the state share in all Medicaid fraud recoveries. The Act also streamlines and updates the procedures for handling qui tam cases by the Department of Justice’s office. The bill is in House Committee as of 6/14/07 and was endorsed by the Chamber.

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SB 149 – Sponsored by Senator Marshall. Introduced on 6/19/07. An act to amend Title 30 of the Delaware Code relating to tax credits. This Act establishes a framework for Delaware to attract high paying, competitive jobs into the next decade. To qualify, a new employer must add at least 50 net jobs which each must have an annual salary of at least $100,000. Up to 40 percent of the withholding taxes collected and paid on behalf of these new, qualified employees during the taxable year will be rebated. Higher refund amounts will be granted for qualified employees employed within targeted growth zones, incorporated municipalities, and former brownfields. Qualifying firms would be eligible for credits over a 10 year period and would need to apply annually for the rebate. Signed by the Governor on 6/30/07. This bill was endorsed by the Chamber

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SB 118 – Sponsored by Senator Marshall. Introduced on 6/14/07. An act to amend Title 29 of the Delaware Code relating to Public Works Contracting. This Act amends the existing prevailing wage language under §6960 of Title 29 by tying the prevailing wage to the collectively bargained wage if the collectively bargained wage has prevailed for that trade or craft in two consecutive years. House passed on 1/24/08. This legislation was NOT endorsed by the Chamber.

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SB 1 – Sponsored by Senator DeLuca. Introduced 1/10/07. An act to amend Titles 18 and 19 of the Delaware Code relating to workers compensation. This act revises the workers compensation law with further specification of the filing and payment process with a strong emphasis on notice. It further enforces data collecting and monitoring in an effort to increase efficiency while clarifying obligations and rate. Moreover, it streamlines and documents the fee and affidavit process. Finally, it works to clarify fraud proceedings and the extent of compensation by designating certain coverage groups. Signed by Governor on 1/17/07. This bill was endorsed by the Chamber.

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SB 204 – Sponsored by Senator Marshall. Introduced 3/11/08. An act to raise the minimum wage to $7.15 on February 28th, 2009. This act states that an initial increase would be followed by an increase to $7.75 on March 1st, 2009 and $8.25 effective March 1st, 2010. Senate passed measure on 3/20/08. This bill is not endorsed by the Chamber.

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HCR 38 w/HA 1 – Sponsored by Representative Valihura. Introduced 1/22/08. An act to recommend that the Controller General vote to approve the power purchase agreement between Bluewater Wind and Delmarva Power and requesting the Public Service Commission Determine if the costs should be distributed among all Delmarva Power Customers. In addition, this bill set forth the criteria of House Bill 6 of the 143th General Assembly as in the citizen’s best interests. The bill also states that the Public Service Commission should consider passing the costs of Bluewater Wind’s contract onto the citizens of the state. House passed on 4/10/08. This bill not endorsed by the Chamber.

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HA 1 to HCR 38 – Sponsored by Representative Booth. Introduced 4/10/08. An amendment to House Concurrent Resolution 38 that mandates that any purchase power agreements shall include all state government buildings, as well as residential homes and small businesses. House passed on 4/10/08. This bill endorsed by the Chamber.

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HA 2 to HCR 38 – Sponsored by Representative D. Short . Introduced 4/10/08. An amendment to House Concurrent Resolution 38 that would allow the Controller General to compare the Bluewater Wind proposal to a recently – proposed plan by Delmarva Power to enter into a long-term agreement to purchase land-based wind-generated electricity. The Controller General could vote in favor of the Bluewater Wind project only if he did not find that the new PPA proposal would provide a significant cost benefit to Delmarva Power SOS customers. House defeated bill 4/10/08. This bill endorsed by Chamber.

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SB 204 – Sponsored by Senator Adams. Introduced 3/12/08. An act to amend Title 5 of the Delaware Code pertaining to the Delaware Bank Franchise Tax and Title 30 of the Delaware Code Pertaining to the Delaware Corporation Income Tax. This act allows corporations to apportion income based on theirs single ration of Delaware sourced gross receipts from asset management services to all gross receipts from asset management services instead of a 3 ratio average used by other corporations in the industry. Therefore, this act creates an “asset management corporation” as having a baseline of 90 percent or more of the federally reported gross receipts derived from asset management services. Furthermore, the act allows without requirement, asset management corporations to elect the baseline definition each year. Asset management services are defined as services which include investment advice, determining the timing of sales and purchases of intangible assets, selling and purchasing intangible investments and rendering administration and distribution services and managing contracts for sub-advisory services. The sourcing of the gross receipts derived from providing asset management services is based generally on the domicile of the consumer of the asset management services. Finally, this act prevents the election by subsidiary corporations of banking organizations, trust companies, or electing banking firms and trust companies under the Delaware Bank Franchise Tax to be treated as asset management corporations under the Corporation Income Tax of Title 30of the Delaware Code rather than under the Delaware Bank Franchise Tax under Title 5 of the Delaware Code. Bill passed House 3/20/08. This bill is endorsed by the Chamber.

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