Bill Sponsor
Delaware Senate Bill 82
Session 152
An Act To Amend Title 29 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Improving Communication Assistance For Individuals With Limited English Proficiency And Disabilities.
Active
Active
Passed House on Jun 30, 2024
Sponsors
Democrat
John "Jack" Walsh
Republican
Brian Pettyjohn
Unknown
Russell Huxtable
Democrat
Marie Pinkney
Democrat
Bryan Townsend
Democrat
Paul S. Baumbach
Democrat
Kendra Johnson
Democrat
Madinah Wilson-Anton
First Action
Jun 15, 2023
Latest Action
Jun 30, 2024
Origin Chamber
Senate
Type
Bill
Bill Number
82
State
Delaware
Session
152
Sponsorship by Party
Republican
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Unknown
Russell Huxtable
Primary
Senate Votes (1)
House Votes (1)
checkPassed on June 29, 2023
Motion Text
SM
Summary
This Act is a Substitute for Senate Bill No. 82. Both this Act and SB 82 require State programs to provide annual reports to the General Assembly about compliance with federal and State law and regulation that require meaningful access to services for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) and effective communication for individuals with disabilities. Both this Act and SB 82 provide support for language and communication assistance for individuals renting or purchasing a home or facing eviction or foreclosure. This Act and SB 82 create a short-term program within the Office of the Manufactured Housing Ombudsperson and the Department of Justice. This program will provide special language and communication assistance support for individuals with limited English proficiency and individuals with disabilities to better understand and participate in matters related to residential leases and evictions and home purchases and foreclosures. The Department of Justice is not required to spend more than $48,500 on translation and interpretation services, and auxiliary aids, in the fiscal year following 30 days after enactment. This Act differs from SB 82 as follows: (1) Some definitions are updated to conform more closely to federal law. Additionally, this Act narrows the definition of "individual with a disability" to be someone with a disability affecting communication, since this Act is designed to gather data and provide support related to effective communication. (2) This Act narrows the scope of agency programs about which reporting must occur. Instead of collecting information about agency-wide compliance, this Act will gather preliminary information about compliance by obtaining reports about a sample of agency programs. This Act requires the secretaries and directors of various departments and divisions to select and report about at least 2 operations, units, or services provided by their department or division. Certain enumerated entities under § 10604(b) of Title 29 will be required to report about their compliance. Also, the Department of Justice shall select 5 programs that will be required to submit reports. (3) In SB 82, programs had to complete narrative reports for the first 3 years after enactment. Beginning 4 years after enactment, the reporting programs were required to submit reports that required data collection. This Act keeps only the narrative reports. (4) Revises the special language and communication assistance program to allow the Department of Justice to create 1 program to fulfill its obligations under this Act to provide support for language and communication assistance for individuals renting or purchasing a home or manufactured home or facing eviction or foreclosure, as well as limits the program’s obligations to the extent of the appropriated funds received. (5) In SB 82, the special language and communication assistance program was to sunset 2 years after enactment unless otherwise extended, while the reporting requirements were to continue. In this Act, the entire Act sunsets 2 years after enactment unless extended by an act of the General Assembly.
Actions (8)
06/30/2024
House
Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES
06/25/2024
House
Reported Out of Committee (Appropriations) in House with 6 On Its Merits
03/21/2024
House
Assigned to Appropriations Committee in House
03/20/2024
House
Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 1 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits
06/29/2023
House
Assigned to Administration Committee in House
06/29/2023
Senate
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
06/28/2023
Senate
Reported Out of Committee (Finance) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits
06/15/2023
Senate
Adopted in lieu of the original bill SB 82, and Assigned to Finance Committee in Senate
Sources
Record Created
Apr 20, 2023 6:19:21 AM
Record Updated
Jul 1, 2024 1:58:18 AM