AG Biden, Sen. Townsend, Rep. Jaques Introduce Bill to Protect Delawareans Serving Their State and Country

Dover – Members of the United States military and the Delaware National Guard will receive important consumer protections under legislation unveiled late Tuesday that creates a state-level version of the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and gives Attorney General Beau Biden’s office the authority to enforce the new law.

SB 206, was developed by Biden’s office and is sponsored by Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, and Rep. Earl Jaques, D-Glasgow. Biden is an Iraq War veteran, Townsend is the chair of the Senate Banking Committee and a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and Jaques is the chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and retired from the Delaware National Guard as a 1-star general after more than 36 years of service.

The federal SCRA dates back to the Civil War and protects members of the military from having to defend themselves against most civil proceedings, such as foreclosure, while they are serving their country on active duty or are forced to move because of their military service. The federal SCRA also protects servicemembers who have to break leases or contracts due to military deployment.

“Members of our military and their families sacrifice to protect Delaware and our country,” Biden said. “We need to protect those who protect us. The men and women who are putting their safety at risk should be focused on their mission, not defending themselves at home. I look forward to working with Sen. Townsend, Rep. Jaques and all of the members of the General Assembly to give these important protections to our men and women in uniform.”

SB 206 incorporates these protections into a state law and also expands the SCRA by extending relief to members of the Delaware National Guard who are called into active military service for the State of Delaware for a period of more than 30 consecutive days. These Guard members are not covered under the current federal SCRA.

Townsend, D-Newark, said the proposal gives an added level of protection to Delaware’s service members.

“The current federal law establishes important protections for our service members,” Townsend said. “The proposed legislation takes this protection a step forward, enabling Delaware’s Department of Justice itself to provide the same protection directly to Delaware service members.”

By putting the federal protections into state law, Attorney General Biden’s office will have the authority to enforce the law and protect members of the Delaware National Guard and military men and women who reside in Delaware. Attorney General Biden’s office would have the authority to prosecute violations of the state law. Right now, it cannot prosecute violators because the protections are only in federal law, not the Delaware Code.

“Military members, including our guardsmen, put their lives on hold and sacrifice to serve our state and country,” said Rep. Earl Jaques, D-Glasgow, a retired Delaware Air National Guard brigadier general. “They deserve the protections they receive from the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and the bill we are introducing will make those protections even stronger. We owe it to the Delaware National Guard, our civilian military, to make sure they receive the same protections as other military members.

Examples of provisions of the federal SCRA include:

Servicemembers cannot have default judgments entered against them because there are on active duty and civil proceedings must be stayed.
Military men and women (who live off base) cannot have their homes foreclosed on while they’re deployed on active duty and their mortgage interest rate, if higher than 6 percent, must be lowered to 6 percent.
The SCRA requires the stay or vacation of execution of judgments, attachments and garnishments for deployed military members.
Military personal cannot be being charged penalties, such as fines and fees, incurred under contracts due to military service.

This bill is the latest effort from Attorney General Biden to strengthen the financial protections given to military personnel and to ensure the laws providing those protections are followed. Biden’s office secured stronger consumer protections for military members and their families in a February 2012 national settlement with five of the largest mortgage-servicing banks, has held outreach events for military personnel with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Delaware National Guard, and is preparing to hold a military consumer protection event in July.

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Supreme Court restores federal regulation of interstate air pollution

Wilmington – Today the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an Environmental Protection Agency regulation aimed at reducing power plant emissions of dangerous air pollution that cross state lines and harm the health of residents in “downwind” states.

“The health of all Delawareans is threatened by harmful pollution produced in other states and carried here by wind currents,” Attorney General Beau Biden said. “The EPA acted responsibly in 2011 to reduce those emissions and I applaud the nation’s highest court for ruling today that the agency acted within its authority to do so.”

In 2011, the EPA determined that air pollution from more than two dozen primarily East Coast states contribute significantly to downwind states’ inability to comply with federal air quality standards. As a result, it promulgated the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), which required significant reductions in airborne pollutants emitted by those states, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, precursor pollutants of ozone and other fine particulates.

In August, 2012, a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down the CSAPR. In October of that year, the EPA filed an appeal of the August, 2012 decision, seeking a re-hearing of the case before the entire panel in the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia. Delaware, 8 other states, and several major cities intervened in support of the EPA. Read the October, 2012 release announcing Delaware’s action. After the EPA’s request for rehearing was denied, the EPA took its case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which held oral arguments late last year.

Today’s Supreme Court opinion is attached.

EPA v. EME Homer opinion

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Governor’s Office Statement on Passage of H.R. 4414 by the U.S. House of Representatives

Wilmington, DE – Below is a statement from the Governor’s office on the passage of Expatriate Health Coverage Clarification Act of 2014 (H.R. 4414) by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill clarifies the Affordable Care Act does not apply to expatriate health insurance plans, such as those plans offered by Cigna, which employs hundreds of Delawareans working on these plans.

“The Governor has been working with Cigna for several years on making sure that expatriate insurance plans are treated fairly under the ACA and that Cigna’s business stays and can grow in Delaware. This situation is about jobs, and the Governor commends the tireless efforts by Representative Carney, Senator Carper, and Senator Coons, who have all worked incredibly hard to find a solution that fairly supports the workers who manage these plans. As the Governor has emphasized to the Obama administration on numerous occasions, it does not make sense to treat expatriate insurance plans managed from Delaware the same as domestic insurance plans. The bill that passed today particularly reflects Representative Carney’s commitment to resolving this issue and it represents another important step toward preventing our insurers from being put at a competitive disadvantage overseas, while protecting jobs.”

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Governor Markell Statement on Supreme Court Ruling on Air Pollution

Wilmington, DE – Governor Markell applauded today’s Supreme Court ruling that upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate cross-state air pollution from coal-fired power plants. The Governor has helped lead an effort by Eastern states to petition the EPA to require that Midwestern states reduce emissions that are blown across state lines.

“Today’s Supreme Court decision represents another important step to combat the dirty air pollution that enters Delaware from other states, which unfairly harms the health of our people and our economy,” said Markell.

“Through efforts to clean up power plants and work with every industrial facility in Delaware, we have seen huge reductions in air pollution produced by our state, especially over the past five years. However, more than 90% of our dirty pollution comes from out-of-state sources, and the impact often results in air that does not meet healthy standards. Despite this, new facilities in our state are required to meet much more stringent regulatory requirements than facilities in the very states that are causing our air quality violations.

“We continue to be committed to doing everything we can to reduce harmful emissions in our state, but we also demand a level playing field and today’s ruling brings us closer to that goal.”

Olga Nielsen to display sculptures and works on paper in the Mezzanine Gallery in May

The Delaware Division of the Arts Mezzanine Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition titled Continuum from May 2- 30, 2014. The Gallery, open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington. A reception will be held for the exhibition where the public can meet the artist on Friday, May 2, 2014 from 5:00-8:00 p.m.

This solo exhibition of Olga Nielsen’s work will showcase a selection of figurative sculpture and works on paper. Though her interest in the natural world extends beyond the human form, the majority of her work is focused on portraiture and representations of the feminine figure. It is through figurative subjects that Nielsen has found an avenue to express and examine her own personal experiences as well as themes which are universal and common to all.

Originally from Russia, Nielsen received her primary classical education at the Moscow School of Fine Arts in the late 1970s. More recently she has pursued additional training in sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Nielsen is an instructor in figurative work at numerous area institutions. She serves as a faculty member at DCAD and also the Center for Creative Arts in Yorklyn, Delaware. Her work has been widely exhibited, commissioned, and collected throughout the region. Nielsen lives and works in Wilmington, Delaware.

20% of each sale of work from this exhibition will be donated to the Friendship House Women’s Day Center. This program, located in Wilmington, provides resources and support to women who are encountering difficult times.