The vast majority of good-paying jobs require education or training beyond high school. So we must take note of clear evidence showing that students who take a college course in high school have more success in post-secondary education. It’s why we are working with our school districts and colleges to make more of these classes available and, earlier this year, we committed to ensuring no student will be denied the chance to take a college course because of the cost. We’re seeing great progress. More than 1500 high school students are taking classes that can count toward high school graduation and college credits, either at their high school or on a college campus. That’s up from about 600 in the last school year. Twenty-five high schools across the state are offering more than 100 dual-enrollment courses – like a Wilmington University English class here at Howard, a Del State writing course at Lake Forest, and Del Tech’s statistics class at Dickinson. The total number of courses and schools has doubled from just a year ago. Dual enrollment, along with more Advanced Placement class offerings, is one important part of preparing students for life after graduation. We must also remove financial and other barriers to continuing their education. Last year, every college-ready senior in Delaware applied to college following an intensive outreach campaign that included help filling out applications and assistance with financial aid. By challenging our students in the classroom and removing obstacles to educational opportunities, we’ll ensure they’re ready to thrive in today’s economy. And that will keep Delaware moving forward.

(Wilmington, DE) – In his weekly message, filmed at Howard High School, Governor Markell discusses the importance of challenging our students in the classroom and highlights the statewide increase in dual enrollment courses to better prepare students for college.
“Dual enrollment, along with more Advanced Placement class offerings, is one important part of preparing students for life after graduation,” said Governor Markell. “By challenging our students in the classroom and removing obstacles to educational opportunities, we’ll ensure they’re ready to thrive in today’s economy, and that will keep Delaware moving forward.”
Every week, the Governor’s office releases a new Weekly Message in video, audio, and transcript form. The message is available on:

YouTube: http://youtu.be/IwcZeDY-mJU
Delaware.Gov: http://governor.delaware.gov/podcast_video.shtml
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You can view the Governor’s Weekly Message Transcript: Challenging Our Students to Realize Greater Success

Attorneys General want Department of Defense to improve Military Lending Act regulations

DOVER – Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, an Iraq War veteran, and Attorneys General 20 other states are urging the U.S. Department of Defense to strengthen proposed revisions to regulations implementing the federal Military Lending Act.

The MLA was intended to shield service members from predatory lending practices by capping interest rates and fees on loans to service members, and providing other important protections. However, since rules implementing the Act were adopted in 2007, some unscrupulous lenders have changed tactics to avoid complying with the law. In response, on Sept. 29, 2014, the Department of Defense published new proposed regulations aimed at providing more comprehensive protections for service members. In their letter to the Department of Defense, Biden and his colleagues praised the Department for closing some loopholes in the current rules, while highlighting weaknesses in the revised regulations that could leave service members exposed to common abusive lending practices.

The attorneys general cite two weaknesses in the proposed MLA regulations: 1) an overly broad exemption for fees that may be charged in excess of the MLA’s 36 percent interest rate cap; and 2) a failure to regulate sham secured loans that are structured to evade MLA protections.

“We have a duty to protect those who are serving in the military and risking their lives to protect this country,” said Biden, who secured stronger federal consumer protections for military personnel in the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement and earlier this year worked with legislators to create a state-level Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

With regard to fees, the MLA imposes a 36% cap on the Military Annual Percentage Rate (MAPR) for loans to service members. Under current regulations, the MAPR includes all fees that are required to be paid as a condition of the credit. The new regulations exempt from the MAPR calculation any “bona fide fees” if they are “reasonable and customary.” The attorneys general point out that the 36% cap already far exceeds national averages for APR on both fixed and variable rate credit cards, and that new fee exemption will “open a wide door through which abusive fees of creative lenders may pass.”

The attorneys general also raised concern about the failure of the new rules to tighten the exemption for secured loans. Such loans are exempt from key MLA protections, but this exemption has been widely abused. The attorneys general have found that predatory lenders peddle consumer loans that are nominally secured by collateral, but that in practice are disingenuous vehicles for “abusive practices Congress sought to ban.” For example, the MLA specifically prohibits cash loans backed by allotments from the borrower’s paycheck and access to the borrower’s checking account. Some lenders evade this prohibition by making loans with a security interest in a consumer item that is worth far less than the amount of the loan.

The attorneys general write that “these lenders’ recourse for a $3,000 loan is not the $650 TV securing it, but the allotments and checking account sweeps that are otherwise made illegal by the MLA.” The letter also notes that service members are particularly vulnerable because unpaid debts can affect their security clearance, and potentially their military career.

The threat of predatory loans cloaked at secured loans is not a hypothetical one.  The attorneys general cite the matter of SmartBuy/Rome Finance. In that case, vendors lured service members “to purchase household electronics and other items at 300% markups through predatory financing” at effective rates of interest far exceeding the 36% MLA cap. The loans were “almost exclusively backed by allotment payments and checking account access—practices that are explicitly banned by the MLA. But, because the Rome Finance agreements were nominally ‘secured’ they arguably would not have been covered by the existing MLA regulations nor would they be by the Department’s proposed amendments.”

In July, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and 13 states, secured a settlement liquidating Rome Finance and its successor corporations, and providing more than $92 million in debt relief to more than 23,300 affected United States service members worldwide. In their letter today, the attorneys general urged the DoD to clarify that the exemption for secured loans only applies “where there is a valid and enforceable security interest (bearing a reasonable relationship in terms of value),” and not to sham transactions that are structured to evade MLA rules, like those used by SmartBuy/Rome Finance.

While urging improvements to the regulations, the attorneys general praised the DoD for proposing rules that “make strides in closing loopholes and accomplishing the intent of the Military Lending Act.” For example, the new rules would extend protections that currently cover fixed term loans to also include open ended loans. The letter was signed by the attorneys general of Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington

MLA Collaborative Letter–SIGNED

WILMINGTON – Christopher Wheeler, 54, was found guilty on Monday by a Delaware Superior Court judge of 25 counts of dealing in child pornography. The conviction was the result of an investigation by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force, which Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden established in 2007.

Each count of dealing in child pornography carries a 2-year minimum mandatory sentence, meaning that Wheeler faces a minimum of 50 years in jail when he is sentenced in March by Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis.

Authorities obtained an arrest warrant Oct. 30, 2013 for Wheeler after Child Predator Task Force detectives recovered multiple images of child pornography on computers seized by investigators during an October 22, 2013, search of Wheeler’s Wilmington home and office.

Since its start in 2007, the Child Predator Task Force has been responsible for more than 200 convictions and the rescue of more than 120 children from abusive situations.

DOVER – As Delawareans stock up their firewood supplies, state officials remind buyers and sellers that firewood must be sold and advertised only by cords.

Under Delaware Code, firewood and stove wood must be advertised, offered for sale, and sold only by a cord measure or fractions of a cord or cubic meter. Selling firewood by truckload, rack, face cord or pile is not permitted under state law.

“Buyers should get what they pay for, and measuring by the cord or fraction of a cord is the best way of ensuring that,” said Steve Connors, Weights and Measures Administrator with the Delaware Department of Agriculture.

A cord is 128 cubic feet of compactly stacked wood in a rectangular form. It could be stacked in a variety of ways, such as eight feet long by four feet wide by four feet high.

In addition to measuring wood before burning it, buyers should also make sure they have a written receipt for the firewood delivery that includes the seller’s name, address, phone number, date of delivery and quantity of firewood. Buyers should also note the license plate number of the delivery vehicle.

“Most wood sellers are honest and fair, especially those who have been in the business a long time,” Connors said. “Unfortunately, there are always a few people who are trying to make a quick buck by taking advantage of consumers who don’t know the law.”

Consumers who think they may have been shortchanged should call the seller before burning the wood. Complaints should be directed to the Department of Agriculture’s Weights & Measures Section at (800) 282-8685.

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Media contact:
Dan Shortridge
Chief of Community Relations
Delaware Department of Agriculture
302-698-4520
daniel.shortridge@delaware.gov