DOVER – Final  amendments to Delaware’s Regulations Governing Beach Protection and the Use of Beaches – that implement legislative changes to the state’s Beach Preservation Act and clarify and codify the process for construction to help preserve the state’s fragile dune and beach system – will go into effect Aug. 11. The amendments, pursuant to 7DE Admin. Code §5102, were approved July 15 in an order signed by DNREC Secretary David Small, and will be submitted to the State of Delaware’s Register of Regulations for publication Aug. 1. 

Delaware’s Beach Preservation Act was passed in 1972 as the General Assembly recognized that Delaware’s beaches were rapidly deteriorating due to a combination of natural processes and continuing encroachment. DNREC was charged through the act to enhance, preserve and protect the public and private beaches of the state and to mitigate beach erosion and minimize storm damage.

A significant amendment to the Beach Preservation Act was passed by the General Assembly in 1996, requiring DNREC to take additional steps to minimize the impacts on the beach and dunes from any construction that took place seaward of the building line established to protect coastal dunes. The methodology for achieving the objective stated in the legislation was developed by the Department as a set of procedures and guidance that became known as “The Four-Step Process.” This guidance had not been incorporated into Delaware’s beach regulations until now.

“Delaware’s beaches and dunes are among our most vulnerable natural resources, a significant driver behind our state’s economy and critical to protecting our coastal areas,” said Secretary Small. “Incorporating the Four-Step Process into the regulation, as it has existed and been applied during the past 20 years, assures consistency, transparency and certainty for the public. It also allows the development and redevelopment of these sensitive areas to occur in an orderly and equitable fashion.”

Current Regulations Governing Beach Protection and the Use of Beaches were adopted in 1983. Since then, several amendments have been made to Delaware’s Beach Preservation Act that had not yet been incorporated into the regulations, along with several procedures used over the years to guide DNREC’s mission as stated in both the Beach Preservation Act and the state regulations for beach protection and use.

Notable proposed changes include:

• Changes to the Beach Preservation Act (Del. Code Title 7, Ch. 68) define a “Regulated Area,” which requires formal approval for construction activities for the first three buildable lots landward of the Mean High Waterline. “Regulated area” is the specific area within the defined beach that DNREC is directed to regulate construction of, to preserve dunes and to reduce property damage. The regulated area shall be from the seaward edge of the beach to the landward edge of the third buildable lot in from the mean high water line. This revision expands the amount of lots required to get approval in some areas and reduces it in others. Changes to the Act mandated this change in the regulations.
• The Regulations incorporate amendments to the Beach Preservation Act (Del. Code Title 7, Ch. 68), which direct DNREC to consider the effects of beach nourishment, where maintained to engineering standards, when existing houses located seaward of the Building Line are being reconstructed after being destroyed by an “Act of God or other accidental event.”
• Placement and approval of temporary structures are directly addressed in the revised regulations. The placement of temporary structures related to an event lasting 72 hours or less will be exempt from getting approval.
• The Four-Step Process for requiring proposed structures seaward of the Building Line to minimize encroachment onto beach and dunes, which is currently Department policy, is incorporated into the revised regulations.

 

Secretary’s Order 2016-WS-0023 about the amended regulations, as signed by Secretary Small, can be found on the DNREC website at: http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Info/Pages/SecOrders_Regulations.aspx. Paper or electronic copies of the regulations may be requested by contacting DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship’s Shoreline & Waterway Management Section at (302) 739-9921.

CONTACT: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 262

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On Tuesday, March 24, 2015, a House Concurrent Resolution will be introduced in the General Assembly to affirm that equal pay for women matters to the people of Delaware. Sponsoring the Resolution in the House are House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst and Representative Stephanie T. Bolden; in the Senate, the sponsors are Senate Majority Whip Margaret Rose Henry and Senator Nicole Poore.

Prior to the introduction of the Resolution, representatives of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Delaware and the Delaware Commission for Women, along with the sponsoring state legislators, will convene at 1:15 pm in the Senate Hearing Room on the second floor of Legislative Hall to discuss the issues involved. The press and general public are welcome to attend.

This event in Dover is a prelude to national Equal Pay Day, which occurs this year on April 14 – a date symbolic of the point in the new year to which a woman must work in order to earn the wages paid to a man in the previous year. On that date, thousands of women across the United States will join forces to highlight pay inequity.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, Delaware women who work fulltime earn on average just 83% of what men who work fulltime earn. These numbers are even starker when minority groups are directly compared. African-American women living in Delaware earn 67 cents per every dollar that white men earn. Hispanic women earn just 56 cents per dollar. With women carrying so much of the economic burden of supporting their families, the harm of such a wage gap can be clearly seen.

Those attending the activities in Dover, as well as those unable to be there, are asked to show their support for equal pay by learning more about the impact of the wage gap, by supporting efforts to eliminate that gap, and by wearing red on Tuesday, March 24, to symbolize how far women are “in the red” with their pay.

Task Force Is Seeking Three Parents to Complete Membership

WILMINGTON, Del.– Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn, chair of the state’s newly-formed IEP Improvement Task Force, announced today that the task force membership was near completion and that the state is seeking three more parents to serve on the task force.

The task force was created by the General Assembly (Senate Concurrent Resolution 63) at the end of June to make recommendations to improve the process by which the state creates Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for students with disabilities. Lieutenant Governor Denn, who has authored legislation in prior years to address deficiencies in the IEP process, was appointed by Senate President Pro Tem Patricia Blevins to chair the task force.

The task force already has three parents with students on IEPs as members, all of whom were appointed by the Governor’s Advisory Council on Exceptional Citizens (the state council that represents the interests of children with disabilities in schools). However, the resolution creating the task force allows for three additional parents to be appointed to the task force. Those parents will be appointed by the four state legislators who are task force members.

Parents of students who are currently on IEPs – or parents of individuals who were on IEPs in the past – who are interested in serving on this task force can contact Michele Rush at the Department of Education at 302-735-4210 or michele.rush@doe.k12.de.us by Friday, August 1, 2014. The Department of Education will communicate the names of interested parents to the four legislators, who will in turn pick the three parent members.

The task force will meet once or twice a month beginning in August for a report that is due to Governor Markell and the General Assembly by January 1, 2015. Meetings will alternate between Dover and Wilmington with videoconferencing available at both sites. All meetings will be open to the public; audio and materials from all meetings will be posted on the Lt. Governor’s website.

Ends legislative session marked by efforts to support businesses and workers, strengthen schools, and unleash the potential of every Delawarean

Dover, DE – Surrounded by lawmakers early this morning, Governor Jack Markell signed a balanced Fiscal Year 2015 budget to cap a legislative session focused on increasing economic opportunity for all Delawareans.

Despite a fiscal climate that has remained challenging even in a time of job growth, the funding appropriated in the Budget, Bond and Capital Improvements and Grants-in-Aid bills keeps the Governor’s commitment to fiscal responsibility. Overall, the accomplishments of this session:

• Support business creation and growth;
• Give citizens access to the education and training they need to succeed in today’s economy;
• Remove barriers to employment; and
• Encourage economic development in our cities.

The Fiscal Year 2015 Operating Budget contains 2.46% growth over Fiscal Year 2014 despite unanticipated increases in Medicaid expenses and the number of children attending Delaware schools. Average annual budget growth during the Markell administration (2009-2015) is 2.2%.

The state has continued to receive a AAA bond rating from all three rating agencies in large part due to appropriating just 98 percent of available revenues and maintaining a fully funded Rainy Day Fund. This year’s budget adheres to those principles.

“When we gathered at the beginning of this legislative session, I spoke about the goal of unleashing the potential of our people – about our shared belief that we all stand to gain when everyone gets a fair shot,” said Markell. “At the core of that mission is a responsibility to ensure economic opportunity is available for all Delawareans.

“Delaware’s economy continues to outperform the country where it matters most, with job growth outpacing the national average every month since the start of 2013, and during the past six months we have kept moving forward. The achievements of this session will help more people realize their potential and make the most of their abilities in our great state.”

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Encouraging Economic Development and Job Creation

“We supported our job creators by bringing down the cost of doing business while taking steps to spur the research and development that leads to innovation and job growth,” said Markell.

• Established Downtown Development District program (SB 191) to revitalize urban areas and spur economic activity by attracting increased private funding through development and other incentives in selected areas. It is funded at the full $7 million requested to allow for the selection of 1-3 districts in the first year.
• Reformed workers’ compensation system (HB 373) to reduce high costs to businesses through recommendations of a task force created by the Governor and General Assembly.
• Supported small business innovation (HB 318) and growth by doubling the R&D Tax Credit for them. HB 318 targets the credit toward startups and small companies with less than $20 million in receipts by making them eligible for a tax credit of up to 100% of the federal credit, while large companies continue to qualify for up to 50%.
• Encouraged and supported innovation through the Delaware Cyber Initiative to spur innovation in a key industry that has hundreds of unfilled jobs in the state ($3M in Bond Bill) and through funding for a Federal Research and Development Matching Grant Program ($2M in Bond Bill).
• Spurred Fort DuPont Redevelopment (HB 310), recognizing Fort DuPont’s enormous potential as a sustainable, mixed-use community that preserves the historical and environmental interests of the complex and surrounding areas. The bill authorizes the creation of the Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation, an entity that will spearhead the renovation, redevelopment, and preservation of the complex.
• Extended the Bank Franchise Tax Creditto support financial industry job creation by changing the sunset of the tax credit from January 1, 2022, to January 1, 2032, and providing for a rolling base year for measuring employment growth.
• Helped Veterans transition to civilian workforce (HB 296) by having professional licensing boards recognize military education, training, and experience when reviewing credentials and issuing licenses.
• Prioritized energy efficiency (SB 150), which reduces energy bills and creates local construction jobs, by driving investments in energy efficiency that displace more expensive energy supply purchases.
• Funded the Division of Special Investigations focused on gun safety to make our communities safer through in-depth investigations into firearm transactions and gun trafficking and by developing a statewide enforcement and oversight strategy. ($265K)
  

Creating Opportunities to Work

“We have no higher priority than ensuring employers have access to a skilled workforce in Delaware because that’s what businesses say is most important to them, and because gaining the right skills is critical for workers to succeed in today’s economy,” said Markell.

• Funded Accelerated Career Path opportunity for high school students to gain professional certificates in manufacturing by the time they graduate, while receiving exposure to Delaware Tech and the workplace. To further promote and support experiential learning as a workforce development tool, the budget funds a competitive grant program for public-private partnerships between employers and schools. ($900K)
• Increased Access to College

o   Funded college access initiatives, including dual enrollment options, and efforts that have been part of the “Getting to Zero” program. ($1.5 million)  This work has produced results:

• All college-ready seniors in this year’s graduating class applied and have taken steps to enroll (in previous years about 1 in 5 did not); and
• More students are taking AP courses and passing AP tests.
  

Supporting Opportunities to Learn

“Any successful economy and society needs great schools,” said Markell. “We have made unprecedented strides in efforts to attract and retain great teachers while giving school leaders the chance to use state funding in ways that work best for their students.”

• Invested in Delaware schools

o   $19.0 million to maintain classroom size and fully fund unit count (220 units).

o   $10.2 million for step increases for school employees and the enhanced paraprofessional pay plan.

o   $2.9 million for pupil transportation associated with enrollment growth.

• Initiated effort to improve the educator compensation system (SB 254) to make starting salaries competitive, reward educators who take leadership roles, and better support those who work with the most at-risk students. These are critical steps to help Delaware attract, develop, and retain high-quality educators, who are the most important school-related factor in students’ academic success.
• Established a path forward for school district funding flexibility after more than six decades operating with the current funding system. The rigid state funding model has prevented school leaders from developing innovative ways to best serve their students. (Budget Epilogue)
• Transitioned to assessments aligned with Common Core (HB 334). This move will align state assessments tocollege and career ready standards.
  

Building Opportunities for Those in Need

“We cannot meet the potential of our state unless we give all of our people a fair chance to meet their potential,” said Markell. “We have taken steps to reform our criminal justice system to give ex-offenders the opportunity to contribute when they have repaid their debt to society, and we have removed barriers to employment for them and other groups that have faced obstacles.”

• Raised minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25 per hour. (SB 6) Upon signing the bill, Governor Markell emphasized that “raising the minimum wage represents one of the fastest ways we can act to give a boost to many struggling working families.”
• Addressed employment discrimination against ex-offenders by banning the box for public employers (HB 167) and permitting the Department of Correction to offer employment for up to 6 months to ex-offenders who have demonstrated exceptional job skills. (HB 264)
• Ended driver’s license revocation for drug offenders whose crimes don’t involve a motor vehicle, removing an obstacle for them to get a job and contribute to their communities. (SB 217)
• Addressed rising prison costs and made the approach to sentencing and penalties more appropriate. Initiatives included:

o   Sentencing reform that ends Delaware’s status as the only state to not allow concurrent sentences (HB 312); and

o   A pre-trial supervision program to will keep some non-violent individuals out of prison. ($250K)

• Funded community-based advocates for young people transitioning out of juvenile facilities to help them keep their lives on track when they return to their communities. ($250K)
• Established a Youth Re-Entry Education Task Forceonensuring the appropriate services are available for youth leaving juvenile secure care facilities.
• Transformed the way the state handles addiction through better treatment, community care management and other related services. The State will increase detoxification services, assertive community treatment team services and sober living occupancy rates, while also establishing a comprehensive system to meet the needs of people in correctional facilities who have substance abuse disorders. ($1 million)
• Supported public services for people in greatest need

o   $3.8 million in the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services to support additional community placements.

o   $3.6 million for community-based services for individuals with serious and persistent mental illness.

o   $1.8 million to the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services to support an estimated 175 additional special school graduates.

o   $1.3 million to help kids get off to the right startby expanding the proven Nurse-Family Partnership program that assists first-time mothers.

Making Government Work Effectively and Efficiently

”While ensuring economic opportunity for all must be our ultimate goal, that can only happen if we also fulfill our obligation to give Delawareans faith in their elected officials and to make government as effective and efficient as possible,” said Markell.

• Reformed the Office of Medical Examiner to restructure it as a free-standing division of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. The bill addresses issues that contributed to the problems reported earlier this year by providing for oversight and accountability of the division and its new director. (SB 241)
• Enacted further campaign finance reform legislation to build on earlier efforts during the Governor’s Administration to increase transparency and effectiveness of the campaign finance system, while also improving the overall effectiveness and efficiency of how the state administers elections.

o   HS 1 to HB 302 consolidates the three County Elections Boards, grants a new State Board of Elections authority over campaign finance-related disputes, and allows for anonymous reporting of election law violations.

o   SB 186 requires that entities disclose name and address of one “responsible party” – someone who shares or exercises direction or control over entity’s activities.

o   HB 301 provides for clearer attribution of contributions from joint accounts by requiring that contributions from joint accounts (including but not limited to bank accounts) be attributed to the person signing the check or authorizing payment.

o   HB 300 addresses whistleblower protections for employees who report and/or refuse to participate in violations of campaign finance laws, and who participate in an investigation, hearing, trial or inquiry of a campaign finance violation.

o   SB 187 provides a safe alternative for the return of prohibited campaign and suspected prohibited campaign contributions.

 

Dover, DE – The State Senate passed Workers’ Compensation legislation this afternoon to stop the large workers’ compensation rate increases that are burdening Delaware businesses.  HB 373 was developed by incorporating recommendations of the Delaware Workers’ Compensation Task Force over the last 18 months. It passed the House earlier this month.

Workers’ compensation rates have been a major concern for Delaware employers for a number of years.  House Bill 373 will make the system more efficient and will result in relief for Delaware businesses that have had to endure such significant premium increases over the past few years.

“I applaud the Lt. Governor’s work on this extremely important issue for Delaware’s business community,” said Governor Markell. “His leadership ensured the task force acted swiftly and effectively to address the high rates that have burdened our employers.  The bipartisan reform represents the culmination of a great deal of work, commitment and compromise by everyone involved with the task force.”

The Workers’ Compensation Task Force was created on January 30, 2013 by the Delaware General Assembly and the Governor, and charged with an expedited review of Delaware law relating to workers’ compensation, the impact that the 2007 amendments to that law had upon workers’ compensation premiums, the reasons for recent increases in workers’ compensation premiums, and whether any additional changes to statutes, regulations, or practices are required to control growth in premiums. As detailed in the task force’s prior report, Delaware’s workers’ compensation premiums had risen by calendar year 2006 to be the third most expensive in the country.

The task force delivered its first set of recommendations in May 2013 and those were consolidated into House Bill 175, which passed the Delaware House of Representatives and Delaware State Senate unanimously.  Among the provisions of House Bill 175 was one that continued the existence of the task force through June 30, 2014.  Its second set of recommendations was released with a report for the General Assembly in May 2014, and House Bill 373 was a result of those findings and suggestions.

The recommendations for House Bill 373 focused almost exclusively on medical costs, as they make up 65% to 70% of every dollar spent on workers’ compensation premiums in Delaware, and make up 100% of the increase in premiums.  The most substantial provision in this bill is a significant reduction in the reimbursements paid to health care providers for treatment of workers’ compensation patients.  The task force has revealed that reimbursements for treatment of workers’ compensation patients in Delaware has evolved to be among the highest in the country – in some cases three, four, or even five times the reimbursement for exactly the same procedure than what is allowed in other states.

Broadly, the recommendations fall into three areas:

Heightened Oversight of Insurance Carriers, including consolidating the Data Collection Committee and the Health Care Advisory Panel into a single committee and a Ratepayer Advocate to be hired and overseen by the Workers’ Compensation Oversight Panel, with staff support to be provided by the Department of Labor.

Stricter Control on Medical Costs, including directing the Workers’ Compensation Oversight Panel (WCOP) to create a new medical fee schedule, using multipliers of medical codes used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which results in a 33% reduction in reimbursements to health care providers for treatment of workers compensation patients, to be phased in over a three year period.  It also calls for reimbursements starting in 2017 for individual procedures to be capped at specific percentages of what the Medicare program pays for identical procedures, though it has a provision allowing the legislature to re-examine the impending Medicare caps in 2016 to determine whether they should be adjusted given the experience in 2015.  Finally, there is a  recommendation that the General Assembly (through the WCOP) monitor both the rate impact of these recommendations and their impact upon providers as the recommendations are phased in, and make statutory adjustments in the fee schedule if appropriate.

Consideration of New Rating Organization, recommending that DOI undertake a formal assessment of whether there should be a change in the rating organization used by Delaware insurance carriers, and include members of the task force who have expressed concerns about the current situation in that formal assessment.

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