Delaware 151st General Assembly (2021-2022) Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 1 D · 1 R cosponsors

SB 57 — AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF WYOMING.

Last action — Signed by Governor

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed House
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 28, 2021. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 90% · high confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    2 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (1 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

This Act amends the Charter of the Town of Wyoming (“Charter”) to clarify the authority of the Town in certain areas and to improve the operations of the Town. Specifically, in this Act: (1) Section 1 changes when newly elected Town Council members take office. Instead of waiting from the date of the election in February until May to take office, new council members would take office at an organizational meeting to be held as soon as possible following the sixth day from the certification of the election. (2) Section 2 simplifies the process for filling a vacancy on Town Council. (3) Section 3 is correlated with Section 1 and clarifies when new council members take office. Additionally, this Section establishes at will employment for all employees who do not have an employment contract. (4) Section 4 clarifies that the Mayor is authorized to vote as a member of Council in all situations and not just to break a tie and establish a majority vote. (5) Section 5 authorizes the Town to hire a Police Chief pursuant to an employment contract and allows the Town to not renew an employment contract without a finding of just cause or holding a hearing under Chapter 93 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code. (6) Section 6 establishes procedures for the Town to hire a Town Manager. (7) Section 7 authorizes the Town to issue quarterly supplemental tax assessment invoices for those properties that have had quarterly supplemental tax assessments completed by Kent County. Invoices paid within 30 days of the mailing of the supplemental tax invoice are to be given a 3% discount, and any invoices paid more than 90 days after the mailing of the supplemental tax invoice are subject to penalties and collection procedures outlined in the Charter. (8) Section 8 allows the Town to make allowances for delinquent taxes. This Section amends the Town’s ability to recover costs associated with collection proceedings to more closely reflect the monition method of collecting outstanding taxes. This Section clarifies that costs or assessments are subject to the lien process. (9) Section 9 authorizes the Town to enforce the removal of snow, ice, and dirt from sidewalks and gutters and authorizes the Town to assess individual members of a homeowners’ association for expenses incurred by the Town to bring property owned by the association into compliance with Town and State laws when the homeowners’ association fails to pay the amounts or has ceased to operate. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a municipal charter. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform the Charter to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Signed by Governor

  2. Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES

  3. Suspension of Rules in House

  4. Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 1 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits

  5. Assigned to Administration Committee in House

  6. Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

  7. Reported Out of Committee (Elections & Government Affairs) in Senate with 2 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits

  8. Introduced and Assigned to Elections & Government Affairs Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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2 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 60 not signed on

Sponsors (2)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (60)

60 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 60 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

2/3

Passed 41 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 13000
Democratic 16000
Republican 12000
Total 41000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Andria L. Bennett — Yea
David Bentz — Yea
Gerald L. Brady — Yea
John A. Kowalko — Yea
John L. Mitchell — Yea
Michael Ramone — Yea
Paul S. Baumbach — Yea
Peter C. Schwartzkopf — Yea
Ruth Briggs King — Yea
Sean Matthews — Yea
Sherry Dorsey Walker — Yea
Stephen Smyk — Yea
Valerie Longhurst — Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Eric Morrison Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke Democratic Yea
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Yea
Larry Lambert Democratic Yea
Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic Yea
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Yea
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Sherae'a Moore Democratic Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Yea
William Bush Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Bryan W. Shupe Republican Yea
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Yea
Daniel B. Short Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Yea
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Yea
Michael F. Smith Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Yea
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Shannon Morris Republican Yea
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea

Official roll call →

2/3

Passed 21 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5000
Democratic 11000
Republican 5000
Total 21000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Bruce C. Ennis — Yea
Colin Bonini — Yea
Ernesto B Lopez — Yea
Kyle Evans Gay — Yea
Sarah McBride — Yea
Bryan Townsend Democratic Yea
Darius J. Brown Democratic Yea
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Marie Pinkney Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic Yea
Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
Brian Pettyjohn Republican Yea
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Yea
Dave G. Lawson Republican Yea
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 57 do?
This Act amends the Charter of the Town of Wyoming (“Charter”) to clarify the authority of the Town in certain areas and to improve the operations of the Town. Specifically, in this Act: (1) Section 1 changes when newly elected Town Council members take office. Instead of waiting from the date of the election in February until May to take office, new council members would take office at an organizational meeting to be held as soon as possible following the sixth day from the certification of the election. (2) Section 2 simplifies the process for filling a vacancy on Town Council. (3) Section 3 is correlated with Section 1 and clarifies when new council members take office. Additionally, this Section establishes at will employment for all employees who do not have an employment contract. (4) Section 4 clarifies that the Mayor is authorized to vote as a member of Council in all situations and not just to break a tie and establish a majority vote. (5) Section 5 authorizes the Town to hire a Police Chief pursuant to an employment contract and allows the Town to not renew an employment contract without a finding of just cause or holding a hearing under Chapter 93 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code. (6) Section 6 establishes procedures for the Town to hire a Town Manager. (7) Section 7 authorizes the Town to issue quarterly supplemental tax assessment invoices for those properties that have had quarterly supplemental tax assessments completed by Kent County. Invoices paid within 30 days of the mailing of the supplemental tax invoice are to be given a 3% discount, and any invoices paid more than 90 days after the mailing of the supplemental tax invoice are subject to penalties and collection procedures outlined in the Charter. (8) Section 8 allows the Town to make allowances for delinquent taxes. This Section amends the Town’s ability to recover costs associated with collection proceedings to more closely reflect the monition method of collecting outstanding taxes. This Section clarifies that costs or assessments are subject to the lien process. (9) Section 9 authorizes the Town to enforce the removal of snow, ice, and dirt from sidewalks and gutters and authorizes the Town to assess individual members of a homeowners’ association for expenses incurred by the Town to bring property owned by the association into compliance with Town and State laws when the homeowners’ association fails to pay the amounts or has ceased to operate. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend a municipal charter. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform the Charter to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Who sponsors SB 57?
SB 57 is sponsored by Trey Paradee (Democratic) and Lyndon D. Yearick (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 57?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 28, 2021. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 57?
Track SB 57 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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