House approves bills on tenants, solar panels, theft

On Tuesday, the House approved bills ranging from a tenant bill of rights to making certain buildings ready for solar panels.

Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, would give tenants below 200% of the federal poverty line free legal representation if they are evicted.

The bill would create a Right to Representation Coordinator position, appointed by the attorney general and would create an annual report, posted to the attorney general’s website, to show how many tenants were given help.

An amendment to the bill, which passed by voice vote, would require the annual report to also include the number of people covered during the year who previously had not been covered, and the level of experience of form 50 agents. Those are people being represented by someone who isn’t a licensed Delaware attorney.

Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown, D-New Castle, said the bill is beneficial to both tenants and landlords.

“This bill will help both tenants and help landlords by giving tenants help navigating the process. Giving landlords someone with experience to talk to, and by requiring mediation, which in other states often settled 80% or so of these cases,” Minor-Brown said. “This makes the process faster and less expensive and creates room in the courts for those cases that really need to go to trial.”

The fiscal note for the bill states it will cost $171,210 in one-time costs and $1,122,699 in ongoing costs for the 2024 fiscal year, $27,897 in one-time costs and $2,284,868 in ongoing costs for the 2025 fiscal year, and $3,928,912 in ongoing costs for the 2026 fiscal year.

The House approved the bill 25 to 12, which now goes back to the Senate, after passing 19 to 0, due to changes made in the House.

It has 31 additional sponsors and cosponsors, 30 Democrats and one Republican, Rep. Eric Buckson, R-Dover.

Related Story: Tenant right to lawyers bill held for changes by committee

House Bill 11, sponsored by Rep. Deb Heffernan, D-Bellefonte, would require that new commercial buildings with a foundation of 50,000 square feet or more have sections of their roofs ready to support solar panels.

An amendment to the bill was approved by voice vote and makes the bill comply with the Commercial of the International Energy Conservation Code.

Heffernan said that the bill doesn’t require the installation of solar panels.

“It just means that the roof would have to be solar ready, because when a building is built, it’s much less expensive to have the roof built to solar ready standards rather than to retrofit it,” Heffernan said.

There are some exemptions, such as hospitals which likely need reinforced space for helicopter pads or some medical purpose. 

She also said the bill doesn’t apply to municipalities.

Rep. Mike Ramone, R-Pike Creek, asked Heffernan what’s stopping counties from moving new buildings to municipalities to avoid the regulation.

Heffernan said many municipalities will want to follow the regulation because it’s cheaper to install solar panels if the building is made to support them rather than having to retrofit them.

Ramone said state buildings should be included in the proposed regulation.

“Everybody should be treated the same and it should be inclusive for the state,” Ramone said. “What I’m trying to say is either everyone does it the same way or let it continue to go and have local leadership where the counties could digest what they want for the municipality.”

The House approved the bill 24 to 14. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

It has 13 additional sponsors and cosponsors, all Democrats, and doesn’t require a fiscal note.

House Bill 157, sponsored by Kimberly Williams, D-Stanton/Newport, would prevent pawn shops from buying items unless there is a receipt associated with the purchase.

Any items found to be stolen will be held by the Department of Safety and Homeland Security for up to 30 days while the pawnbroker finds proof of a receipt of purchase.

An amendment to the bill, which was approved by a voice vote, clarified items seized by the Department of Safety and Homeland Security are ones that violated the bill.

Williams said the bill was developed with the help of the state police.

“Folks go into Home Depot’s, Lowe’s, take merchandise and then come back to the store and get a gift card without a receipt for the items that they stole,” Williams said. “So the Home Depot, Lowe’s, gives them a gift card and then they take them to a pawn shop where they’re given cash for the gift cards. And we’re trying to find ways to stop these thefts.”

Ramone said that he had been hesitant to support the bill, but Williams’ explanation made it more clear why they should.

Rep. Lyndon Yearick, R-Camden, asked Williams if she’d talked with pawnbrokers about the process.

Williams said pawnbrokers benefit from the process.

The bill, which doesn’t require a fiscal note, and has eight additional sponsors and cosponsors, all Democrats, passed by voice vote.

It now heads to the Senate for consideration.