Synopsis
This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 43. Both this Act and SB 43 add additional State facilities and categories of establishments to § 787 of Title 11 which would be required to display public awareness signs about human trafficking. The additional State facilities and categories are as follows: (1) State service centers. (2) Wellness centers. (3) Residential child care facilities. (4) Transitional and independent living service providers for youth aging out of foster care. (5) Shelters for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault or individuals experiencing homelessness or food insecurity. (6) Hotels. (7) Convenience stores along a major highway. (8) Gas stations along a major highway. (9) Casinos. (10) Restaurants with liquor licenses. (11) Poultry processing plants. (12) Bus or train stations. (13) Bars. (14) Massage establishments. (15) Shopping malls. This Act is also the same as SB 43 in that it: (1) Provides definitions of some of the existing State facilities and categories of establishments where public awareness signs are required to be displayed, as well as some of the new State facilities and categories added by SB 43 (and retained by this Act). (2) Includes specific locations on the premises where establishments that are hotels, casinos, restaurants with liquor licenses, poultry processing plants, massage establishments, and shopping malls must display a public awareness sign. (3) Adjusts the process by which the Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council (Council) may designate establishments required to display public awareness signs. SB 43 and this Act allow the Council to promulgate regulations to designate other categories of establishments that must display public awareness signs in addition to the categories required under § 787 and this Act; designate a specific location on the premises for a category of establishments where a public awareness sign must be displayed; and change requirements for what must be included in a "public awareness sign", as defined in this Act. (4) Requires the Council to annually publish a list of categories of establishments that must display a public awareness sign and any specific location requirements for the purposes of providing notice. (5) Clarifies that enforcement fines are civil penalties. (6) Distinguishes between the responsibilities of the Council and establishments, as well as rewrites the responsibilities to clarify the current law regarding the display of public awareness signs. (7) Establishes an enforcement process, including the requirement that establishments will receive a warning before any civil penalties are assessed. The Department of Labor may promulgate regulations. (8) Requires the Department of Labor to submit an annual report about enforcement to the Council and the General Assembly. (9) This Act takes effect immediately and is to be implemented 1 year from the date of this Act’s enactment to allow for the promulgation of regulations by the Department of Labor and the Council, as well as to ensure public awareness signs will be ready for distribution before implementation. (10) This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 43 by: (1) Removing the mandate that the Department of Labor (Department) conduct enforcement. The Department still has enforcement authority but may exercise its discretion in whether to pursue enforcement. (2) Changing enforcement to a complaint-based system whereby the Department may inspect an establishment about which it receives a compliant. While the complaint-based system may be the main way that the Department will receive notice of possible noncompliance with public awareness sign requirements, the Department may still initiate inspections independent of a report from the Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council or a complaint. (3) Changing the enforcement process and timeframes as follow