SB 338

                SPONSOR:
                Sen. Cruce & Rep. Chukwuocha
                Sens. Seigfried, Townsend; Reps. Burns, Harris, Minor-Brown, Morrison, Romer, Snyder-Hall, K. Williams
        DELAWARE STATE SENATE
        153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
        SENATE BILL NO. 338
        AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 AND TITLE 22 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE.
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):
        Section 1. Amend § 8101(e), Title 9 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
        § 8101. Property subject to county taxation.
        (e) Special betterments, whether or not also considered to be improvements, shall include and be limited to the following:
        (8) Poles, wires, cable and conduit for distribution of telephone communication services either above or below
        ground; provided, however, that in no event shall the amount of tax imposed on communications providers that were paying tax on such property as of June 30, 2015, exceed the amount actually paid by such provider to each political subdivision in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015;
        ground;
        Section 2. Amend § 2001, Title 22 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
        (c) The amount of tax imposed on a communication provider who was being taxed as of June 30, 2015, by municipal corporations on poles, wires, conduit and cable for distribution of telephone communication may not exceed the amount of tax actually paid by such provider to each municipal corporation in fiscal year ending June 30, 2015.
        SYNOPSIS
        This Act removes the cap on the amount of tax a county or municipality can levy on poles, wires, cable and conduit for distribution of telephone communication services.
        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, whether directly, by amendment to a specific municipality's charter, or, as in this Act, indirectly, by a general law.
        Author: Senator Cruce