SB5 Summary

• Establishes enhanced penalties for "dumping" (depositing litter in substantial quantities equal to or greater than 32 gallons) with fines of at least $500 for first offense and $1,000 for second offense within 2 years, plus required community service of 8-16 hours.

• Creates the Littering Investigation and Enforcement Fund (LIEF) as a subaccount to receive court-ordered restitution for investigation, enforcement, and remediation of unlawful littering or dumping.

• Imposes an additional mandatory $500 penalty for any littering or dumping offense occurring on Delaware byways, State parks, federal wildlife refuges, or National Park Service land.

• Maintains existing littering penalties ($50 fine and up to 8 hours community service for first offense; $75 and up to 25 hours for second offense within 2 years) while allowing courts to require cleanup work or restitution payments.

• Allows peace officers to issue voluntary assessment forms for littering violations under § 1604(a), enabling offenders to pay fines by mail within 10 days without court appearance.