Delaware General Assembly


CHAPTER 187

FORMERLY

SENATE BILL NO. 395

AS AMENDED BY SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 3

AN ACT TO MODIFY CHAPTER 65, TITLE 29, DELAWARE CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR A COST-OF-LIVING SALARY SUPPLEMENT AND A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION TO MODIFY CERTAIN STATE PAY SCALES.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:

Section 1. Amend Chapter 65, Title 29, Delaware Code, by adding a new §6532, which shall read as follows:

§6532. Cost-of-Living Salary Supplements

(a) All employees of the State shall be paid a salary supplement as a percentage of their base pay equivalent to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the Philadelphia region. The Consumer Price Index figure at the beginning of each calculation period shall be subtracted from the Consumer Price Index at the end of the calculation period, multiplied by one hundred and divided by the Consumer Price Index at the beginning of the period to determine the percentage of increase or decrease for cost-of-living for that period. This calculation shall be made each six month period ending December 31 and June 30 and become effective for each succeeding six month period beginning April 1 and October 1 respectively. The supplement percentage may not exceed ten percent on a annual basis.

(b) The Governor shall create an Advisory Council on State Salary Administration to administer this Section.

() For purpose of this section, an 'employee' is defined as one who works the regularly scheduled full-time hours of the employing agency or at least 30 or more hours per week or 130 hours per month (with allowable interruptions throughout the year and is compensated with a regular State pay check.

(d) For purposes of this section, 'base pay' is defined as all salary, wages and fees, including overtime payments paid to an employee."

Section 2. Effective September 1, 1975, the following changes shall be made to the designated pay plans:

(a) The pay plan of the State Personnel Commission shall be increased as follows:

(1) Pay Grade 5 through 18 - 8%

(2) Pay Grade 19 through 25 - 12%

(3) Pay Grade 26 through 31 - 15%

(b) The Faculty salaries of Delaware State College shall be increased by 2 and 1/2% and the Faculty salaries of Delaware Technical and Community College shall be increased by 7%.

(c) The pay plan for employees of the Judicial Branch other than the State Judiciary shall be increased by 8%.

Section 3. All increments to State employees based on merit, years of experience or time-in-grade are hereby suspended for one year from the effective date of this act to allow for the determination of a proper and equitable system of incentive increments. Employees other than school employees whose pay plans were not changed by Section 2 of this Act shall be entitled to whatever increments were included in the Fiscal 1976 Budget Act.

Section 4. Employees of the school sector involved in prior contractual agreements shall be exempt from the incremental suspensions as set forth in Section 3 of this Act with the exception that any cost-of-living formula application on or after April 1, 1976 shall be reduced each pay cycle by the amount of the annual increment applicable to that pay cycle.

Section 5. In order to carry out the provisions of this Act, an amount of $1,560,000.00 is appropriated to the Budget Director for payment of salaries, cost-of-living adjustments and fringe benefits. Funds appropriated by this Act cover only those portions of base pay paid from State General Funds and are not intended to supplement portions of base pay paid from other sources. Such amount shall be paid by the State Treasurer out of funds in the General Fund of the State of Delaware not otherwise appropriated. Any monies appropriated herein which are unexpended as of June 30, 1976 shall revert to the General Fund.

Approved June 30, 1975