This Bill updates Title 11 of the Delaware Code relating to animal cruelty. After 2 misdemeanor violations of this section, currently class A misdemeanors, all further violations are to be upgraded to class F felonies. Also, after the first felony violation of the statute, currently a class F felony, which involves intentionally killing or causing serious injury to any animal in violation of the statute, all further violations are to be upgraded to class E felonies. Also, any person convicted of a felony violation a second time shall be prohibited from owning or possessing any animal for the remainder of their life without exception.
This Act repeals Subchapter X of Title 11 which established the Delaware Sentencing Accountability Commission (Commission) and recodifies the Commission under Chapter 89A of Title 11. This Act modernizes the Commission’s mission, establishes the membership of the Commission, codifies the Commission’s overall power and authority, and creates a duty for the Commission to provide a data report annually.
This Act extends certain limitations on the publication by law-enforcement of the name and photograph of crime suspects. Currently the Code prohibits the publication of the name and photograph of a juvenile suspect unless the juvenile is charged with a violent felony and the publication is necessary to protect the public’s safety. This Act would prohibit the release or publication of an adult suspect’s name or photograph unless the individual is charged with or suspected of a felony and the release is necessary to protect the public’s safety.
This Act increases for the crime of criminal mischief to a class F felony when the person intentionally causes damage to an authorized emergency vehicle resulting in a pecuniary loss of $5,000 or more or in the authorized emergency vehicle becoming temporarily unable to be used to respond to an emergency. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Reverse-keyword court orders enable the government to obtain technology search data without identifying any specific person as to which there is probable cause to believe they have committed or will imminently commit a crime. The profusion of electronic devices and apps in recent years has allowed recordation of numerous details of citizen’s everyday lives, that the government should not be permitted to collect and review at will. Such general searches allow the government to sweep in personal information about hundreds or thousands of people who are not suspected of having committed any crime. These searches are an invasion of privacy, have a potentially chilling effect on civil liberties, and sidestep requirements for individualized suspicion that are otherwise required for a lawful search. This House Substitute for House Bill No. 145 would prohibit law enforcement and courts from requesting, issuing, or enforcing reverse-keyword court orders and reverse-keyword requests, with the exception that reverse-keyword court orders and requests may be utilized to investigate suspected Class A Felonies so long as the search query returns 5 or fewer search hits. It also requires the suppression of evidence derived from an unlawful reverse-keyword search.
Currently, even when a defendant or individual obviously does not have the means to pay a financial penalty or fee, Delaware Courts are unable to waive certain mandatory minimum fines or fees at sentencing. This can create a constitutional crossroads, as our justice system has long recognized that the Fourteen Amendment prohibits “punishing a person for his poverty.” Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660, 671 (1983). This Act gives courts the discretion to waive fines and fees, in whole or in part, in appropriate circumstances. It also creates a presumption that fines and fees will not be imposed when a defendant shows evidence of certain conditions, including receiving a public assistance benefit (like Medicaid, SNAP, or veterans’ benefits) or being represented by the Office of Defense Services. It also creates a hearing process for anyone already sentenced to pay a fine or fee. The changes in this Act are based on recommendations of the Criminal Legal System Imposed Debt Study Group created by House Bill 244, as amended by House Amendment No 2, of the 151st General Assembly, in its December 7, 2023, report. This Act takes effect 180 days after its enactment.
This Substitute for House Bill No. 368 is similar to the original bill in that it sets limits around the actions of law-enforcement agencies and officers, including the Department of Correction. Primarily, the bill prohibits detaining or extending the detention of any person based solely upon an immigration detainer or civil immigration warrant, with exceptions for a person who has been convicted of a violent felony, is a convicted sex offender, has 3 or more convictions for driving under the influence, or is a perpetrator of domestic violence. It also prohibits other law-enforcement actions relating to cooperation or enforcement of civil immigration law, requires certain reports from law-enforcement agencies, and grants the Attorney General investigative and enforcement power. This Substitute Bill is different from House Bill No. 368 in that it clarifies that law-enforcement may make limited inquiries regarding country of citizenship for purposes of complying with consular agreements, clarifies that initiating contact with federal immigration authorities is allowed only in limited circumstances set forth in this chapter, and makes technical corrections to ensure consistent terms are used throughout the chapter.
HB 150 prohibits civil arrests from occurring inside Delaware courthouses without a judicial warrant. This directly affects courthouse staff, law enforcement, and individuals entering courthouses, as it requires a court-issued warrant for any civil arrest (like those for unpaid debts or civil contempt) within courthouse grounds. The key provision amends Delaware law to mandate this warrant requirement, replacing the previous practice that allowed such arrests without court oversight in these locations.
This bill adds a new crime of application insurance fraud under the criminal code to include fraudulent statements submitted in support of an application to obtain or renew insurance or made for purposes of obtaining a commission or other payment from an insurer. This bill makes application-related insurance fraud a class A misdemeanor unless the benefits wrongfully obtained or sought to be obtained is at least $1,000, in which case application insurance fraud is a class G felony.
This Act does all of the following: (1) Establishes a regulatory framework for substance use harm reduction programs that provides immunities for program providers and staff. (2) Modifies the definition of drug paraphernalia. (3) Decriminalizes possession of paraphernalia for individuals who use drugs, while retaining prohibitions for paraphernalia used in the manufacturing or distribution of drugs and the selling of certain drug paraphernalia. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
