Rep. Jeff Spiegelman

This Act revises Delaware’s hate crime statute to make law enforcement, firefighters and emergency personnel protected classes. Nationwide we have seen unprecedented number of unprovoked attacks upon our first responders. This Act provides additional protection for those who serve to protect our communities.

This bill authorizes the use of airbows for hunting deer in place of a shotgun during any shotgun deer season. The bill also makes a technical adjustment to clarify that a handgun can be used for deer hunting during any shotgun deer season.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also referred to as “the food stamp program,” assists eligible low-income individuals with the purchase of food. This Act, known as the Delaware Nutritional Improvement Act, seeks to bring the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in line with other state programs and initiatives aimed at improving the health and welfare of Delawareans. SNAP benefits are paid entirely with federal funds, but the costs to administer the program are split between the federal and state government. As is the case with another jointly administered state-federal program – the Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) – this Act seeks to require SNAP benefits to be used solely for the purchase of healthy foods identified by the Department of Health and Social Services as having beneficial nutritional value. This will not only improve the efficiency of such expenditures but it should also improve the well-being of recipients, as well as potentially reduce health care expenditures. Using the WIC guidelines as a starting point, this Act instructs the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) to draft a list of approved foods. The DHSS shall create the list with the goal of expanding on the WIC designations to improve selection and increase affordability. Under this Act, future SNAP benefits could be used only to purchase items designated as having beneficial nutritional value. Because the SNAP benefits are paid with federal funds, this Act would not become effective until the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture grants a waiver allowing its implementation. The status of this waiver may be obtained from the Director of the Department of Health and Social Services.

The intent of this act is to promote agritourism activities within this State by broadly defining what constitutes agritourism.

This act will be known as the Extreme Crimes Protection Act. This Act revises Delaware's death penalty statute to ensure its compliance with the United States Constitution, as interpreted by the United State Supreme Court in Hurst v. Florida, and by the Delaware Supreme Court in Rauf v. State. In accord with those cases, this Act will require that before a death sentence can be imposed, a jury (unless the Defendant waives their right to one) must first determine unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt: that at least 1 statutory aggravating circumstance exists; which (if any) statutory and non-statutory aggravating circumstances alleged by the State exist; and whether all of the aggravating circumstances found to exist outweigh all of the mitigating circumstances found to exist. This Act also revises Delaware's death penalty statute to comply with the United State Supreme Court's holding in Hall v. Florida, interpreting standards set forth in Atkins v. Virginia. This Act adopts the term "intellectual disability" used by the United State Supreme Court.

This Act is the second leg of a constitutional amendment that would add the Chief Magistrate to the Court on the Judiciary. Like all judges within the state, the judges of the Justice of the Peace Court are subject to the jurisdiction of the Court on the Judiciary. This amendment makes it so that the presiding judge of each of the six state courts serves as a member.

This bill requires the Department of Transportation to provide the General Assembly with an annual report for community transportation fund expenditures.

This Bill confirms licensing requirements for school nurses are established by the Professional Standards Board, and evaluation criteria for school nurses are established by the District or Charter School.

This Concurrent Resolution establishes a task force to study the issue of the local extinction of species in Delaware and recommend solutions to reverse the present course. The task force is required to deliver its report no later than December 1, 2017.

This Act authorizes the Smyrna School District to convey to the Town of Smyrna property located in Kent County, and known as the School Administration Building, to be used by the Town for public purposes, including incorporating the building and property as part of the proposed Duck Creek Regional Library and Community Center at Smyrna.