Rep. Val Longhurst

This bill amends the Delaware Public Employment Relations Act in two ways. First, it expands the jurisdictional application of the Act to employers with less than 100 employees and as few as 10. Second, it requires the Board either to issue written decisions following hearings on unfair labor practice charges within 180 days of the close of the record, or, if the Board requires more time to issue its decision, it must provide a written notice to the parties advising of the same within the 180 day period and every 30 days thereafter.

The 18-month recidivism rate among juveniles released from Delaware’s Level 4 and Level 5 juvenile detention facilities is over 80%. This Act creates a fund to allow the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and their Families to award competitive grants for the targeted provision of services that have been proven effective in helping juveniles avoid contact with the criminal justice system. This Act also allocates $500,000 for FY 2022 to the Fund for provision of cognitive behavioral therapy services and vocational training services. Finally, the bill updates outdated language.

United States Supreme Court case law and scientific research has changed how we think about juvenile delinquency. We know now that an adolescent’s brain is not fully developed until the mid-twenties which makes juveniles especially prone to poor decision-making. In the landmark case of Miller v. Alabama, in which the United States Supreme Court prohibited mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles on the rationale that children are inherently different than adults, the Court relied not only scientific research but on common sense and what any parent knows: kids will be kids. Children in Delaware have minimum ages set for many things: getting a driver’s license, enlisting in the military, applying for a loan or opening a credit card, using a tanning bed, drinking alcohol, and buying tickets to an R-rated movie. This legislation sets a minimum age at which a child may be prosecuted, except for the most extreme offenses. This Bill prohibits the prosecution of children under the age of 12. It also bars the transfer of juvenile prosecution to the Superior Court unless the child is aged 16 or older. The exception to the prohibition on prosecuting children under 12 and transfer to Superior Court for children under 16, is only for the most serious of charges: murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, rape in the first and rape in the second degree or accused of using, displaying, or discharging a firearm during the commission of a Title 11 or a Title 31 violent felony set forth in § 4201(c) of Title 11. However, the bill allows for the prosecution of children under 12 for title 11 violent felonies and misdemeanor crimes of violence until January 1, 2022, when prosecution of such children will expire and thereafter children under the age of 12 who are suspected of committing a Title 11 violent felony or misdemeanor violent felony will be referred to the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program.

This Act expands eligibility for mandatory expungement of adult and juvenile cases by doing all of the following: 1. Aligns eligibility for juvenile expungement so that all cases eligible for adult expungement are eligible for juvenile expungement. 2. Allows all cases terminated in favor of the accused and cases for underage possession or consumption of alcohol under § 904(e) or (f) of Title 4, possession of marijuana under § 4764 of Title 16, or possession of drug paraphernalia under § 4771 of Title 16 to be expunged, regardless of prior or subsequent adjudications or convictions. 3. Repeals § 4764(j) of Title 16 because this Act makes cases for marijuana possession eligible for mandatory expungement under § 1017 of Title 10 and § 4374 of Title 11. 4. If a person has no prior or subsequent convictions, makes a case for drug possession under § 4756 of Title 16 eligible for mandatory expungement 5 years after conviction. Juvenile adjudications of delinquency for drug possession under § 4756 of Title 16 are already eligible for mandatory expungement so no corresponding change is necessary to § 1017 of Title 10. 5. If a person has no prior or subsequent convictions, makes additional felony convictions eligible for mandatory expungement 10 years after conviction. Juvenile adjudications of delinquency for these felonies are already eligible for mandatory expungement so no corresponding change is necessary to § 1017 of Title 10. 6. Applies existing exceptions for eligibility for mandatory expungement because of the status of the victim to the offenses that become eligible under this Act. 7. Makes corresponding changes to other expungement sections in Title 10. This Act adds a misdemeanor conviction for official misconduct to the offenses that are ineligible for mandatory expungement under § 4373(b) of Title 11. This Act does not make any offenses that are currently ineligible for mandatory expungement under § 4373(b) of Title 11 eligible for mandatory expungement. This Act takes effect on January 1, 2022. Section 10 of this Act aligns this Act with the changes to § 4373 of Title 11 if Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 38 is also enacted into law in 2021. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This bill prohibits law-enforcement agencies from releasing or publishing or causing to be released or published the name of any juvenile or any image depicting a juvenile, including displaying such image on any publicly maintained social media page or website, unless the juvenile is charged with a violent felony, and release or publication of the photograph is necessary to protect the public’s safety.

In 2019, the 150th General Assembly enacted Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 37, which reformed the adult expungement process in this State. After a year of implementing this new expungement process, Senate Bill No. 38 was introduced to make changes to clarify language or increase the efficiency of the process. Like Senate Bill No. 38, this Substitute does the following: (1) Clarifies that the adult expungement law under Subchapter VII of Chapter 43 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code does not apply to a juvenile adjudication of delinquency. (2) Clarifies that “pending criminal charges” does not include an alleged violation of Section 904 (e) or (f) of Title 4, Section 4764(c) of Title 16, or a Title 21 offense. (3) Clarifies that certain crimes that are not eligible for a mandatory or discretionary expungement under § 4372(f) of Title 11 are eligible for a discretionary expungement after an unconditional pardon is granted by the Governor. (4) Clarifies that the requirement that a person may not receive an expungement for 10 years after a prior expungement is to be applied prospectively to expungements granted after December 27, 2019. (5) Clarifies that the requirement that all fines, fees, and restitution be paid before an expungement is granted applies to the conviction for which the person is seeking the expungement, not all fines, fees, or restitution the person might owe. (6) Clarifies that a case terminated in favor of an accused is to be expunged even if a person has other prior or subsequent convictions that are not eligible for expungement. (7) Includes certain criminal contempt of court orders, criminal contempt of a protection from abuse order, and breach of release as misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence that are not subject to mandatory expungement. (8) Clarifies that a discretionary expungement that is sought after an unconditional pardon by the Governor is to follow the procedures for a discretionary expungement in § 4374(c) through (h) and (j) of Title 11 and is not to be restricted by any of the eligibility requirements or exclusions contained in § 4374 of Title 11. This Substitute differs from Senate Bill No. 38 as follows: (1) This Substitute removes the process for expunging certain cases that do not have a disposition. (2) While this Substitute also permits a person to include in a petition for discretionary expungement a crime that is eligible for mandatory expungement and to authorize Family Court and Superior Court to grant a mandatory expungement, this Substitute modifies that language.

This Act amends the maps of the district boundaries for the House of Representative and Senate Districts in the Delaware General Assembly in response to the 2020 U.S. Decennial Census. This Act also includes provisions to effectuate changes in Delaware law necessitated by the 2020 U.S. Decennial Census. Districts are designated by census blocks. A map of Delaware by census block is located on the U.S. Census website: https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st10_de/censusblock_maps/. The final House of Representatives Maps (October 28, 2021) and data are located on the General Assembly website: https://legis.delaware.gov/redistricting/2022finalhousedistricts. The final Senate Maps (October 25, 2021) and the Census Block Breakdown by Senate District with the related census tracts and census blocks descriptions and data are located on the General Assembly website: https://legis.delaware.gov/Redistricting/2022FinalSenateDistricts.

This Concurrent Resolution requests an advisory opinion of the Justices of the Delaware Supreme Court regarding the proper construction of § 13 of Article III of the Delaware Constitution. This Resolution also tasks the Judiciary Committee of the House and Senate who shall meet jointly on or before December 17, 2021 to determine the process to be used to decide if reasonable cause exists for the removal of an elected official pursuant to § 13 of Article III of the Delaware Constitution.

This Act supports children who spent part or all of their teen years in the State's foster care system to access higher education by providing a tuition waiver program to cover the cost of tuition, fees, and (where offered) room and board at a public Delaware college or university.

This Act permits a candidate committee established by a candidate for public office to pay reasonable and necessary expenses for the care of a candidate’s child or children when care is necessary in connection with the candidate’s campaign activities. This Act also makes changes to the current law to make it consistent with the Legislative Drafting Manual.