Rep. James Johnson

This bill fixes a drafting error in Senate Bill 198 of the 148th General Assembly that inadvertently made it harder for juveniles to get mandatory expungements by adding the term ‘violent misdemeanor’ as an excepting factor that would prevent a youth from receiving an expungement. Previously, violent misdemeanors were never included in the state’s statute regarding mandatory expungements. The bill also strikes the definition of violent misdemeanor, which is no longer applicable to the state’s juvenile expungement statute.The phrase “sex offense” was added after the word “felony” for clarity and to mirror the definition in § 1016. No substantive change is made by this clarification.

Recognizing that a criminal charge can have lasting collateral consequences for a juvenile on employment and education opportunities, this bill raises the age in which a juvenile’s information, such as their name and mug shot, may be released by the state. The bill also seeks to address issues related to the release of such information on publicly-maintained social media pages. This bill seeks to balance both the rights of juveniles and the public’s right to know by saying that the names and photos of juveniles who have been charged and/or found delinquent of Class A misdemeanors, and Title 11 felonies, may only be released when the offending juvenile is 16 or older. This legislation also adds clarifying language to prevent the inadvertent release of sensitive information online that could have lasting impacts on a juvenile long after they have been charged, and in some cases, acquitted, of a crime.

This Act increases the age requirement for compulsory school attendance in Delaware from 16 to 18 years of age. The age increase is phased in over a two-year period; accordingly, there is a one-year interim period where the compulsory school attendance age requirement will be 17 years old. The Act further provides that a child may be exempt from the age requirement for compulsory school attendance if the child has received a high school diploma or a certificate of performance or obtains permission to withdraw from school from the superintendent of the district in which the child is enrolled or from the president of the board of the charter school in which the child is enrolled. To obtain a waiver from the date of enactment of this Act until August 31, 2018, a child must be at least 16 years old. To obtain a waiver on or after September 1, 2018, a child must be at least 17 years old. The Act preserves the exemption under which a child may be excused from compulsory attendance upon request of the child's parent or legal guardian coupled with supporting written documentation from a qualified health professional.

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 mandates reporting to the Director of Investor Protection by a broker-dealer or investment adviser that has a reasonable belief that financial exploitation of an eligible adult has occurred or been attempted. It also enables broker-dealers and investment advisers to delay disbursement from an account of an eligible adult where financial exploitation is suspected. This also includes definitions of “eligible adult,” “financial exploitation” and “qualified individual” to be inserted into the Securities Act.

This concurrent resolution proclaims May 2017 as "Community Action Month" in the State of Delaware.

Sections 1-4 clarify the type of supervised experience applicants are required to obtain in order to be qualified for licensure and eliminates the requirement that reciprocal applicants be certified by a national organization prior to being qualified for licensure. Additionally, section 2 eliminates a pending criminal charge as a basis to deny licensure. Section 5 changes the law governing chemical dependency professionals to eliminate a pending criminal charge as a basis to deny licensure. Sections 6-9 clarify the type of supervised experience applicants are required to obtain in order to be qualified for licensure and eliminates the requirement that reciprocal applicants be certified by a national organization prior to being qualified for licensure. Additionally, section 7 eliminates a pending criminal charge as a basis to deny licensure.

This bill changes the number of live music events required for an entity to be a qualified “concert hall” for purposes of alcohol licensing. Previously a concert hall was required to hold at least 250 live music events per year and be open at least 5 days per week. Pursuant to this change, the 5-day requirement is eliminated and the venue must hold 250 live music events per two-year period.

This House Resolution recognizes April 28, 2017, as Workers Memorial Day.

This Act clarifies that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget has the authority to deposit Special Fund balances into the General Fund as a measure to control agency expenditures.