Rep. James Johnson

Unmanned aircraft systems are capable of introducing contraband into detention facilities without undergoing correctional officer inspections. This bill seeks to prohibit the use of unmanned aircraft systems (drones) to introduce contraband into detention facilities. This bill makes it a class F felony to deliver or attempt to deliver contraband by use of a drone.

This Act amends the Delaware Governmental Accountability Act to make the annual budget process part of a performance management system of strategic planning, performance metrics and performance budgeting, dedicated to continuous process improvement that makes government more efficient, reduces costs and eliminates waste in the process and operations that deliver goods and services to taxpayers, customers and employees of State government.

This bill provides for election day registration for presidential primary, primary, special, and general elections whereas currently the deadline is the fourth Saturday prior to the date of the election. Moreover, same day registration at polling places will be permitted with submission of valid government issued identification or other generally accepted proof of identification.

This resolution recognizes June 6, 2018 as the 74th anniversary of D-Day, when the Allied Troops landed at Normandy during World War II.

There is a growing body of research regarding the detrimental effects to an individual and to society relating to the collateral consequences of arrests and criminal convictions. To name just a few, a criminal history is a significant barrier to obtaining and advancing in a job, finding housing, and gaining additional skills or education. Inability to participate in society in these basic ways contributes to Delaware’s high rate of recidivism and lowers the overall productivity and efficiency of the State. One way to relieve these consequences is to allow for the expungement of records if (1) an arrest did not lead to a guilty disposition or (2) an isolated conviction has been followed by a significant amount of time spent staying out of trouble with the law. At present, Delaware allows adults to petition to have a record expunged in only 2 circumstances: (1) if the arrest or charges never led to a conviction and (2) after a pardon is granted for certain misdemeanor offenses only. This Act allows for mandatory expungement (meaning the expungement must be granted if the petitioner meets the criteria) through the State Bureau of Identification if: (1) a person was arrested or charged but the case was resolved in favor of the petitioner; (2) after 3 years for a single violation; (3) after 5 years for a single misdemeanor. In all cases, a person is eligible for expungement if the person has no prior or subsequent convictions (with an exception for status offenses such as underage alcohol consumption). Allowing expungements for arrests without convictions and minor, isolated convictions through an application to the State Bureau of Identification will ease the burden on the Courts and the Board of Pardons. This Act also gives the Courts the power to decide if a petitioner deserves an expungement, a process called discretionary expungement, if the person seeking the expungement has maintained an otherwise clean record and (1) 1 year has passed since conviction of a violation; (2) 3 years have passed since conviction of a misdemeanor; or (3) 7 years have passed since conviction of a felony or since release from confinement, whichever is later. In all cases, a person is eligible for discretionary expungement if they have no prior or subsequent convictions (with an exception for status offenses such as underage alcohol consumption and for Title 21 driving offenses other than driving under the influence). The person must demonstrate that the failure to grant the expungement would constitute manifest injustice. The Act also creates an avenue for automatic expungement of a person’s criminal record after a pardon has been granted. This new provision for automatic expungement does not limit the Governor’s authority to limit the right to an expungement as a condition of the pardon in any individual case. This Act strikes the Title 10 provisions related to expungement of charges for adults in Family Court and consolidates all provisions relating to expungement of adult records in Title 11. It also makes some conforming changes to cross-references in Title 4 and Title 16. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Finally, implementation of this Act is delayed for 180 days to allow State agencies to prepare necessary procedures and forms.

Section 1 of this Act allows those licensed as importers to pay tax upon the sale of alcoholic beverages to customers, instead of the tax being due when the alcoholic beverages come to rest in the State of Delaware. Section 2 of this Act provides that if any of the provisions are found to be unconstitutional, the remaining provisions will stand. Section 3 of this Act provides that the legislation will be effective as of August 1, 2018.

This Act revises the data collection procedures and authority of the Workers’ Compensation Oversight Panel (“Panel”) to ensure that the Panel is able to obtain the data necessary to perform its statutory duties, without infringing upon the authority of the Department of Insurance to regulate the insurance industry. This Act also protects the confidentiality of data acquired by the Panel from the Department of Insurance or the Department of Labor. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act strengthens the role and responsibilities of the Provider Advisory Board in regard to the implementation and enforcement of The Delaware Child Care Act.

This resolution proclaims June 19, 2018 as Juneteenth Independence Day in Delaware and encourages the people of Delaware to reflect upon the significant roles and many contributions of African Americans and to celebrate this day with appropriate activities and events.

This bill makes it a crime to sell, transfer, buy, receive or possess a trigger crank or bump-fire device designed to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle, making such weapon function more like an automatic weapon. A bump stock was used by the gunman in Las Vegas in October 2017. Violation of this provision is a Class E felony.