This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment that modernizes the Delaware Constitution’s bail provision and clarifies the power of the General Assembly and the Courts to define certain felony offenses for which, or circumstances under which, pretrial release on bail may not be available. Upon enactment of the second leg of this constitutional amendment, Article I, § 12 of the Delaware Constitution proposed will do all of the following: (1) Retain the express declaration of a general right to have bail set in a criminal case. (2) Provide that the only crimes for which bail must be withheld are capital murder, where the evidentiary proof is positive and presumption of the accusation great, and other felony offenses determined by and under procedures prescribed by law where the evidentiary proof is clear and convincing. (3) Ensure that one condition precedent to bail being withheld in non-capital cases is a finding that no bail condition or combination of bail conditions other than detention will assure the safety of another person or the community, that the person will appear for future proceedings, or that the detention is necessary to prevent the person from obstructing justice. The proposed change to permit a person charged with a non-capital crime to be held without bail will not take effect until the General Assembly revises Chapter 21 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code to prescribe by law the circumstances and procedures under which detention without bail may occur. With this change, though, Delaware can move forward toward the type of modern bail system that has been increasingly adopted by our sister states, through amendment of their state constitutions, when needed, and the development of statutory procedures that provide, in extreme cases, pretrial detention without bail. Under current Delaware law, the only circumstance in which a person might be detained without bail is when the person is charged with capital murder. This Act would have no effect on bail procedures and standards in capital cases. The fact that bail can be withheld only in capital cases, however, is inconsistent with the evidence-based and informed decision-making that the General Assembly looked to adopt through the Justice Reinvestment Act and the findings and ongoing work of our Supreme Court's Access to Justice Commission. At present, a Delaware state court judge cannot order pre-conviction detention in any non-capital case. Instead the judge can only attempt to set the bail so high that a defendant cannot make it, which can result in dangerous defendants with wealth being able to obtain release even if they pose a risk of harm to the public or a specific person, such as a witness or victim. This Act is one step toward completing a pretrial release-detention continuum that requires specific evidence-based release-detention decisions. Any legislation subsequently enacted or court procedures adopted under this Act requires a court’s individualized, fact-governed decision-making regarding detention in order to pass muster under the United States and Delaware State Constitutions. And, under this Act, any statute defining offenses for which, or circumstances under which, a person can be subjected to pretrial detention without bail must be enacted by an act of the General Assembly that is separate from an act that creates or amends the offense or circumstances and receives the concurrence of a two-thirds majority of each House of the General Assembly.
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Since 1975, the Delaware Population Consortium has prepared a unified set of statewide population projections each year. These projections are used for a variety of purposes including capital planning, policy analysis, comprehensive planning, and transportation planning. All 3 counties are required by State law to utilize these projections to prepare their required comprehensive plans. However, the Delaware Population Consortium does not exist in State law. This Act formally creates the Delaware Population Consortium, identifies its membership and work products, and requires that all counties, municipalities, school districts, and State agencies use the Consortium’s projections for planning and policy purposes.
Both the Delaware Strategic Fund (Title 29, Chapter 87A, Subchapter II) and the Delaware Technical Innovation Fund (Title 29, Chapter 87A, Subchapter III) provide funding for Delaware businesses, including new businesses in growing technology-related fields. The Delaware Strategic Fund is intended to assist in the development of startup strategies such as seed capital and incubator programs. The Delaware Technical Innovation Fund is intended to promote coordination with Delaware’s institutions of higher education and the private sector to commercialize innovative products and processes developed by small businesses. This act encourages Delaware’s institutions of higher education to assist foreign-born, student entrepreneurs, who are engaged in the development of new businesses and technologies in Delaware, to provide them with assistance in maintaining proper legal status within the United States. Presently, thirteen universities in six states offer Global Entrepreneur in Residence Programs which have been successful in assisting foreign-born, student entrepreneurs in creating new businesses, new jobs, and attracting additional capital investment for their development and expansion. This act will add a provision comparable to those found in Global Entrepreneur Residence Programs within the existing frameworks provided by the Delaware Strategic Fund and the Delaware Technical Innovation Fund. This will encourage the creation and development of new businesses and new technologies in Delaware, without creating a new program with new funding needs.
The Public Service Commission’s (“PSC”) authority over public utilities has been changed by recent decisions by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) and legislation enacted in Delaware. This Act changes the statutory requirements for PSC public utilities to remove requirements that are no longer consistent with the FCC decisions and revised State laws but impose unnecessary burdens and costs on utilities and administrative costs to the PSC. This Act also removes an unnecessary administrative requirement regarding motor vehicle dealers. The specific changes are as follows: Section 1. Removes the requirement in § 4915 of Title 6 that an annual assessment be sent to motor vehicle dealers so that the PSC has the flexibility to send an annual assessment and notification to motor vehicle dealers only when the annual assessment is necessary to cover actual administrative costs. Current law requires that the annual assessment be sent even when the actual cost of administering this chapter is zero or de minimis. The PSC has had only 2 cases in the past 6 years and both were settled without significant cost. Section 2. Revises an internal reference to reflect a subsection redesignated by this Act. Section 3, Section 5, Sections 6 through 8. Amend §§ 215, 704, 705, 706, and 707 of Title 26 so that PSC approval is not needed for telecommunication filings for mergers, transfers of control, securities issuance, and financings. The telecommunications industry has continued to evolve and provide competitive services in Delaware. The FCC exercises regulatory authority over telecommunication service providers and recent statutory changes eliminated the PSC’s authority to regulate telecommunication customer service. Thus, applications for merger or transfer of control are typically permitted after there has been no PSC action within the required 30 day period. This section eliminates an unnecessary regulatory requirement and loses little oversight of competitive telecommunication service providers. Section 4. Eliminates PSC authority to regulate “rates changed” for basic cable services. On September 9, 2015, the FCC issued new rules declaring basic cable service to be competitive in all areas because fiber and satellite services offer a competitive alternative. To retain rate regulatory authority, states must petition the FCC showing a lack of competitive alternatives with their boundaries and Delaware has not filed a petition to do so. This change codifies the impact of that FCC ruling on PSC authority. Section 8. Amends § 707 of Title 26 to eliminate the annual rate filing by telecommunication providers. In 2013, HB 96 redefined basic service in Delaware to include an individual access line and residential local usage at a location where there is no alternative provider of telephone service available and switched access services. This revised definition eliminated all basic service in Delaware and the need for a telecommunication provider to file applications for rate changes, which had been calculated using the Gross Domestic Product Price Inflation Index. Under federal law, carriers are prohibited from increasing intrastate switched access rates, so there is no need for a State filing regarding a calculation related to switched access services. Thus, this change eliminates unnecessary regulatory filings. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This bill establishes in-person early voting for the State of Delaware. Registered voters will be allowed to vote in-person for at least 10 days prior to an election, up to and including the Saturday and Sunday immediately prior to the election at locations determined by the Commissioner. The Commissioner is also charged with determining whether such voting should occur by voting machine or paper ballot. All other procedures relating to conducting voting are the same as for election day voting. For statewide elections the statute directs that there must be at least one in-person polling place in each county, and an additional location in the city of Wilmington. This Act takes effect on January 1, 2020.
This Act directs the Board of Directors of the Riverfront Development Corporation to amend the membership and member terms of the Board of Directors contained in Article I, Section 1 of the Corporation's by-laws.
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 creates a Prescription Opioid Impact Fund (“Fund”) through a prescription opioid impact fee (“Fee”) that is assessed on manufacturers of prescription opioids as follows: 1. The fee is based on the total of the Morphine Milligram Equivalent (“MME”) in each manufacturer’s products dispensed in Delaware, based upon data already reported to the Prescription Monitoring Program (“PMP”). The PMP data contains the mandatory reports by pharmacists of every prescription opioid dispensed in the State. The PMP data does not include prescription opioids administered in hospitals, provided directly to patients by hospice, or dispensed by veterinarians. 2. The fee is assessed against manufacturers who exceed a threshold of MME dispensed each quarter. 3. The Fee is assessed as follows: • One penny per MME for a prescription opioid dispensed and reported in the PMP. • One-quarter of a penny per MME for a prescription opioid that is a generic. The money in the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund must be spent on the following activities: 1. Opioid addiction prevention. 2. The following opioid addiction services: • Inpatient and outpatient treatment programs and facilities, including short-term and long-term residential treatment programs and sober living facilities. • Treating substance use disorder for the under-insured and uninsured. • Emergency assistance relating to prescription opioids, including purchasing Naloxone. 3. Research regarding opioid addiction and treatment. 4. Administrative costs of implementing the Fee and Fund, up to 15% of the amount in the Fund. The Addiction Action Committee will award grants and contracts from the money in the Fund, based upon priorities developed in consultation with the Behavioral Health Consortium. A standing subcommittee of the Addiction Action Committee that does not contain any State employees will make the recommendations regarding the awards of the grants and contracts. This Substitute Bill differs from Senate Bill No. 176 as follows: • Adds additional whereas clauses to further explain the background for the Fund and Fee. • Gives responsibility for the Fee to the Secretary of State instead of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services, because the PMP and the Controlled Substances Act are under the Secretary of State. • Removes the ability to use the funds from the Fee for Medicaid, and restricts appropriations to specifically-listed activities. • Prohibits using the Fund to supplant existing State funding. • Permits a manufacturer to challenge an invoice for a prescription opioid impact fee through the existing appeal process under the Controlled Substances Act. • Gives responsibility for appropriating funds from the Fund to the Addiction Action Committee. • Lowers the amount of the impact fee for generic drugs. • Establishes a minimum threshold before manufacturers are assessed the Fee. • Removes the restriction on raising prices to consumers because the Fee is unlikely to materially increase the price of prescription drugs because those prices are set on a national basis. • Provides explicitly that the Attorney General may recover interest and reasonable attorney fees and costs in a successful lawsuit to enforce this Act. • Clarifies that the Secretary of State develops the rules and regulations for implementing the Fee. And the Addiction Action Committee, with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services, develops the rules and regulations for implementing the Fund. • Revises the reporting requirements on how money from the Fund is spent. • Provides clear permission to share the PMP data with the Addiction Action Committee, Secretary of State, and Attorney General for the purposes of administering and enforcing this chapter.
This Act prohibits a person from purchasing, selling, offering for sale, possessing with intent to sell, or importing with intent to sell ivory or rhinoceros horn, except as specified. A violation of this Act or any rule, regulation, or order adopted under this Act is a misdemeanor subject to fines, imprisonment, or both, as specified in this Act. In addition to the specified criminal penalties, this Act authorizes the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control ("the Department") to impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for a violation of this Act or any rule, regulation, or order adopted under this Act. This Act authorizes the Department to permit the purchase, sale, offer for sale, possession with intent to sell, or importation with intent to sell ivory or rhinoceros horn for educational or scientific purposes by a bona fide educational or scientific institution if not prohibited by federal law. This Act does not apply to ivory or rhinoceros horn that is part of a gun, knife, musical instrument, or antique, as long as the ivory or rhinoceros horn component in the item is a fixed component of a larger manufactured item and is not, in its current form, the primary source of value of the item. The requirement that a bona fide antique be at least 100 years old is not a rolling time frame, but is to be a 100 year look back from the effective date of this Act. This Act takes effect 6 months after its enactment into law.