This Senate Concurrent Resolution recognizes the month of May 2023 as "Healthy Vision Month" in the State of Delaware.
This Senate Concurrent Resolution designates the week of May 8-12, 2023, as "Charter Schools Week" in the State of Delaware and commends Delaware's public charter schools for their efforts in educating Delaware students.
This Senate Concurrent Resolution supports a forthcoming federal resolution recognizing Thomas Garrett as a heroic abolitionist.
This Senate Concurrent Resolution designates May 2023 as "Small Business Month" in the State of Delaware.
This resolution designates the month of May as "National Nurses Month" in Delaware.
This Act revises Delaware's death penalty statute to ensure its compliance with the United States Constitution, as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court in Hurst v. Florida, and by the Delaware Supreme Court in Rauf v. State. In accordance with these cases, this Act requires that before a death sentence can be imposed, a jury, unless waived by the defendant, must first unanimously determine all of the following: (1) That at least 1 aggravating circumstance exists. (2) Which, if any, statutory and non-statutory aggravating circumstances alleged by the State exist. (3) Whether all of the aggravating circumstances found to exist outweigh all of the mitigating circumstances found to exist. This Act requires that the jury or Court determining the appropriate sentence must make the required findings beyond all doubt. This heightened standard is greater than the usual criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. The beyond all doubt standard recognizes that even after finding the defendant guilty of first-degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt it is possible that a juror or the Court may still harbor residual or lingering doubt as to the defendant’s guilt and that the existence of such doubt, whether held individually or collectively by a jury, or by a Court, is sufficient to preclude the imposition of the death penalty. This Act revises Delaware's death penalty statute to comply with the United States 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 States Supreme Court. This Act recognizes developing trends in death penalty jurisprudence and the American Bar Association's Resolution 122A (2006), of August 8, 2006, by prohibiting the imposition of the death penalty upon a person who has been found "guilty, but mentally ill", as defined by § 401 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code. This Act narrows the scope of some of the most commonly used statutory aggravating circumstances - those applicable in cases involving defendants with previous convictions for violent felonies and murders committed during the commission of other enumerated felonies. Several other statutory aggravating circumstances have been combined to eliminate duplication, eliminated entirely, or otherwise clarified. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Resolution recognizes May 3, 2023, as "World Press Freedom Day".
This Concurrent Resolution recognizes the month of May 2023 as Mental Health Awareness Month.
This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 42 and Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 42. Like Senate Bill No. 42 and Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 42, this Act does all of the following: (1) Section 1 of this Act increases the burial benefit for individuals eligible to receive a pension under the State Employees’ Pension Plan (Chapter 55 of Title 29 of the Delaware Code) from $7,000 to $10,000. The burial benefit has not been increased since 2001 (See 73 Del. Laws, c. 146, § 5). (2) As a result of the increase in burial benefit made by Section 1 of this Act, the burial benefit for individuals eligible to receive a pension under the State Police Pension Plan (Chapter 83 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code), Delaware County and Municipal Police and Firefighter Pension Plan (Chapter 88 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code), and the early retirement option for state employees (Chapter 53 of Title 29 of the Delaware Code), and the reasonable funeral expenses permitted in a wrongful death action under § 3724(d)(4) of Title 10 of the Delaware Code, are also increased as these are all linked to the burial benefit amount established under § 5546 of Title 29. (3) Section 2 of this Act removes the requirement that the funeral expenses paid for the funeral of a deceased member of a volunteer fire company, volunteer fire company ladies auxiliary, or volunteer ambulance and rescue company be reasonable. (4) Section 3 of this Act delays the effect of this Act until October 1, 2023, to provide time to implement this Act after the enactment of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations act containing the funding for this Act. (5) Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act differs from Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 42 as follows: (1) This Act increases to $10,000 the amount of funeral expenses paid for the funeral of a deceased member of a volunteer fire company, volunteer fire company ladies auxiliary, or volunteer ambulance and rescue company. This is consistent with Senate Bill No. 42. (2) Consistent with a legal interpretation of the existing law by state agencies, this Act continues to enable the payment of funeral expenses for the funeral of a deceased member of a volunteer fire company, volunteer fire company ladies auxiliary, or volunteer ambulance and rescue company even if the member was also a state employee entitled to burial benefits under § 8331 of Title 11, § 8395 of Title 11, § 8846 of Title 11, § 5316 of Title 29, or § 5546 of Title 29. However, this Act makes changes to existing law to make this legal interpretation clear.
This resolution congratulates the winning teams from the 2023 Delaware High School Mock Trial Program.
