Rep. Ruth Briggs King

This concurrent resolution proposes the formation of the Registered Voter List Improvement Task Force. This 10-member group will review current laws and practices associated with compiling and maintaining Delaware’s registered voter list. The main objective of the task force will be to suggest methods for improving the accuracy of the list. The task force shall deliver a report containing its findings and recommendations to every member of the General Assembly no later than March 15, 2022. In instances where improvement recommendations will require legislation to implement, the task force shall draft bills that will be included as part of its report.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes the 50th anniversary of CHEER, a nonprofit organization that has provided seniors in Sussex County with critical services for half a century.

In 2009, New Hampshire was the first state to develop a statewide "Gun Shop Project," reaching out to gun shops regarding the role they can play in suicide prevention. In the years since, at least 21 other states have implemented similar campaigns. This Act establishes the Delaware Gun Shop Project. The Gun Shop Project's primary purpose is to develop, create, and provide suicide prevention education materials and training, to be made available for dealers and consumers of licensed deadly weapons in Delaware. The Delaware Suicide Prevention Coalition will oversee the Gun Shop Project and include the Project's annual report in the Coalition's annual report. The Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, which staff the Coalition, will staff the Gun Shop Project. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act revises the bureaus established within the Department of Correction. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing language to the standards of the Delaware Drafting Manual.

This Act reflects a recommendation of the 2019 Comprehensive Reentry Plan and Progress Report which allows the Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole officers the flexibility to recommend to a court house arrest (Level IV home confinement) for any probation violator in appropriate circumstances. Under current law, Probation and Parole may not recommend house arrest (Level IV home confinement) for a person who violates probation if the person was initially convicted of a “violent crime.” Accordingly, recommendations pertaining to probation violations for persons convicted of a “violent crime” are limited to Levels 1-3 (a lower level of supervision) or Level V (incarceration) which may be excessive and costly. The Act also makes non-substantive changes to existing law to make it conform to the Legislative Drafting Manual.

This bill requires transparency in the use of risk assessment instruments and requires empirical data that the instrument does not increase or magnify bias against any protected class.

This Act authorizes the distribution of testing strips to determine the presence of fentanyl or fentanyl-related substances. Fentanyl testing strips could be distributed to the community along with opioid overdose reversal medication as a harm reduction strategy in the opioid addiction crisis. A number of states have authorized fentanyl testing strips distribution in recent years including Maryland, Rhode Island, the District of Columbia, and North Carolina. Twenty-seven states currently provide fentanyl testing strips through needle exchange programs. According to an April 2019 Delaware Health Alert published by the Department of Health and Social Services, fentanyl is a potent opioid that is increasingly being mixed into illicitly sold drugs, often without the buyer’s knowledge. In Delaware, fentanyl was involved in 72% of overdose deaths during 2018, up from 58% in 2017 according to the state’s Division of Forensic Science. During 2018, there were more fatal overdoses than any year on record with 400 deaths. This Act exempts fentanyl testing strips from the drug paraphernalia statute. This Act provides the limitations on liability for lay individuals and organizations in Section 1 of this Act because of the extraordinary epidemic of death that is occurring in Delaware as a result of fentanyl being mixed into illicit drugs. It is similar to liability exemptions under § 8135(b) of Title 10 and § 6801 of Title 16 of the Delaware Code for certain types of volunteers and Good Samaritans and is an exception to the general public policy against civil immunity.

This Act creates the position of Deputy Commissioner of Correction.

This Act protects the rights of individuals who do not receive COVID-19 vaccinations. This will prohibit the state, schools, political subdivisions, and certain recipients of state funds from denying access or services to such persons.

This Act amends the Charter of the Town of Georgetown to more closely align with State municipal election requirements. This Act also adjusts the timing for the filing of Statements of Candidacy to be reflective of and in alignment with other timelines. This Act modernizes notice requirements to utilize the Town website, which will provide broader notice to the public. This Act also amends the procedure for handling an election resulting in a tie vote; a tie vote will be resolved by special election, rather than a decision by the Board of Elections, to promote a democratic resolution. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.