Rep. Kendra Johnson

Maddy summaryThis bill designates May 15, 2024, as Youth Prevention Day in Delaware to raise awareness about substance misuse and mental health issues among young people. The resolution encourages state agencies and community organizations to share evidence-based prevention resources and engage youth in age-appropriate support programs. It is based on statistics highlighting the prevalence of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use among adolescents and recent discussions involving local students and policymakers.

This Concurrent resolution recognizes the Success of the Downtown Development District (“DDD”) Program on the tenth anniversary of its establishment.

Maddy summaryThis bill officially designates May 2024 as Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month in Delaware to highlight the disease and support research efforts. It does not change laws or require any new funding, but instead serves as a symbolic gesture to raise public understanding of cystic fibrosis, which affects the lungs and digestive systems of thousands of people. The resolution directs that a copy of the proclamation be given to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, aligning with the national theme of fostering community unity around the disease.

This resolution designates May 5-11, 2024, as “Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week” and encourages anyone experiencing uncontrollable, abnormal, and repetitive movements to consult their healthcare provider regarding their symptoms.

Reverse-location court orders and reverse keyword court orders enable the government to obtain location data or technology search data without identifying any specific person as to which there is probable cause to believe they have committed or will imminently commit a crime. The profusion of electronic devices and apps in recent years has allowed recordation of numerous details of citizen’s everyday lives, that the government should not be permitted to collect and review at will. Such general searches allow the government to sweep in personal information about hundreds or thousands of people who are not suspected of having committed any crime. These searches are an invasion of privacy, have a potentially chilling effect on civil liberties, and sidestep requirements for individualized suspicion that are otherwise required for a lawful search. This Act would prohibit law enforcement and courts from requesting, issuing, or enforcing reverse-location court orders, reverse-keyword court orders, reverse-location requests and reverse keyword requests. It also creates a private right of action for an individual whose personal information was obtained in violation of this Act and requires the suppression of evidence derived from an unlawful reverse-location or reverse-keyword search.

This Senate Concurrent Resolution recognizes May 9, 2024, as Delaware Local Government Day in the State of Delaware.

Maddy summaryThis bill is a symbolic resolution that designates May 11, 2024, as "National Train Day" within the State of Delaware. It directly affects the state's residents by encouraging them to acknowledge and celebrate the historical and ongoing significance of rail transportation. The measure includes background information on the history of railroads in the United States and Delaware, highlighting specific local heritage sites and current services provided by Amtrak and CSX. By passing this resolution, the state legislature formally recognizes the importance of rail networks without imposing any new laws, regulations, or financial obligations.

This Act updates the Clean Indoor Air Act to include the burning of marijuana or the use of marijuana in an electronic smoking device as a prohibited activity in all the same locations where smoking a tobacco product or using an electronic smoking device is prohibited. Further, the Act updates and clarifies some of the definitions used in this chapter. Several of the defined terms are no longer used in the substantive portions of the chapter because they pertained to exceptions to the Clean Indoor Air Act that were legislatively removed. This bill also makes technical changes to conform to the requirements of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Finally, the exception on smoking prohibitions for vapor establishments is repealed. The exception for tobacco businesses was removed from the Clean Indoor Air Act in 2002, and this repeal will treat the businesses more alike. In addition, the definition of vapor establishment had proved difficult for agencies to understand and implement properly. This Act is effective January 1, 2025.

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 99 (152nd) created the Victims’ Bill of Rights Committee (VBR Committee) to perform a comprehensive review of the Victims’ Bill of Rights (VBR) and make recommendation to clarify the VBR, strengthen protections for victims, and ensure that state agencies have the necessary mechanisms, administration, and funding to successfully implement the VBR. To facilitate in-depth review and discussion, the VBR formed the following 4 subgroups: The Victim Safety Subgroup, The Rights of Special Victims Subgroup, The Victims’ Rights to Information and Notification Procedures Subgroup, and the Victims’ Compensation and Administration Subgroup. This Act revises the Victims’ Bill of Rights and the Victims’ Compensation Assistance Program based on the recommendations in the February 27, 2024, Victims’ Bill of Rights Committee Final Report. Section 1 revises Chapter 94 of Title 11 (“this chapter”), the Victims’ Bill of Rights, by making technical changes for clarity and by adding substantive policy provisions that either codify existing practices or create new rights and responsibilities as follows: Substantive changes that establish the following new rights or responsibilities: • To extend these rights to more victims, adds additional offenses to the definition of "crime" for this chapter and includes any offense that is the basis for abuse, domestic violence, or a sexual violence protective order. • Adds a complaint process that a victim or witness can use if a law-enforcement agency fails to comply with this chapter. • Adds the victim’s or witness’s school to the personal information that must be kept confidential. • Provides victims the right to have a victim advocate present at all proceedings related to the crime. • Requires that victim services professionals inform a victim if the victim services professional is required to share information disclosed by the victim that is relevant to the investigation and to whom that information must be disclosed. • Provides rights to victims regarding information about the location, status, and preservation of biological evidence. • Provides a right to submit a victim impact statement that is separate from the current right to participate in the pre-sentence report process. • Updates the manner in which victims receive notifications under this chapter by allowing law-enforcement agencies to send notifications electronically and requiring DELJIS to create the mechanism by which law-enforcement agencies can send these notifications by email. Victims will be able to indicate and change their preferred method of contact by law-enforcement agencies, including a preference not to be contacted, and law-enforcement agencies must use the victim’s preferred method of contact when possible. • Requires that the Department of Justice create a website where the rights of victims and witnesses under this chapter are explained in a user-friendly manner, in English and in Spanish, and in a format that is as accessible as possible for individuals with disabilities. This website must include information about rights victims or witnesses have under other sections of the Code. • Strengthens the annual report requirements for law-enforcement agencies regarding compliance with this chapter by adding specific information that must be included in each report. The individual law-enforcement agency reports must be compiled by the Criminal Justice Council (CJC) into 1 final report and posted on the CJC webpage. • Extends to witnesses the current requirement that the court to provide a waiting area for victims that is separate and secure from the defendant, the defendant’s relatives, and defense witnesses. • Provides witnesses with the same right to the prompt return of property from law-enforcement that currently exists for victims. Substantive changes that codify existing practices: • Updates the definition of “law-enforcement agencies” to include police, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Correction, including probation and parole. • Expands the definition of “representative of the victim” to include members of the victim’s family if the victim is deceased and the parent, guardian, or custodian of a victim who is unable to meaningfully participate in proceedings. It also clarifies the representative of the victim if the victim or the deceased victim’s sibling is in the custody of the Department of ‘Services for Children, Youth, and their Families. • Revises and expands the definition of victim services to include the broad array of assistance that is available to victims of crime. • States that the remedy for a victim or witness if a law-enforcement agency fails to comply with this chapter is to file a writ of mandamus under § 564 of Title 10. • Provides victims and witnesses the right to express safety concerns while attending proceedings at court and to request reasonable measures to ensure their safety, including modifications to standard practices, policies, and procedures. • Provides the right for immigrant victims and witnesses not to be detained by law enforcement or turned over to federal immigration authorities unless there is a judicial warrant. • Requires that the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System (DELJIS) provide a summary of a crime victim’s rights and information about victim services that is printed on the back of the victim’s copy of the initial incident report. • Repeals the applicability of this chapter to qualifying neighborhood or homeowners’ associations. Technical changes: • Reorganizes existing provisions so that rights of all victims are in subchapter I. by transferring the rights of victims with cognitive disabilities from subchapter II. • Reorganizes existing provisions so that rights of all witnesses are in subchapter II. by transferring the rights of witnesses from subchapter I and correspondingly redesignates subchapter II as the Rights of Witnesses to Crime. The rights provided to victims and witnesses with cognitive disabilities are incorporated in the applicable subchapter. • When possible, instead of listing each specific offense included in the definition of “crime”, offenses are included in this definition by subchapter or subpart. • Transfers rights applicable to all crime victims under § 9404 through § 9408 of Title 11 to § 9403 of Title 11. • Repeals unnecessary definitions and language that repeats rights provided in another section of this chapter or elsewhere in the Code. Section 2 revises § 9002 of Title 11 to combine funeral and burial expenses into 1 category of pecuniary loss to simplify approval of payments for these expenses. Section 3 makes corresponding changes to the job title of the victim services personnel who are members of the Victims’ Compensation Assistance Program Advisory Council under § 9003 of Title 11. Section 3 also makes technical corrections to § 9003 and adds standard language regarding the conduct of meetings by public bodies, including requirements for quorum and when a member designates another individual to attend a meeting. Section 4 repeals the requirement that unencumbered balances in excess of $6,000,000 in the Victims’ Compensation Fund at the end of each fiscal year be deposited in the General Fund. Section 5 provides a delayed implementation date to provide the Department of Justice time to create the informational websites for victims and witnesses required under § 9414(c) and (d) of Title 11. Section 6 makes the requirement under § 9414(a)(4) of Title 11 that DELJIS create the mechanism by which law-enforcement agencies can send notifications by email contingent upon an appropriation of the funds necessary to fulfill this requirement and then provides 18 months to implement this requirement. This Act also makes additional technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This concurrent resolution calls for parents, childcare centers and preschools to take precautions when allowing kids to play with water bead toys in light of the significant health concerns they present for Delaware children.