This Concurrent Resolution celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Office of the Controller General.
This Act revises the crime of "unlawfully permitting a child access to a firearm," an existing class A misdemeanor under Delaware law. The offense is renamed "unsafe storage of a firearm" to place emphasis on firearm safety and proper storage. Under the revised statute, a crime is committed when a person intentionally or recklessly stores or leaves a loaded firearm where a minor or other person prohibited by law, or “unauthorized person,” can access the firearm, and the unauthorized person obtains the firearm. The unauthorized person’s use of the firearm to inflict serious physical injury or death is not an element of the offense, but is an aggravating factor. For the purposes of this offense, “stores and leaves” does not include when firearm is carried by or under the control of the owner or another lawfully-authorized user. Under this Act, the offense is a class B misdemeanor if there are no aggravating circumstances. If, however, the unauthorized person uses the firearm to commit a crime, uses the firearm to inflict serious physical injury or death upon anyone, or transfers the firearm to another unauthorized person, the offense is a class A misdemeanor. It is an affirmative defense that the person stored the firearm in a locked container, disabled it with a tamper-resistant trigger lock, or stored it in a location a reasonable person would have thought was safe from access by unauthorized persons. This Act provides an exception for firearms manufactured in or before 1899, or a replica to such firearms, if the replica is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition. This Act also makes technical changes to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This resolution calls on the Congress of the United States to take action to protect bee and other pollinator populations across the United States, which have halved since the 1940s, by researching the causes of pollinator population losses and determining methods to retain and ultimately increase the number of bees and other pollinators throughout the United States and around the world.
This Act increases the penalties for parking in an area designated for a vehicle being used by an individual with a disability. For a first offense this Act increases the monetary penalty from $100 to $200. For a subsequent offense, this Act increases the monetary penalty from $200 to $300. The offenses subject to these increased penalties are included without change in lines 4 through 27 to add context. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This bill addresses the Behavioral and Mental Health Commission and functionally narrows its scope to peer review responsibilities. This peer review function provides independent oversight to Delaware’s mental health system without authority to force changes on the State. Much of the current broader responsibilities of the larger Commission overlap with the Governor’s Advisory Committee to DSAMH. The proposed changes do not replace or eliminate the Addiction Action Committee. This is merely to ensure that all commissions and committees have their own discrete area in which to focus.
This Act tightens the role and responsibilities of the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDDS) so that it more aptly aligns with the current state of the agency. This act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
The Department of Transportation is already authorized to issue multi-trip permits for pole and piling semitrailers and double-bottom vehicles, also known as “twin trailers,” on a monthly basis. This Act authorizes the Department to also issue the permits on an annual basis. The existing law provides that a monthly permit must be issued for a specified period; an annual permit, in contrast, is not limited to a specified period.
This bill will add a new check-off donation box on the Delaware personal income tax return whereby individuals may choose to donate a portion of their tax refund, or designate an amount in addition to the tax they owe that will be transferred by the Division of Revenue to the Pediatric Cancer Research Fund held by the Delaware Community Foundation, who in turn will deposit the funds to the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation.
This bill creates certificates of rehabilitation, an essential resource states can offer to support reentry, and promote public safety, by lifting statutory bars to jobs, licenses or other necessities such as housing that result from a conviction history. Certificates may be used to provide a way for qualified people with criminal records to demonstrate rehabilitation or a commitment to rehabilitation. At least six states currently have laws authorizing certificates of rehabilitation or other similar means of removing legal barriers arising from a criminal record separate and apart from seeking a governor pardon. This bill creates certificates of rehabilitation to restore the rights of people with criminal records who have paid their debt to society.
Confessions are powerful evidence of guilt. This Act adopts the Uniform Law Commission's Uniform Electronic Recordation of Custodial Interrogations Act to promote truth-finding, promote efficiency, and protect constitutional values. The scope of recording required under the Uniform Act, and the exceptions to the recording requirement, are consistent with the requirements set by the Attorney General in the Attorney General’s Custodial Interrogation Model Policy, available at: https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/law-enforcement/custodial-interrogation-policy-2018/. Specifically, this Act mandates audio recording or audio and video recording of the custodial interrogation process by law enforcement when the interrogation relates to a crime, as crime is defined under the Delaware Criminal Code. Recognizing that a blanket requirement of recording electronically all interrogation is not feasible, this Act provides 6 exceptions to the recording mandate: (1) exigent circumstances, (2) an individual's refusal to be recorded, (3) interrogations occurring in other jurisdictions, (4) when the interrogator reasonably believes that the offense involved is not one the Act mandates must be recorded, (5) when the interrogator or interrogator's supervisor reasonably believes electronic recording would reveal a confidential informant's identity or jeopardize the safety of the officer, the person interrogated, or another individual, and (6) equipment malfunctions. Further, this Act requires the prosecution to notify the defense of an intention to introduce an unrecorded statement and of the exception that permitted the lack of recording. This Act requires the prosecution to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that an exception applies. This Act also prescribes remedies for violations of the electronic recording requirement, including the giving of a cautionary instruction to the jury. Finally, this Act requires the Attorney General to adopt rules to implement this Act, which are to be enforced by each law enforcement agency.
