This Act replaces references to “Masters” in the Court of Chancery with “Magistrate”. The Court of Chancery, as Delaware’s court of equity, “traces its jurisdiction and powers to the High Court of Chancery in Great Britain at the time of the American Revolution.” DiGiacobbe v. Sestak, 743 A.2d 180, 182 (Del. 1999). At that time in British history, the High Court appointed persons bearing the title “Masters in Chancery” to examine witnesses and prepare reports of their factual findings in causes referred to them. On its formation, the Court of Chancery inherited the power to appoint judicial officers for similar purposes. The General Assembly later adopted laws, and the Court of Chancery adopted rules, expressly memorializing this power. Following the tradition of the High Court, those laws and rules referred to judicial officers appointed to serve at the pleasure of the Chancellor as “Masters in Chancery”. The title of “master” carries negative connotations due to the use of the term as the title of owners of slaves. Although the title “Master in Chancery” has no link to that historical context, the Court of Chancery is sensitive to the title’s negative connotations and so has proposed a new title, “Magistrate in Chancery”. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware General Corporation Law.
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This statutory addition to Delaware’s Wrongful Death Act will permit the spouse, parents, children, and siblings of a deceased person to recover punitive damages when the actions resulting in the death of another person were maliciously intended or the result of willful or wanton misconduct by the at fault party. Punitive damages are intended to deter the at fault party from future similar conduct and to punish the at fault party for reckless conduct. Presently, an estate can recover punitive damages under a survival action pursuant to 10 Del C. § 3701. A survival action involves the death of an individual as the result of the at fault party where that individual suffers for a period of time before dying. Whereas, a wrongful death action involves the instantaneous death of an individual as the result of the at fault party. This led to cases where the issue of whether a defendant faced punitive damages depended not on the defendant's own actions, but on whether the deceased had suffered long enough for a survival action. This Act also clarifies the definitions of "child" and "parent."
This Resolution establishes the Firearm Definition Task Force (“Task Force”) to do all of the following: (1) Determine the impact of the change to the definition of “firearm” under § 222 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code proposed by House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 224 on the Delaware Criminal Code and other Delaware Code provisions relying on the definition of “firearm”. (2) Make findings and recommendations on a revision to the definition of “firearm” for purposes of the Delaware Criminal Code and any necessary changes to the Delaware Criminal Code or Delaware Code based on the Task Force’s recommended definition. (3) Draft or amend legislation to implement the Task Force’s findings and recommendations. (4) Submit a final report no later than January 5, 2024.
The expectation for speed enforcement, under Delaware's Motor Vehicle statute, are Delaware's law enforcement agencies. It is not always possible for law enforcement officers to effectively enforce the speed limitations due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, officer availability and safety. The original Act enabled the State, as well as counties and municipalities to more effectively enforce speed limits on roads in a residential district in which a Department of Transportation study, no more than 1 year old, documents that the 85th percentile speed on the road is 5 miles per hour or more than the posted speed limit or the road is in a designated work zone. For a violation to occur a motor vehicle must exceed the posted speed limit by 11 miles per hour or more. This Act would impose only civil penalties for violations and does not impose points on the owner or operator’s driver’s license. Jurisdiction for adjudicating alleged violations would be in the Justice of the Peace Court and there would only be a right of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas if the penalty exceeds $100. Any excess revenue not used for administration of the system, will be managed by the Office of Highway Safety and used only for purposes of education, enforcement, engineering and administration. This Act will sunset in 5 years if not extended by a subsequent act by the General Assembly. This Act is a substitute for and differs from House Bill No. 94 in that it eliminates enforcement by Delaware State Police, anywhere other than work zones, and limits approval and implementation of the speed monitoring system to residential districts in New Castle County and municipalities. This Act also requires payment of voluntary assessments to be made to the entity designated on the summons, which may be the Department of Safety and Homeland Security or the county or city where the speed camera was located.
This Act revises Delaware’s child safety seat requirements which currently requires an “appropriate” car seat or booster. Under this Act, children under 2 years and under 30 pounds must be seated in a rear-facing seat with a 5-point harness. Children under 4 years and under 40 pounds must be seated in either a forward facing or rear-facing seat with a 5-point harness. Children between the ages of 4 and 16, must be seated in a booster based upon the manufacturer’s guidelines or a seatbelt. This Act removes the existing fine for the first offense and requests law enforcement to provide a referral to the Office of Highway Safety car seat fitting station for guidance and education regarding proper use of a child restraint. Under this Act, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security is required to implement an awareness campaign within 180 days of enactment. The remainder of the Act will not take effect until 1 year following its enactment.
This Act establishes requirements for the handling of treatment records for all of the following health-care providers under Title 24: 1. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (certified nurse practitioners), Chapter 19. 2. Licensees under the Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Chapter 30: mental health professional counselors and associate counselors, chemical dependency professionals, marriage and family therapists, professional art therapists. 3. Psychologists, Chapter 35. 4. Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Chapter 39. Under current law, a patient or client does not have a right or clear procedure by which to obtain a copy of their record when one of these practitioners closes a practice, dies, terminates a patient relationship, or is incapacitated. The requirements established under this Act are modeled on the patient record requirements and procedures for physicians and correspond with the changes that would be enacted under House Bill No. 105 (152nd). These requirements and procedures also apply when a patient or client requests copies of their records. Under existing law, the governing boards established under these chapters have authority to promulgate regulations, if necessary, to address intersections between the requirements under this Act and professional codes of ethics. Sections 5 through 8 of this Act make technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual and corrects the spelling of the word “health-care” to be consistent throughout these chapters.
Speeding is a contributing factor in many serious injury motor vehicle crashes and roadway fatalities. This Act adds operating a motor vehicle at a speed of 90 miles an hour or more to the definition of reckless driving.
This Act relates to the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's ("Committee") review of the Provider Advisory Board ("Board"). As part of that review, the Committee approved a recommendation to consolidate the functions of the Board into the functions of the Delaware Early Childhood Council ("DECC"). The Board's review is held over to 2024, and Committee staff will monitor and report back to the Committee in 2024 on the implementation of the recommendation to consolidate these functions. To ensure that the functions consolidated into the DECC remain accurate, this Act reflects the changes to the Board's functions under § 3007A, Title 14 that do not take effect until July 1, 2024.
Currently, every adult operating or riding as a passenger on a motorcycle is required to have a helmet in their possession and wear eye protection while operating or riding a motorcycle and every person up to 19 years of age must wear a helmet and eye protection. This Act requires that everyone who obtains a new endorsement for a motorcycle on or after the effective date of this Act, or someone riding with the newly endorsed person, to wear a helmet and eye protection for the first 2 years after the newly endorsed person receives the endorsement. In 2022, Delaware experienced 10 motorcycle fatalities where the rider was not wearing a helmet. Over the last 5 years, among crashes involving a Delaware licensed motorcycle rider, 25% of fatal and serious injury crashes involved a rider in their first 2 years of having a motorcycle endorsement. Helmets and eye protection are already required for those operating with a temporary motorcycle instruction permit as required under § 2703 of Title 21 of the Delaware Code and no passengers are allowed. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia currently require all motorcyclists to wear a helmet. According to research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, helmets are highly effective in protecting motorcycle riders’ heads in crashes and significantly reduce deaths and serious head injuries in crashes. This Act creates a civil penalty for violation of the helmet law, both the existing law and the law created by this Act.
According to the Mayo Clinic, miscarriages occur in about 20% of all pregnancies, and generally, in the first 12 weeks. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1 out of every 100 American pregnancies ends in stillbirth. Black women have a significantly higher risk of miscarrying— 43% higher when compared to white women. Black mothers are also more than twice as likely to experience stillbirth compared to Hispanic and white mothers. This bill provides State employees who suffer a miscarriage, stillbirth or other loss, a maximum of 5 days of paid bereavement leave. This Act shall be known as the "Sloane Hajek Act of 2023".