Sen. Nicole Poore

This Act amends Delaware’s laws regarding release of persons accused of crimes (Chapter 21 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code) as required in conjunction with the enactment of an amendment to § 12 of Article I of the Delaware Constitution permitting preventive detention, as proposed by Senate Bill No. 11 of the 152nd General Assembly. This Act protects both defendants’ due process rights and public safety by establishing the list of circumstances for which defendants may be detained pretrial without the opportunity for release and providing adequate due process protections for detention-eligible defendants. This Act protects public safety by permitting courts to detain a defendant who is charged with an enumerated felony offense where no condition or combination of conditions of bail will reasonably assure a defendant’s appearance in court or the safety of a witness, a victim, or the community. This Act also protects defendants’ rights by doing the following: (1) Requiring the Attorney General to establish by proof positive or presumption great that the defendant committed the detention-eligible offense and by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance at court proceedings, reasonably assure the protection of the community, victims, witnesses, or any other person, and reasonably maintain the integrity of the judicial process, such that the defendant will not obstruct or attempt to obstruct justice. (2) Ensuring detention-eligible defendants are represented by counsel at the initial detention and subsequent hearings. (3) Requiring courts to hold a full preventive detention hearing within 10 days of the defendant’s arrest where defendants have the right to testify, to present evidence, and to cross-examine witnesses against them. (4) Requiring expedited review of the detention order by Superior Court. (5) Providing speedy trial protections for any defendant who is detained before adjudication due to preventive detention. This Act also does the following: (1) Improves procedural fairness by permitting courts to make transparent decisions about who to detain and who to release pretrial. (2) Strengthens the strong presumption of pretrial release under least restrictive conditions for those defendants who can safely be released in the community. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because this Act is enabling legislation to an amendment to the Constitution which, when enacted, amends § 12 of Article I of the Delaware Constitution to require an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to create the list of detention-eligible offenses created by § 2116(b)(1) of Title 11 contained in this Act. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act eliminates the death penalty in Delaware. As such, the penalty for a person who is convicted of first-degree murder for an offense that was committed after the person’s 18th birthday is imprisonment for the remainder of the person’s natural life without benefit of probation or parole or any other reduction.

This Act removes “supervision” from the scope of practice of a master’s social worker. This Act also prohibits a master’s social worker from providing supervision to a licensed clinical social worker applicant. The Board of Social Work Examiners (Board) determined that a master’s social worker lacks the education and experience needed to provide clinical supervision. Under this Act, an applicant for licensure as a licensed clinical social worker may still obtain supervision from a licensed psychologist or licensed psychiatrist where a licensed clinical social worker is not available, under the Board’s rules and regulations. This Act also adds a grandfathering provision so that an applicant or licensed clinical social worker who started or completed supervision with a master’s social worker on or before the enactment date of this Act satisfies the supervision requirement under § 3907(b)(4) of this title as long as the applicant or licensed clinical social worker is otherwise in compliance with § 3907(b)(4) of this title. The grandfathering provision also allows a master’s social worker who is supervising an applicant as of the enactment date of this Act to continue supervision under the applicant completes the 2-year supervised experience requirement.

This Act clarifies the Attorney General’s existing authority to enforce the State’s consumer protection laws, specifically the Attorney General’s ability to pursue non-penalty civil remedies, such as damages and restitution, without having to show that a person’s violation of a law or regulation enforced by the Department of Justice’s Division of Consumer Protection was wilful. This Act does not change the requirement that the Attorney General show that such a violation was wilful in order to obtain civil penalties from a court or hearing officer. Every other state that has a similar state of mind requirement in their consumer fraud law does not impose that state of mind requirement for non-penalty civil remedies. By harmonizing the language in the Consumer Fraud Act (Subchapter II, Chapter 25, Title 6 of the Code) and the Division of Consumer Protection’s enabling statute (Subchapter II, Chapter 25, Title 29 of the Code), this Act clarifies that Delaware is line with the other states. This Act also strikes outdated language in the Consumer Fraud Act requiring cases to be filed in specific counties, as the Superior Court and the Court of Chancery have both eliminated their historical county filing requirement. Additionally, this Act fixes inconsistencies with the Summary Cease and Desist Order process, by clarifying that an alleged violator must request a hearing in order to trigger the Division of Consumer Protection’s obligation to hold a hearing. This Act further clarifies the Summary Cease and Desist Order process, such as by making explicit the alleged violator’s right to postpone a hearing and final order, changing the various 10 day requirements to 15 business days, and removing the requirement for a complaint to accompany the original summary cease and desist order.

This Act changes Delaware’s law related to liability insurance for rental vehicles. Under the Act, the minimum level of coverage required for a vehicle owner’s policy of liability insurance under § 2902 of this title is also required for a vehicle owner’s rental of a vehicle. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act allows for the delivery of alcoholic liquors from a restaurant, brewpub, tavern, taproom, or other entity with a valid on-premise license. In addition, this Act provides that the acts of a licensed consumer delivery permittee or a delivery driver are not attributable to the retailer.

The Board of Trustees of the Delaware Institute of Veterinary Medical Education (“DIVME”) was established in 1975 with a stated purpose of creating opportunities for Delaware residents to obtain veterinary training and strengthening factors that would encourage them to return to practice in Delaware. DIVME’s statute has had only 2 minor updates since 1975, with the last update in 1993. This Act revamps the board and the DIVME program to meet modern veterinary medical needs in Delaware. Among the changes are: - Renaming DIVME to the “Delaware Veterinary Medicine Education Advisory Council,” more accurately reflecting the group’s purpose. - Providing that the Advisory Council will work with both the Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture to establish a robust program that assists Delaware students interested in practicing veterinary medicine, encourages the students to return to Delaware to practice, and develops programs of education and training in veterinary medicine-related fields and research. - Updating membership of the Advisory Council to better represent the many areas that veterinary medicine impacts Delaware. Several members are added, including the Department of Agriculture, the Office of Animal Welfare, and the Delaware Farm Bureau. - Better defining the Advisory Council’s purpose and duties to empower the Advisory Council to better understand what the needs are in Delaware and develop and recommend methods to promote awareness of educational assistance and opportunities to return to Delaware to practice veterinary medicine. This Act reflects the work of several interested parties to achieve a renewed and reenergized Advisory Council, including the Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture, the Delaware Farm Bureau, the Office of Animal Welfare, the Delaware Veterinary Medical Association, and local animal shelters.

Maddy summaryThis bill clarifies the definition of a "United States military pension" for Delaware state tax purposes, ensuring that income from service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard, NOAA, Public Health Service, or National Guard is treated correctly. The change specifically affects how taxpayers under age 60 calculate their tax-exempt income limits starting in the 2022 tax year, creating a distinct category for military pensions separate from other employer or state pensions. By explicitly listing the branches of service included, the legislation provides clearer guidance to military retirees and their families on which income qualifies for exclusion from taxable earnings.

Senate Bill 67, from the first session of the 152nd General Assembly, updated the crime of official misconduct. Senate Bill 67 intended to change the penalty for official misconduct from a class A misdemeanor to a graded system, where the penalty is commensurate to the gravity of the misconduct. This Act makes the following modifications to ensure legislative intent is achieved: (1) The original penalty in § 1211 was not stricken by SB 67. Therefore, it remains in Code as an impermissible floating paragraph under paragraph (a)(5) of § 1211. Despite the addition of the new graded penalty system in SB 67, the floating paragraph states that official misconduct is punishable as a class A misdemeanor. This Act deletes the floating paragraph so that § 1211 is correctly interpreted as imposing a graded penalty system. (2) Paragraph (b)(3) of § 1211 adds “but less than $50,000.” to the end of the description of what constitutes a class F felony. Otherwise, there would be overlap between what dollar amount of harm caused or value received constitutes a class F felony, a class D felony, and a class B felony. (3) Restructures subsection (b) by adding introductory language to clarify when enhanced sentences apply. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act creates the Delaware Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Service Act. The Act provides compensation and reintegration services to individuals who have served sentences of incarceration, wrongful incarceration in a psychiatric institution, parole, probation, and sex offender registration in the State for crimes that they did not commit. An individual claiming wrongful conviction or, if deceased, that individual's heirs, may bring a petition for compensation in Delaware Superior Court. A petitioner who makes the required showing is entitled to damages based on the type and period of wrongful incarceration, probation, parole, or registration, and other amounts, such as reasonable attorney fees in obtaining relief, subject to requirements of proof. However, a petitioner is not entitled to such compensation if the Department of Justice establishes that the petitioner was an accomplice in the commission of the crime or that the petitioner intentionally and voluntarily caused the conviction at issue by committing perjury or fabricating evidence at trial in order to prevent the conviction of the true perpetrator. In addition, an individual released from incarceration as the result of the reversal, overturning, or vacation of a conviction is entitled to emergency assistance and services. Senate Substitute 3 for SB 169 differs from SS 2 for SB 169 in that it provides that a petitioner who served time in a psychiatric institution is eligible to apply for relief. Senate Substitute 3 for SB 169 also provides that in all cases, in order to be compensated, a petitioner must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the petitioner did not commit the crime that resulted in the conviction or that there was no crime committed. This provision differs from Senate Substitute 2, which required this showing only for a petitioner who entered a Robinson plea or entered a plea of no contest. In addition, Senate Substitute 3 for SB 169 provides that persons who were pardoned are not eligible for post-release services under the Act. Finally, Senate Substitute 3 for SB 169 provides that any award under the Act must be offset by any amounts the petitioner has recovered in a civil action or settlement of a civil action for wrongful conviction or imprisonment. If, after receiving an award under the Act, a petitioner subsequently recovers in such a civil action or settlement, the petitioner must reimburse the State to the extent of the amounts awarded in the civil action or settlement of the civil action.