Sen. Marie Pinkney

This Act prohibits arrest or detention by any person who does not have explicit statutory authority to carry out an arrest or detention. The intent of this provision is to eliminate any doubt that a “citizen’s arrest” is not permitted in Delaware. Peace officers have statutory authority to make arrests, as do federal law enforcement agents and out-of-state police under some circumstances. There is also limited authority to detain a person suspected of shoplifting provided to a merchant, store supervisor, agent or employee of a merchant in § 840 of Title 11; to detain a person suspected of unlawful recording by a motion picture theater owner, supervisor, agent or employee under § 858 of Title 11; and to detain a person suspected of unlawful acts with a video lottery machine by a video lottery agent or any of its officers, employees or agents under § 1474 of Title 11. This Act also deletes two outdated provisions of Chapter 65 of Title 11 that reference the exercise of arrest by private detectives. At the present time, private investigators do not have authority to make arrests in Delaware.

This Act eliminates authorization for a warrantless arrest by a private person in the case of an individual accused in the courts of another state of a felony. It also strikes a provision relating to the authority of an officer to command assistance in making arrests based on charges in another state. This bill is a successor to House Bill No. 76.

This Act expands the criminal offense of impersonating a police officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, paramedic, or fire officer to also prohibit impersonation of a federal officer. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform to the Legislative Drafting Manual and creates a definition of “law-enforcement official,” which includes all of the state officers already explicitly referenced in the statute, as well as federal officers.

This Act prohibits law-enforcement agencies from entering into agreements with federal immigration enforcement authorities to enforce immigration violations or share immigration enforcement related data. This Act is not intended to prevent a law-enforcement agency from working with the federal government on other public safety efforts.

Currently, the Department of Correction (“Department”) biennially reviews individuals sentenced to more than 1 year of incarceration to determine if there is good cause to recommend a sentence modification to the Board of Parole for an individual who is not a substantial risk to the community or the individual’s self. Good cause includes the individual’s rehabilitation, serious medical illness or infirmity, and prison overcrowding. While any individual is eligible for consideration due to a serious medical illness or infirmity, only those who have served at least ½ of their sentence for a violent felony or all of the statutorily mandated term of incarceration are eligible for consideration for rehabilitation, prison overcrowding, or another reason. If the Department recommends an individual for sentence modification, the Board of Parole considers the application and, if the Board approves, the sentencing court then makes a final determination on the sentence modification. This Act, which is named in honor of Richard “Mouse” Smith, a Delaware civil rights leader, who spent decades advocating on issues addressed by this Act, is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 10. Like Senate Bill No. 10, this Act revises the process for sentence modification in 3 ways. First, this Act removes the Board of Parole from the sentence modification process and provides that applications for sentence modification are made directly to the sentencing court. Second, this Act provides that an individual who is sentenced to incarceration for more than 1 year may seek a sentence modification in 3 circumstances: (1) The application for a sentence modification is based solely on the person’s serious medical illness or infirmity. (2) The person is 60 years of age or older, has served at least 15 years of the originally imposed Level V sentence, and the application for sentence modification is based solely on the person’s rehabilitation. (3) The person has served at least 25 years of the originally imposed Level V sentence and the application for sentence modification is based solely on the person’s rehabilitation. Third, this Act provides that an individual who is sentenced to incarceration for more than 1 year and whose sentence is reviewed by the Department, but who the Department does not recommend for sentence modification, may directly apply to the court for a sentence modification. Like Senate Bill No. 10, this Act also makes clear that the Department and sentencing court must consider if a sentence modification resulting in the release of an individual who is incarcerated would constitute a substantial risk to a victim of, or witness to, an offense that is the subject of the sentence modification and that the sentencing court must provide an opportunity for the victim and the Department of Justice to be heard. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 10 as follows: (1) Providing that a person is not eligible for a sentence modification under this Act if the person is serving a statutorily mandated term of incarceration at Level V for a conviction of any offense under this title and has not yet served all of the statutorily mandated portion of the Level V sentence. Senate Bill No. 10 provided the person was not eligible until the person had served ½ of the statutorily mandated portion of the Level V sentence. (2) Making clear that the person’s attorney may file the sentence modification for the person. (3) Making clear that an application for a sentence modification may be filed by those who have served the period of incarceration provided under paragraph (a)(5) and have good cause. (4) Requiring the Department, on completion of the Department’s eligibility review under paragraph (d)(1), to provide the person with information regarding the person’s right to counsel. (5) Providing that the person may retain a private attorney at the person's own expense or request the court refer the person to the Office of Defense Services, and that the person may proceed without an attorney only as provided under court rules. (6) Requiring the Department to biennially conduct the eligibility review required under paragraph (d)(1). Senate Bill No. 10 would have required the Department to make these determinations annually. (7) Requiring the Department to provide to the court, with an application for sentence modification the Department files, a written statement of the satisfied requirements under this Act that form the Department’s basis for recommending the sentence modification. (8) Requiring the Department to provide to the person, the person’s attorney of record, or the Office of Defense Services a written statement of the Department’s reasons for not recommending a sentence modification, including the unsatisfied requirements of this Act that form the Department’s basis for not recommending the sentence modification. (9) Authorizing the court to summarily dismiss an application that does not include the statements from the Department required by this Act, except for an application based solely on the person’s serious medical illness or infirmity. (10) Authorizing the court to summarily dismiss an application if the court determines summary dismissal is warranted. (11) Giving the court discretion to determine how long a person whose application for sentence modification is denied because the court determines the person constitutes a substantial risk to the community or the person’s application lacks good cause. This Act provides the period set by the court may not exceed 3 years. (12) Making clear that if the court denies an application for sentence modification based on a person’s serious medical illness or infirmity, the person may submit a subsequent application if at least 60 days have passed since the date of the court’s denial and if the application demonstrates a material change in the person’s circumstances.

Maddy summarySB 200 authorizes Delaware to issue general obligation bonds and revenue bonds for state capital projects during the 2025-2026 fiscal year. It appropriates funds from the Transportation Trust Fund, Delaware Transportation Authority's special funds, and general state funds, while also allowing for the reallocation of existing state funds. The bill specifies how these funds can be spent, including for transportation infrastructure and other state capital improvements. This funding package directly affects Delaware state agencies and projects funded through these bond issuances and appropriations.

This Act is based on Senate Substitute No. 3 for Senate Bill No. 4 of the 152nd General Assembly, which modernizes Delaware’s probation system, including by directing the courts, the Board of Parole, and the Bureau of Community Corrections to use the least restrictive probation and parole conditions and the most minimally intrusive reporting requirements necessary to achieve the goals of community supervision.

This Act exempts food served in Level IV and Level V correctional facilities from restrictions on the use of polystyrene foam food service packaging. Scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2025, § 3004Q of Title 16 prohibits food establishments from providing ready-to-eat food in polystyrene foam food service packaging. This prohibition would create significant hardships and increase costs for the Department of Correction (“Department”), which uses polystyrene foam food service packaging in the course of providing over 14,000 meals per day to Department inmates.

This Act requires the permitting of an electric substation as an allowed conditional use in a heavy industrial zone under certain conditions set forth in the Act, including that the electrical substation is being constructed to support the operation of a proposed renewable energy generation project of 250 MW or greater. This Act is being given retroactive effect such that, if a county has previously denied an application for an electrical substation that would meet the requirements of this Act, then the application shall be deemed granted provided that the electrical substation meets the requirements of this Act.

The Board of Pharmacy (“Board”) has worked for several years to amend Chapter 25, Title 24 of the Delaware Code to update the statute governing pharmacy licensure and practice in this State. The result of these efforts is this Act, which modernizes Chapter 25 to include a licensure system similar to those already in place in many other states, reflects current practices and standards, and clarifies the law. The Board’s priority in amending Chapter 25 was to ensure competence and accountability of individuals, pharmacies, and other establishments regulated by the Board. This Act expands and updates the definitions section to include terms related to current practice, such as “compounding” and “outsourcing facilities.” Board membership terms are increased: Board members will be eligible to serve for a maximum of three consecutive, three-year terms. The Board officers are identified as president and vice president. Several sections are added to the Board’s powers and duties, including the authority to promulgate a Code of Ethics. This Act amends the qualifications for licensure as a pharmacist to set forth clearly objective criteria. With respect to licensure as a pharmacist by reciprocity, the “good standing” requirement is clarified, and a criminal background check requirement is added. The requirements for license renewal, reinstatement, and reactivation are amended to provide that, after a certain time period has expired, a licensee will be required to undergo a criminal background check and the licensee’s disciplinary history will be reviewed. This Act revises the potential Grounds for Discipline of pharmacists to include violation of the Code of Ethics. Available sanctions are broadened to include permanent revocation and potential administrative penalties not to exceed $10,000 for the first violation with further penalties optional for subsequent violations. These changes will serve as a deterrent for licensee conduct posing a risk to the public health, safety, and welfare. This Act strikes the provision for “Counseling of Pharmacists” to align statutory language with actual practice. Disciplinary matters are public and are addressed by the entire Board. The requirements for prescription labeling, pharmacy closing, and prescription departments will be addressed in rules and regulations to allow for necessary revisions as practice standards evolve. This Act also revises the requirements for pharmacies and non-resident pharmacies in the interest of objectivity and consistency. Grounds for discipline and available sanctions are expanded. In particular, the Board will have the discretion to impose an administrative penalty not to exceed $250,000 for each violation with further penalties available for ongoing violations. Further, with respect to non-resident pharmacies, the Board will also have the authority to impose administrative penalties, up to $10,000 per day, for the infraction of delivering drugs into Delaware without a license issued by the Board. This Act adds a new section for licensure requirements for manufacturers, wholesale distributors, outsourcing facilities, medical gas distributors, and retail non-pharmacies. Key personnel will be required to undergo criminal background checks. Possible administrative penalties are revised significantly, from $50 per day, to a maximum of $250,000 for each violation with further penalties available for ongoing violations. The option of this sanction will serve as a deterrent for wrongful conduct by establishments that are often delivering drugs from out-of-state into Delaware. This Act also makes revisions to ensure that statutory provisions are consistent with other Title 24 professional licensing board practice acts. Technical corrections serve to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act takes effect 1 year after enactment.