Under current Delaware law, a minor cannot be guilty of the crime of prostitution under § 1342 of Title 11. This Act removes references to minors engaging in prostitution and being prostituted in favor of using the term "exploited" or “exploitation”, which is defined to mean acts by a minor that would constitute prostitution under § 1342(a) of Title 11 if that minor were 18 years old or older. This change is twofold. (1) It creates a separate term to refer to the exploitation of a minor since minors cannot be guilty of prostitution and prostitution is not otherwise defined outside of the offense in § 1342(a) of Title 11, which excludes minors; and (2) Recognizes a growing trend nationally and internationally to remove language that misleadingly implies that children are able to consent to, and participate in, prostitution. The Interagency Working Group on Sexual Exploitation of Children, comprised of representatives from the United Nations, INTERPOL, and organizations working to end the sexual exploitation of children, published a manual containing terminology guidelines for the protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. While there is no single recommended term, attempts should be made to avoid stigmatizing a child and suggesting that the child had culpability in any acts undertaken. Sections 8 through 11 of this Act update internal references elsewhere in the Code to account for the addition of subsection designations in §§ 1352 and 1353. Sections 12 through 13 of this Act add the definition of “illicit massage establishment” from House Bill 409 and update it to account for the change in terminology that this Act makes. This addition of and update to the definition of “illicit massage establishment” only occurs if House Bill No. 409 is enacted. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
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This Act names the Millsboro Bypass the “Senator Richard S. Cordrey Bypass” to honor Senator Cordrey’s decades of public service and lasting contributions to Delaware’s fiscal and economic stability.
Senate Bill No. 188, enacted during this General Assembly, clarified that the law-enforcement agency practice of purchasing firearms for that agency’s law-enforcement officers for use by the officers in their official duties is exempted from the background check requirements under §§ 1448A, 1448B, and 1448D of Title 11 under our State’s permit to purchase firearms laws. This Act provides the same exemption from background check requirements for a qualified constable agency representative. A qualified constable agency representative means a constable working for an employer, as defined under § 5602 of Title 24, that has authorized the procurement of handguns by the constable on behalf of any constables working for that employer. For purposes of this Act, “constable” means an individual who satisfies all of the following: (1) Commissioned under Chapter 56 of Title 24. (2) Licensed to carry a firearm by the Professional Licensing Section of the Delaware State Police. (3) Authorized by the Constable Board of Examiners to carry a firearm in the performance of the constable’s official duties. This Act also makes void a permit to purchase and gives the Director of the State Bureau of Identification (SBI) permission to revoke a permit to purchase if the person is no longer a qualified constable agency representative.
Maddy summaryHB 365 creates a new Delaware Indigenous Affairs Commission to represent and support the state's Indigenous population. The bill amends state laws to formally establish this commission, which will serve as an official body to advance the interests of Native Americans in Delaware. Following committee review, the legislation was reported favorably by four members and unfavorably by one, indicating ongoing evaluation before final passage.
This Act provides that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget must designate 1 or more reserved parking spaces for a veteran at certain designated state buildings and facilities. It also prohibits stopping, standing, or parking in the veteran’s space. Violations of this Act are exempted from the civil penalty for parking violations that exists in Title 21. This Act takes effect 6 months after its enactment into law. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
This Act provides a roadmap via an observational study on a small but representative group of diabetic patients to change standard healthcare from current reactive “sick care” to proactive “well care”. This will be accomplished by using a Delaware health system combined with a technology partner to regularly test, measure and manage, and incentivize diabetic patients and their providers to improve the health outcomes for Delawareans and drive down healthcare costs. The length of the observational study will be 3 years. During that time, data analysis will track results to determine if this Pilot Program shall be renewed and expanded. This Act requires no fiscal note in that this Pilot Program is to be federally funded through the Federal Rural Health Transformation Program.
This Act is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution establishing that the right to marry is a fundamental right that may not be denied or abridged on the basis of gender or any basis protected under Art. 1, § 21 of the Delaware Constitution, which provides equal protection under the law on account of race, color, national origin, and sex. Under this Act, all marriages that are legally valid under the laws of this State must be treated equally, including under all laws that are applicable to marriage, married spouses, or the children of married spouses. This Act also clarifies that the right to marry does not infringe upon the right to freedom of religion under Art. 1, § 1 of the Delaware Constitution. Like Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 100, Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill No. 100 differs from Senate Bill No. 100 by explicitly connecting the right to marry with the equality of rights provided under Art. 1, § 21 of the Delaware Constitution on the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex. In addition, Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill No. 100 differs from Senate Bill No. 100 as follows: • Clarifies that the right to marry applies to marriages that are legally valid under the laws of this State. • Clarifies that treating all legally valid marriages equally means that all laws of this State that are applicable to marriage, married spouses, or the children of married spouses apply equally to marriages that are legally valid under the laws of this State. • Removes the need for gender-specific provisions by including gender in the first sentence. • Revises the language clarifying that the right to marry does not infringe on the right to freedom of religion under Art. 1, § 1 of the Delaware Constitution to apply to the entire section and to remove the example. Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI 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 Constitution.
This Act establishes the Office of New Americans to help improve the lives and economic prosperity of new Americans who come to Delaware and of all Delawareans generally.
This Act establishes the Delaware African American Heritage and Culture Commission (“Commission”). The Commission is tasked with being a statewide resource dedicated to preserving and sharing Delaware's African American culture and heritage.
This Act provides that an individual electric supplier agent cannot be fined or imprisoned for violations under Section 218 of Chapter I of Title 26. This Act provides that the Commission must develop a training and educational program for any entity or individual that is certified by the Commission as an electric supplier that demonstrates a thorough understanding of the Commission’s regulations regarding (1) sales; (2) consumer protection; and (3) any other matter the Commission deems appropriate. This Act requires that third-party electric supplier report data concerning customer choices in its service territory and third-party electric supplier rates. They must submit a monthly report to the Commission on customer choice in their service territories for the preceding month, including all of the following: (1) the total kilowatt hours distributed to customers purchasing electricity from a third-party electric supplier; (2) the total supply cost charged to customers purchasing electric from a third–party electric supplier; (3) the total cost that customers who chose third-party suppliers would have paid under standard offer service; (4) the net third–party total cost compared to the standard offer service; (5) the total third–party average rate; (6) the standard offer service average rate; (7) the difference between the total third–party average rate and the standard offer service average rate; (8) the third–party average residential rates broken out by supplier and the variance between each of these rates and the standard offer service average rate; (9) the third–party average general service nondemand rates broken out by supplier and the variance between each of these third–party rates and the standard offer service average rate; (10) the third–party average general service demand rates broken out by supplier and the variance between each of these third–party rates and the standard offer service average rate; (11) the third–party average large power demand rates broken out by supplier and the variance between each of these third–party rates and the standard offer service average rate; and (12) other pertinent information the Commission considers appropriate. This Act requires a third-party electric supplier to provide residential customers or small commercial customers with written notice of the pending renewal of a contract 90 and 30 days before the end of the contract term is scheduled to occur and provides regulations regarding electric supplier rates. It requires a third-party electric supplier to provide written confirmation within 15 business days of enrollment and written notification at least 15 days in advance of any changes to the customer’s rate. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to give jurisdiction to inferior courts or justices of the peace of “such … misdemeanors as the General Assembly may from time to time … prescribe.”