Sen. Margaret Rose Henry

This Act is the second leg of a constitutional amendment that would add the Chief Magistrate to the Court on the Judiciary. Like all judges within the state, the judges of the Justice of the Peace Court are subject to the jurisdiction of the Court on the Judiciary. This amendment makes it so that the presiding judge of each of the six state courts serves as a member.

This Act improves the enforcement mechanisms related to Delaware’s campaign finance disclosure laws in four ways. First, this Act amends § 8040, Title 15 to require that the Superior Court may not grant a certificate of election to a successful candidate for office until the candidate has paid all fines assessed by the Commissioner of Elections (“Commissioner”) for the candidate’s wilful failure to file a required campaign finance report. And, this Act specifically requires the Commissioner to provide the Superior Court with the information necessary for the Court to perform its function. Second, this Act further amends § 8040, Title 15 to prohibit an individual from being a candidate in a future election until all previous campaign finance reports are filed and all previously assessed fines assessed by the Commissioner are paid. Third, this Act clarifies the timeframe in which the Commissioner must notify a candidate that a report is incomplete or tardy and decreases the time in which a candidate may appeal the Commissioner’s decision to issue a fine for a tardy or incomplete report. Fourth, this Act amends § 8044, Title 15 to require the Commissioner to publish, on the Department of Elections website, the name of any candidate who has (1) wilfully neglected to file a campaign finance report, (2) been assessed a fine by the Commissioner for wilfully neglecting to file a campaign finance report, or (3) been reported to the Office of the Attorney General by the Commissioner.

Since its adoption in 2003, the Manufactured Home Owners and Community owners Act has proven to be an effective tool to protect the rights of tenants in manufactured home communities. After 13+ years, a number of issues and concerns have been identified y tenants, community owners, and the courts. This Concurrent Resolution establishes a Task Force to review the manufactured Home Owners and Community Owners Act in order to determine what changes, if any, are needed in order to "fine tune" this Act and support a balance of protections and rights for all parties involved.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes The Committee of 100 on the 50th anniversary of its founding.

This Act removes the Department of Correction’s authority to execute orders as to sentences of capital punishment and prohibits the Department from using lethal doses of drugs on those in its care. This Act also removes hanging as a method of execution in Delaware.

This bill changes the number of live music events required for an entity to be a qualified “concert hall” for purposes of alcohol licensing. Previously a concert hall was required to hold at least 250 live music events per year and be open at least 5 days per week. Pursuant to this change, the 5-day requirement is eliminated and the venue must hold 250 live music events per two-year period.

This bill provides for research or transplantation of organs and other anatomical gifts as authorized under federal law among donors who have tested positive for exposure to HIV and intended recipients who have also tested positive for exposure to HIV. Delaware is currently the only state that has laws prohibiting the use of HIV positive organs for HIV positive recipients entirely, including the use of organs as part of a research protocol.

This Act authorizes the Smyrna School District to convey to the Town of Smyrna property located in Kent County, and known as the School Administration Building, to be used by the Town for public purposes, including incorporating the building and property as part of the proposed Duck Creek Regional Library and Community Center at Smyrna.

This resolution recognizes the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated and declares April 6, 2017 as "AKA Day at the Capitol" in Delaware.

This Act is the second leg of a Constitutional amendment to lengthen the time period during which the Governor must appoint a judicial officer following the occurrence of a vacancy, thereby giving the Governor and State Senate more flexibility in the consideration of vacancies occurring when the State Senate is not in session while preserving the Delaware tradition of quickly filling judicial vacancies. The first leg, Senate Bill No. 275 from the 148th General Assembly, was adopted by two-thirds of the members elected to the General Assembly and publicized in accordance with Article XVI, § 1 of the Delaware Constitution. From 1897 until 1983, the Delaware Constitution provided that the Governor shall submit his or her appointment to fill a vacancy to a constitutional court within 30 calendar days of a vacancy when the State Senate was not in session. In 1983, the timeframe for the Governor to make an appointment when the State Senate was not in session was lengthened to 60 days, a timeframe for the Governor to make an appointment when the State Senate was in session was added and set at 60 days, and a provision permitting judges to hold over in office for 60 days after their term expired was added. Since 1897, the number of constitutional courts and the number of judges on those courts has increased. As a result, the Governor must now call special sessions of the State Senate for the consideration of judicial nominees more frequently than in the past. This Act provides more flexibility to the Governor and State Senate in two respects. First, it extends the 60 day period after the occurrence of a vacancy to a 90 day period. The 90 day period strikes a balance between the need to have judicial positions filled quickly to avoid operational disruptions in the court system and the desire to have more flexibility when the General Assembly is not in session. Second, the Act clarifies that the Governor and State Senate may consider a nomination 30 days prior to the occurrence of the vacancy. The Constitution was previously silent on the consideration of nominations prior to the occurrence of a vacancy. This Act also modifies the time period during which an incumbent judicial officer whose term has expired may hold over in office after the expiration of his or her term from 60 days to 90 days to match the vacancy timeframes. This Act confirms that an incumbent judge whose term has expired has the option to hold over in office for that 90 day period, but is not required to do so. Finally, this Act makes additional technical corrections to conform existing law on lines 42 through 44, line 46, lines 56 through 58, and line 60 to the guidelines of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.