Sen. Gerald Hocker

This Act adopts the Uniform Civil Remedies for Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Act. This Act addresses an increasingly common form of abuse that can cause severe and often irreversible harm: the disclosure of private, sexually explicit images without consent. Much of the abuse is carried out electronically through internet websites, social media, email, or text messages, making it an interstate problem that is particularly suited for treatment by uniform state laws. This Act provides a uniform, comprehensive, clear, fair, and constitutionally sound definition of this harmful conduct and remedies for the harm it causes. Some intimate images disclosed without consent were originally created with consent or obtained within a confidential relationship. In other cases, the images were originally created or obtained without consent through surreptitious recording devices or other forms of voyeurism, or through theft, computer hacking, coercion, bribery, fraud, or force. Like many existing privacy laws, this Act applies only to sensitive content created or obtained under circumstances in which the individual had a reasonable expectation of privacy. Also similar to existing privacy laws, the Act includes limited exceptions for certain disclosures, including those made in the course of law enforcement, legal proceedings or education, medical treatment, or investigations of misconduct. This Act also includes an exception for disclosures relating to matters of public concern or public interest and disclosures reasonably intended to assist the victim. The Act further notes federal statutory limitations on the liability of providers and users of interactive computer services. The Act is narrowly drafted to avoid imposing liability on a discloser who lacks the requisite awareness of any of these elements: (1) that the image was created or obtained under circumstances in which the individual had a reasonable expectation of privacy or that the image was obtained through theft, bribery, false pretenses, voyeurism, or other wrongful acts, (2) that the individual shown in the image did not consent to the disclosure, or (3) that the individual shown was identifiable.

Under the current language of Section 2.301, it is unclear what constitutes a "term" when computing term limits and determining a potential candidate's eligibility when they have previously filled a vacancy on the Council. By adding the proposed language, there will be a clear standard for determining whether a potential candidate has exceeded the two-term limit imposed by the Charter.

This bill deletes an unnecessary restriction relating to amending the Sussex County budget. No similar provision is applicable to the Kent or New Castle County budget process.

This Act supports veterinarians in their effort to protect people from rabies and to ensure the welfare of animals. This Act enables licensed veterinarians to exempt an animal from the mandated rabies vaccination, if the veterinarian determines, based on their professional judgement, that the vaccine would endanger the animal's health and a titer test may be administered to assist in determining the necessity of the vaccine.

This Act brings Delaware into compliance with the federal No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act by creating a lifetime disqualification for a commercial diver license if the individual engages in human trafficking while using a motor vehicle. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Senate Resolution pays tribute to Delaware's senior senator, Harris B. McDowell, III, upon his retirement from the Senate after some 44 years of exemplary service.

This Senate Resolution pays tribute and extends a fond farewell to Secretary of the Senate Joy C. Bower upon her retirement after 32 years of distinguished service to the Senate.

Time is money. The time and delay associated with the review of land use projects is often a factor in determining whether a potential employer will come to Delaware. This Act, the Bring New Jobs to Delaware Act, is intended to provide an expedited review process for projects likely to have significant economic impact and make Delaware more attractive to potential new employers. This Act applies to new office, manufacturing, and industrial uses (that is, uses which provide significant numbers of new jobs), and excludes new residential projects and commercial (i.e. retail) projects, which typically involve more community review, input, and comment and are not as much in need of an expedited review process. Under this Act, New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Counties each must adopt, by March 1, 2021, an expedited review process for land use plans for a property with an office, business park, manufacturing, or industrial zoning classification and that involves either of the following: (1) More than 75,000 square feet of new space. (2) The creation or addition of at least 60 new, full-time, permanent jobs in the county in which the plan is submitted. The expedited review process must include a timeline that allows for review, final approval, and, if required, recordation of a land use plan within 6 months of the plan’s submission, if all non-county permits and approvals necessary for county approval have been obtained. Residential or commercial retail projects are not eligible for the expedited review process. The expedited review process begins when the plan is submitted for review to the Office of State Planning under Chapter 92, Title 29. A plan under expedited review has priority over a plan that is not under expedited review. An applicant that qualifies is not required to apply for an expedited review. To assist in defraying additional costs associated with an expedited review, a county may charge a 1-time fee of up to $15,000 in addition to other plan review fees. And, if the Office of State Planning requires it, an applicant may be required to pay the Office of State Planning a 1-time fee of $5,000, to be disbursed to the appropriate state agencies. The 1-time, $5,000 fee is in addition to other plan review fees that state agencies may charge. State agencies that are involved in the approval process must use best efforts to timely review and comment on an expedited review.

Since the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, with Delaware ratifying it in 1901, at least 15 states have added a provision to their state constitution that prohibits the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on race, color, or national origin. In 2019, Delaware amended the state constitution to prohibit the denial or abridgement of equal rights under the law based on sex, but no such prohibition exists as to race, color, or national origin. This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to add race, color, and national origin to the Article I, § 21 of the Delaware Constitution to explicitly declare that protection against discrimination based on race, color, and national origin is one of Delaware's fundamental rights. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because Article XVI, § 1 of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly when the General Assembly amends the Delaware Constitution.

In almost every mass murder that has occurred in the United States over the past 2 decades, subsequent investigations have revealed that the perpetrator had displayed what have become known as “red flag indicators” which, if known, identified, and reported, might have allowed trained professionals to intervene. In far too many cases, these red flag indicators were observed, but because of a lack of training or inadequate reporting, tracking, or referral policies in schools, no action was taken to stop the perpetrator before the attack. This Act requires red flag indicator training for teachers, school principals, counselors, school nurses, and other school district or charter school employees who interact with students, the people most likely to exhibit red flag indicators during the school day. This Act also requires that each school district and charter school establish and implement red flag indicator reporting, tracking, and referral policies. These policies will allow for the timely referral of at-risk students for needed mental health evaluation or treatment or law enforcement action. To protect teachers, administrators, and other school district or charter school employees, this Act provides immunity from criminal liability, civil liability, or professional discipline for employees who follow school district or charter school red flag indicator policies to report a student’s red flag behavior. Finally, Section 2 of this Act makes a technical correction by redesignating § 4168 of Title 14, regarding the Department of Education’s regulatory authority, to be § 4161A of Title 14 to avoid repeatedly moving this provision as Subchapter II of Chapter 41 of Title 14 grows. Section 4168 was previously designated § 4167 until 2019 when Chapter 212 of Volume 82 of the Laws of Delaware redesignated the provision.