Sen. Gerald Hocker

This Act authorizes the Family Court to interview a child outside the presence of the parties for the purpose of obtaining the child's testimony and ascertaining the truth of a matter asserted by a party to a Protection from Abuse proceeding. The Court may permit counsel to be present during the interview and ask the child questions. The Court may also permit a party who is not present for the interview to submit questions of fact for the Court to use in interviewing the child. Interviews under this Act must be made a part of the record.

This bill is intended to provide the General Assembly with the ability to review and evaluate the performance and achievements of the grant-in-aid recipients.

This Act is modeled after American Laws for American Courts legislation that has passed in Tennessee, Louisiana, Arizona, Kansas, South Dakota, Alabama, and North Carolina. The Declaration of Independence announced the formation of a new country that would no longer find itself in the clutches of a foreign power. For more than two centuries, hundreds of thousands of men and women have given their lives to protect America’s sovereignty and freedom. America has unique values of liberty which do not exist in all foreign legal systems such as freedom of religion, speech, and press, due process, and the right to privacy. Unfortunately, because state legislatures have generally not been explicit about what their public policy is relative to foreign laws, the courts and the parties litigating in those courts are left to their own devices. State legislatures play a vital role in preserving fundamental constitutional rights and American values of liberty and freedom. No United States citizen or resident should be denied these guaranteed liberties, rights, and freedom.

This bill creates a 3-year exemption for county and municipal government contracts from prevailing wage requirements. Also the local governments will prepare cost study comparison reports for the Controller General's Office to compile and report to the General Assembly.

This bill creates a 3-year exemption for public school construction from prevailing wage requirements. Also the public school will prepare cost study comparison reports for the Controller General's Office to compile and report to the General Assembly.

This Act updates the requirements for Courts-Martial to ensure that all members of the Delaware National Guard receive due process through the military justice system. This legislation amends Title 20 to correct a constitutional defect in the current statute, which fails to provide sufficient appellate process. It further codifies longstanding tradition of giving the Attorney General right of first refusal on all prosecutions to avoid double jeopardy. Provides for misdemeanor courts-martial jurisdiction in any military prosecution with appeal rights to the Superior Court of Delaware. Further, the act reconciles Title 20 with applicable federal law.

This bill provides that civil violations or penalties under subchapters IV and V of Delaware’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act in Title 16 are included as offenses whereby a $15 penalty is assessed for the Fund to Combat Violent Crimes.

This Act inserts additional language to clarify that a qualified voter must be 18 years of age on or before the date of the election a vote is to be cast.

This Act would enhance the ability of the prescription monitoring program to make informed determinations as to prescribers who may be making extraordinary prescriptions of opiates or other controlled substances, and to refer such cases to law enforcement or professional licensing organizations for further review. The Act would also provide a more usable standard for provision of specified information to law enforcement agencies upon a showing of need.

This resolution recognizes the month of May as "Poppy Month" in the State of Delaware.