This Act provides state employees 30, rather than 15, days of paid leave per year to attend training camp or serve special duty as ordered by the military reserves or Delaware National Guard.
This Act replaces references to “Masters” in the Court of Chancery with “Magistrate”. The Court of Chancery, as Delaware’s court of equity, “traces its jurisdiction and powers to the High Court of Chancery in Great Britain at the time of the American Revolution.” DiGiacobbe v. Sestak, 743 A.2d 180, 182 (Del. 1999). At that time in British history, the High Court appointed persons bearing the title “Masters in Chancery” to examine witnesses and prepare reports of their factual findings in causes referred to them. On its formation, the Court of Chancery inherited the power to appoint judicial officers for similar purposes. The General Assembly later adopted laws, and the Court of Chancery adopted rules, expressly memorializing this power. Following the tradition of the High Court, those laws and rules referred to judicial officers appointed to serve at the pleasure of the Chancellor as “Masters in Chancery”. The title of “master” carries negative connotations due to the use of the term as the title of owners of slaves. Although the title “Master in Chancery” has no link to that historical context, the Court of Chancery is sensitive to the title’s negative connotations and so has proposed a new title, “Magistrate in Chancery”. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article IX 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 General Corporation Law.
The expectation for speed enforcement, under Delaware's Motor Vehicle statute, are Delaware's law enforcement agencies. It is not always possible for law enforcement officers to effectively enforce the speed limitations due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, officer availability and safety. The original Act enabled the State, as well as counties and municipalities to more effectively enforce speed limits on roads in a residential district in which a Department of Transportation study, no more than 1 year old, documents that the 85th percentile speed on the road is 5 miles per hour or more than the posted speed limit or the road is in a designated work zone. For a violation to occur a motor vehicle must exceed the posted speed limit by 11 miles per hour or more. This Act would impose only civil penalties for violations and does not impose points on the owner or operator’s driver’s license. Jurisdiction for adjudicating alleged violations would be in the Justice of the Peace Court and there would only be a right of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas if the penalty exceeds $100. Any excess revenue not used for administration of the system, will be managed by the Office of Highway Safety and used only for purposes of education, enforcement, engineering and administration. This Act will sunset in 5 years if not extended by a subsequent act by the General Assembly. This Act is a substitute for and differs from House Bill No. 94 in that it eliminates enforcement by Delaware State Police, anywhere other than work zones, and limits approval and implementation of the speed monitoring system to residential districts in New Castle County and municipalities. This Act also requires payment of voluntary assessments to be made to the entity designated on the summons, which may be the Department of Safety and Homeland Security or the county or city where the speed camera was located.
This Act revises Delaware’s child safety seat requirements which currently requires an “appropriate” car seat or booster. Under this Act, children under 2 years and under 30 pounds must be seated in a rear-facing seat with a 5-point harness. Children under 4 years and under 40 pounds must be seated in either a forward facing or rear-facing seat with a 5-point harness. Children between the ages of 4 and 16, must be seated in a booster based upon the manufacturer’s guidelines or a seatbelt. This Act removes the existing fine for the first offense and requests law enforcement to provide a referral to the Office of Highway Safety car seat fitting station for guidance and education regarding proper use of a child restraint. Under this Act, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security is required to implement an awareness campaign within 180 days of enactment. The remainder of the Act will not take effect until 1 year following its enactment.
Speeding is a contributing factor in many serious injury motor vehicle crashes and roadway fatalities. This Act adds operating a motor vehicle at a speed of 90 miles an hour or more to the definition of reckless driving.
This Act requires drivers to change lanes or reduce their speed while approaching a stationary vehicle displaying warning signals, including vehicle hazard warning lights, road flares, traffic cones, cautions signs, or any non-vehicular warning signs.
This Act amends the renewal period for obtaining background checks for employees of the Department of Labor who have access to Federal Tax Information. This amendment is necessary to conform to revisions of the federal Internal Revenue Service in Publication 1075, which shortened the renewal period from 10 to 5 years. The language is intended to allow conformity with this and any future revisions to the renewal period.
This resolution recognizes that the compassionate release of incarcerated people—such as elderly individuals experiencing infirmities, in addition to individuals in terminal or severe medical circumstances—can promote individual and community-wide justice while preserving public safety and realizing fiscal efficiencies. The resolution acknowledges the merit of immediately considering early release of all statutorily eligible incarcerated persons and commutation for individuals who would be eligible if Delaware were to have a stronger model of compassionate release, encourages all stakeholders involved in such consideration to assist, and pledges that the General Assembly will explore and consider potential modifications to Delaware’s early-release framework.
This Concurrent Resolution creates the Victims' Bill of Rights Committee to study and make findings and recommendations regarding the Victims' Bill of Rights.
This resolution recognizes August 26, 2023, as "Women's Equality Day" in Delaware.
