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HB 9 Delaware House · 149th General Assembly (2017-2018)

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CERTAIN CRIMES.

Summary
This bill allows judicial discretion when juveniles are charged with any of the five specific offenses carved out in state code that say a juvenile of 16 or older, or 15 in the case of § 1447A, must be prosecuted as an adult. The bill simply changes the language from ‘shall’ to ‘may’ to allow judges to weigh the possibility that the juvenile may be better served in Delaware’s Family Court system via the amenability process already enumerated in Title 10 § 1010 and § 1011. Four of the five statutes date back to 1972. The most recent change pertaining to the ages of juveniles affected was in 1996 when lawmakers dropped the age requirement on Section 1447A from 16 to 15. This bill also raises the age in § 1447A to 16, as well.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
May 2017
Committee Review
Jun 2017
House Passage
Jun 2017
Senate Passage
Jun 2017
Signed into Law
Oct 2017
Introduced May 10, 2017 Signed Oct 12, 2017
Floor votes · House Jun 27, 2017

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
9
Key actions
6
Committee
2
Amendments
2
Oct 12, 2017
Signed into law
Signed by Governor
executive
Jun 30, 2017
Upper · Passed
Passed By Senate. Votes: 13 YES 4 NO 4 NOT VOTING
upper
Jun 29, 2017
Upper · Passed
Reported Out of Committee (Judicial & Community Affairs) in Senate with 3 On Its Merits
upper
Jun 27, 2017
Introduced
Assigned to Judicial & Community Affairs Committee in Senate
upper
Jun 27, 2017
Lower · Passed
Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES
lower
Jun 27, 2017
Lower · Passed
Amendment HA 1 to HB 9 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
lower
May 17, 2017
Lower · Passed
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 9 On Its Merits
lower
May 17, 2017
Introduced
Amendment HA 1 to HB 9 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
lower
May 10, 2017
Introduced
Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House
lower
4 primary · 10 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Debra Heffernan
Debra Heffernan
DDemocratic
DE
6
P
HB
Harris B. McDowell
DDemocratic
DE
1
P
JJ
James Johnson
DDemocratic
DE
16
P
MR
Margaret Rose Henry
DDemocratic
DE
2
Co
BC
Bruce C. Ennis
DDemocratic
DE
14
Co
Photo of Bryan Townsend
Bryan Townsend
DDemocratic
DE
11
Co
CP
Charles Potter Jr.
DDemocratic
DE
1
Co
GL
Gerald L. Brady
DDemocratic
DE
4
Co
HM
Helene M. Keeley
DDemocratic
DE
3
Co
JA
John A. Kowalko
DDemocratic
DE
25
Co
Photo of Paul Baumbach
Paul Baumbach
DDemocratic
DE
23
Co
Photo of Sean Lynn
Sean Lynn
DDemocratic
DE
31
Co
Photo of Trey Paradee
Trey Paradee
DDemocratic
DE
17
Co
Photo of Val Longhurst
Val Longhurst
DDemocratic
DE
15