House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 301, like the original, updates the existing crime of “breach of peace or violence on election day.” Under this statute, it is unlawful to take the following actions on a day of election or early in-person voting or during the reading and counting of ballots with the intent to impede or interfere with the election: (1) The use of any violence or threats of violence at or near a polling place, a Department of Elections office, a meeting of the Board of Canvass, or any other place where votes are cast, stored, read, or counted; (2) A breach of peace at or near the same places; and (3) Hindering, controlling, coercing, or intimidating or attempting to hinder, control, coerce, or intimidate any qualified elector from exercising their right to vote. A violation of the statute is a class G felony. This substitute differs from the original HB 301 in that it makes the intent to impede or interfere with the election an element of the crime for any of the prohibited acts. It also adds “any other place where votes are cast, stored, read, or counted” to the locations where the acts are prohibited. It adds the third act of “hindering, controlling, coercing or intimidating a voter" from or in exercising their right to vote as a prohibited act.
This Bill updates Title 11 of the Delaware Code relating to animal cruelty. After 2 misdemeanor violations of this section, currently class A misdemeanors, all further violations are to be upgraded to class F felonies. Also, after the first felony violation of the statute, currently a class F felony, which involves intentionally killing or causing serious injury to any animal in violation of the statute, all further violations are to be upgraded to class E felonies. Also, any person convicted of a felony violation a second time shall be prohibited from owning or possessing any animal for the remainder of their life without exception.
This Act repeals Subchapter X of Title 11 which established the Delaware Sentencing Accountability Commission (Commission) and recodifies the Commission under Chapter 89A of Title 11. This Act modernizes the Commission’s mission, establishes the membership of the Commission, codifies the Commission’s overall power and authority, and creates a duty for the Commission to provide a data report annually.
This Act extends certain limitations on the publication by law-enforcement of the name and photograph of crime suspects. Currently the Code prohibits the publication of the name and photograph of a juvenile suspect unless the juvenile is charged with a violent felony and the publication is necessary to protect the public’s safety. This Act would prohibit the release or publication of an adult suspect’s name or photograph unless the individual is charged with or suspected of a felony and the release is necessary to protect the public’s safety.
This Act increases for the crime of criminal mischief to a class F felony when the person intentionally causes damage to an authorized emergency vehicle resulting in a pecuniary loss of $5,000 or more or in the authorized emergency vehicle becoming temporarily unable to be used to respond to an emergency. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Reverse-keyword court orders enable the government to obtain technology search data without identifying any specific person as to which there is probable cause to believe they have committed or will imminently commit a crime. The profusion of electronic devices and apps in recent years has allowed recordation of numerous details of citizen’s everyday lives, that the government should not be permitted to collect and review at will. Such general searches allow the government to sweep in personal information about hundreds or thousands of people who are not suspected of having committed any crime. These searches are an invasion of privacy, have a potentially chilling effect on civil liberties, and sidestep requirements for individualized suspicion that are otherwise required for a lawful search. This House Substitute for House Bill No. 145 would prohibit law enforcement and courts from requesting, issuing, or enforcing reverse-keyword court orders and reverse-keyword requests, with the exception that reverse-keyword court orders and requests may be utilized to investigate suspected Class A Felonies so long as the search query returns 5 or fewer search hits. It also requires the suppression of evidence derived from an unlawful reverse-keyword search.
Currently, even when a defendant or individual obviously does not have the means to pay a financial penalty or fee, Delaware Courts are unable to waive certain mandatory minimum fines or fees at sentencing. This can create a constitutional crossroads, as our justice system has long recognized that the Fourteen Amendment prohibits “punishing a person for his poverty.” Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660, 671 (1983). This Act gives courts the discretion to waive fines and fees, in whole or in part, in appropriate circumstances. It also creates a presumption that fines and fees will not be imposed when a defendant shows evidence of certain conditions, including receiving a public assistance benefit (like Medicaid, SNAP, or veterans’ benefits) or being represented by the Office of Defense Services. It also creates a hearing process for anyone already sentenced to pay a fine or fee. The changes in this Act are based on recommendations of the Criminal Legal System Imposed Debt Study Group created by House Bill 244, as amended by House Amendment No 2, of the 151st General Assembly, in its December 7, 2023, report. This Act takes effect 180 days after its enactment.
HB 150 prohibits civil arrests from occurring inside Delaware courthouses without a judicial warrant. This directly affects courthouse staff, law enforcement, and individuals entering courthouses, as it requires a court-issued warrant for any civil arrest (like those for unpaid debts or civil contempt) within courthouse grounds. The key provision amends Delaware law to mandate this warrant requirement, replacing the previous practice that allowed such arrests without court oversight in these locations.
This Act prohibits the Department of Corrections from entering into contracts with any for-profit entity for the use of inmate labor. This Act does not apply to § 6533 of Title 11 relating to outside employment and work release.
This bill adds a new crime of application insurance fraud under the criminal code to include fraudulent statements submitted in support of an application to obtain or renew insurance or made for purposes of obtaining a commission or other payment from an insurer. This bill makes application-related insurance fraud a class A misdemeanor unless the benefits wrongfully obtained or sought to be obtained is at least $1,000, in which case application insurance fraud is a class G felony.
