Sen. Bryan Townsend

This legislation amends the Delaware Code to establish the Department of Human Resources by transferring various divisions and other organizational units from the Office of Management and Budget to the newly established Department of Human Resources. The powers and duties of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Secretary of the Department of Human Resources are aligned to reflect the transfers of the divisions and other organizational units of the newly established Department of Human Resources. Various sections of the Delaware Code are amended to reflect changes in titles and nomenclature.

This resolution recognizes June 8, 2017 as "Nonprofit Day" in the State of Delaware.

In the 148th General Assembly, the state employees' pension law was amended by House Bill No. 363, as amended by House Amendment No. 1 to House Bill No. 363, to permit specified peace officers to retire at 25 years without any reduction. Specified peace officers will pay a higher employee contribution, and those who continue to work past 25 years of service will have the multiplier used in the calculation of benefits increased for the years past 25 years. This Act adds Delaware State University Police officers to the definition of "specified peace officers."

The United States Supreme Court’s decisions in Roe v. Wade and subsequent cases established that access to abortion is a constitutional right and that states may not prohibit abortion prior to viability. As a result of these decisions, and the exercise of prosecutorial discretion by the Attorney General, see Del. Op. Att’y Gen. No. 73-030, § III (Apr. 12, 1973), the Delaware Code's prohibitions against abortion are unconstitutional, and thus unenforceable. This Substitute makes Delaware’s laws on abortion consistent with the scope of the right protected by the United States Constitution and the practice in Delaware for the past 43 years. In doing so, this Act permits the termination of a pregnancy prior to viability, to protect the life or health of the mother, or in the event of serious fetal anomaly. This Substitute differs from Senate Bill No. 5 as follows: (1) It clarifies lines 31 through 34 related to fetal anomalies. (2) It notes, on lines 79 through 81, that informed consent for a procedure under this subchapter is required by § 4408-1.0 through 10.0, Title 16 of the Delaware Administrative Code. (3) It makes clear that nothing in this Substitute is to be construed to affect the continued effectiveness of the Parental Notice of Abortion Act, Subchapter VIII of Chapter 17 of Title 24 of the Delaware Code.

This Act is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to provide for equal protection. This amendment would advance human dignity and equality for all under the Delaware Constitution, and would correct a constitutional shortcoming. It subjects unequal treatment based on discrimination to strict scrutiny, and enables courts in Delaware to establish jurisprudence concerning equal rights violations under State law reflecting Delaware values. Currently, while the federal and many state constitutions afford equal protection, Delaware’s constitution fails to do so.

This bill creates a mechanism by which school boards may increase funds for a school district without a referendum.

This Act creates the Delaware African and Caribbean Affairs Commission.

This bill fixes a drafting error in Senate Bill 198 of the 148th General Assembly that inadvertently made it harder for juveniles to get mandatory expungements by adding the term ‘violent misdemeanor’ as an excepting factor that would prevent a youth from receiving an expungement. Previously, violent misdemeanors were never included in the state’s statute regarding mandatory expungements. The bill also strikes the definition of violent misdemeanor, which is no longer applicable to the state’s juvenile expungement statute.The phrase “sex offense” was added after the word “felony” for clarity and to mirror the definition in § 1016. No substantive change is made by this clarification.

This resolution continues to raise awareness that the month of May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month in Delaware and celebrates new research predicting lower melanoma rates.

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