This bill restores the Board of Parole’s authority to hear and make decisions regarding violations of offenders released through good time credits.
This concurrent resolution establishes the Veterans Higher Education Task Force to study and make findings and recommendations regarding veterans’ access to higher education in Delaware.
Providing sufficient surplus state revenue exists, this House Concurrent Resolution requests the Joint Finance Committee to restore to the FY 2019 Grants-in-Aid Bill funding that was removed from the appropriation at the start of the current fiscal year.
In 2011, as part of a general overhaul of Delaware’s drug laws, this provision was inserted into Title 16 to allow juvenile adjudications to count as prior qualifying offenses for purposes of increasing the sentence of certain drug offenders. Pursuant to this provision, some defendants convicted of certain drug crimes who have one prior adult drug conviction and one prior juvenile adjudication within the past 10 years face a drastic increase in sentence as follows: A defendant convicted of “drug dealing – aggravated possession”, a class D felony, will be sentenced as if he had committed a class B felony. The sentence for a class D felony is up to 8 years imprisonment. For a class B felony the sentence can be up to 25 years, and 2 years is the minimum mandatory. A defendant convicted of aggravated possession – class E will be sentenced as if she had committed a class B felony. The penalty is elevated from a maximum of 5 years incarceration to, again, a maximum of 25 with a 2 year minimum mandatory. A defendant convicted of aggravated possession – class F will be sentenced as though he committed a class C felony. Class C felonies are punishable by up to 15 years, rather than the maximum of 3 years for a class F. There is no other part of the criminal code that uses a juvenile adjudication as a statutory sentence enhancement in an adult conviction. While repeat drug offenses are a legitimate concern for communities and the criminal justice system, the elevation of the punishment for a crime based on a juvenile adjudication, which was not tried before a jury, and which may be relatively remote in time is of questionable legal merit. Furthermore, in two of the above scenarios, the crime is elevated to one which requires a minimum mandatory sentence, thus reducing the discretion entrusted to judges. This bill removes that portion of Section 4751B that allows a juvenile adjudication to be used as a second “prior qualifying Title 16 conviction.” Prosecutors may still apply the sentencing enhancement for the single qualifying adult conviction that meets the criteria set out in that section, and may use the enhancement for two prior convictions where both convictions occurred when the defendant was an adult. Judges will continue to be able to consider the defendant’s juvenile record as a factor in determining the appropriate sentence. Finally, where a juvenile was tried and sentenced as an adult, that conviction may still be used for the sentencing enhancement.
This Act eliminates the Delaware Compensation Commission in its entirety and makes necessary changes to the Delaware Code as a result.
Tobacco traffickers move black market contraband cigarettes or other tobacco products purchased from low tax states to be sold in higher tax states, facilitated by individuals or through organized groups. The potential financial gain of tobacco smuggling is immediately apparent. Legal entities pay significant taxes on their product, including $1.01 per pack in federal excise tax; $1.60 per pack of 20 cigarettes and a 15% tax rate of the wholesale purchase price of other tobacco products in Delaware state tax; and typically $0.60 per pack to a settlement fund for health care costs incurred by the states because of tobacco use by their citizens. Manufacturers and distributors of contraband tobacco products reap substantial profits by avoiding federal and state excise taxes. Because of the tremendous profits often associated with cigarette trafficking, organized criminal groups use the proceeds to launder or conceal the proceeds of other criminal offenses. Delaware law currently allows up to 9 packs of cigarettes to be brought into the state without requiring them to be taxed by Delaware; all cigarettes over 9 packs must be taxed. For example, when 2 full cartons, which equate 20 packs, are brought into Delaware, a tax on all 20 packs must be paid to the Division of Revenue. The current penalty for selling, acquiring, holding, owning, or possessing cigarettes is a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment of up to 90 days in jail, or both. The existing penalty is not in proportion to the profits made through trafficking, and does not serve as a deterrent. This Act establishes that offenses related to cigarette trafficking are class G felonies, and increases the penalties for cigarette trafficking as follows (“the updated penalties”): (1) For the first offense, by a fine of not less than $250 per package but not more than $10,000 total, imprisonment of up to 2 years, or both. (2) For a subsequent offense, by a fine of not less than $350 per package but not more than $30,000 total, imprisonment of up to 2 years, or both. (3) Mandatory seizure of a vehicle used in the first or subsequent offenses. This Act also increases from 10 to 20 the number of packs of cigarettes a person may possess on which the Delaware tax has not been paid or tax stamp has not been affixed. Cigarette trafficking is addressed in both Title 11 and Title 30 of the Delaware Code. To implement the updated penalties, this Act amends the following statutes: (1) Title 11, § 1121, by providing that violation of § 1120(a), which prohibits the sale of a tobacco product unless it has the required tax stamp, is subject to the updated penalties. See Section 1 of this Act. (2) Title 11, §§ 2322 and 2326, by adding § 1120(a) to the list of offenses for which a vehicle may be seized. See Sections 2 and 3 of this Act. (3) Title 30, § 5328, by providing that a person who possesses or transports 21 or more packs of unstamped tobacco products in this State to delivery, sell, or dispose of tobacco products and does not have in their possession invoices or delivery tickets and purchase orders is subject to the updated penalties. See Section 4 of this Act. (4) Title 30, § 5341, by providing that the following offenses are subject to the updated penalties: a. Sale or any pack of tobacco product to which the proper amount of Delaware tax stamps is not affixed. b. A dealer’s refusal to allow the Department of Finance to examine the dealer’s books and records, stock, premises, or equipment. c. Making, forging, altering, or counterfeited a tax stamp to evade the tobacco product tax. See Section 5 of this Act. (5) Title 30, § 5342, by providing that a person who possesses 21 or more packs of unstamped tobacco products, or a dealer who has at the dealer’s place of business any tobacco product that does not have the proper amount stamps or a product for which the tax has not been paid within 72 hours of receiving the product is subject to the updated penalties. See Section 6 of this Act. (6) Title 30, § 5346(b), by providing that a person who sells, acquires, holds, owns, or possesses a cigarette package to which a tax stamp is affixed in violation of a specified list of conditions listed in § 5346(a) is subject to the updated penalties. See Section 7 of this Act. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Act takes effect 60 days after the date of enactment.
This Act eliminates the Delaware Compensation Commission in its entirety and makes necessary changes to the Delaware Code as a result.
This bill provides greater protection to correctional officers and other state employees who are assaulted in detention facilities by prohibiting assaults committed with a reckless state of mind.
Under current educational standards, students are no longer required to be taught cursive writing and many schools have abandoned teaching cursive writing to students. As cursive writing is still an imperative skill in many professions, this bill makes teaching cursive writing a requirement for all public schools in Delaware.
As a result of the passage of the in Inland Bays Aquaculture Act, numerous ongoing concerns have been raised during subsequent public meetings and a public hearing. As a result of those meetings, the Secretary's Order No. 2016-W-0049 reduced the number and location of leasable sites, and eliminated oyster aquaculture in the Little Assawoman Bay. This Act seeks to ensure the following: sites eliminated in the Secretary's Order cannot be considered for leasing for aquaculture; the elimination of poles as a form of markings of any and all leased sites within the Little Assawoman Bay; and limiting all aquaculture leased sites in the Little Assawoman Bay to hard clams only.
