Sen. Gerald Hocker

This Act is modeled after American Laws for American Courts legislation that has passed in Tennessee, Louisiana, Arizona, Kansas, South Dakota, Alabama, and North Carolina. The Declaration of Independence announced the formation of a new country that would no longer find itself in the clutches of a foreign power. For over 2 centuries, hundreds of thousands of men and women have given their lives to protect America’s sovereignty and freedom. America has unique values of liberty which do not exist in all foreign legal systems such as freedom of religion, speech, and press; due process; and the right to privacy. Unfortunately, because state legislatures have generally not been explicit about what their public policy is relative to foreign laws, the courts and the parties litigating in those courts are left to their own devices. State legislatures play a vital role in preserving fundamental constitutional rights and American values of liberty and freedom. No United States citizen or resident should be denied these guaranteed liberties, rights, and freedom.

This Bill requires all statewide and other candidates that may appear on the general election ballot to disclose whether or not all their State and Federal personal income tax returns are filed and any tax due has been paid and whether or not all their real property taxes have been paid.

This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment that would ensure that legislative business is conducted at a reasonable time during a special session to enable the public to monitor and participate in the legislative process. Specifically, this Act: (1) Prohibits the regular session of the General Assembly from extending beyond 7:00 p.m. on the last day of June, unless the session is recalled by the Governor or the presiding officers of both Houses. This changes the time beyond which a regular session of the General Assembly may not extend from midnight on June 30 to 7:00 p.m., which changes the time at which the presiding officers of both Houses must act to recall the General Assembly into special session. This change negates the Supreme Court’s ruling in Opinion of the Justices, 405 A.2d 694 (Del. 1979), that “the General Assembly, by operation of law, is required to stop its session at midnight of June 30th annually and it cannot continue by Legislative initiative unless ‘the session is recalled by . . . the mutual call of the presiding officers of both Houses.’” (2) Requires that a session of a special session adjourn or recess to the call of the chair not later than 11:59 p.m. on June 30, unless otherwise provided by a resolution passed by a 2/3 vote of all members elected to both Houses. (3) Prohibits a session of a special session from being called to order before 9:00 a.m. on any other calendar day or being adjourned or recessed to the call of the chair later than 9:00 p.m. on any other calendar day, unless otherwise provided by a resolution passed by a 2/3 vote of all members elected to both Houses. This Act does not change the date of or process for “final adjournment,” as defined in Opinion of the Justices, 175 A.2d 543, 545 (Del. 1961) (“‘[F]inal adjournment’ . . . means the adjournment sine die of the second regular session, or, in the absence of such adjournment, the extinguishment of the particular General Assembly by reason of expiration of the terms of office of the members.”). In addition, this Act contemplates that the General Assembly will continue its traditional practice of recessing to the call of the chair to enter a temporary recess of a special session, from which a presiding officer may then recall the officer’s House at that officer’s pleasure.

This resolution recognizes April 29 - May 4, 2019 as "Auctioneers Week" in Delaware.

This Resolution recognizes April 2019 as "Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month" in the State of Delaware.

This bill requires an elected official or other paid appointed official of this state or any county or political subdivision who is also employed by any state agency, education, or other institution, or any other political subdivision of this State to disclose such employment to the Public Integrity Commission (PIC). This disclosure will assist the PIC and the State Auditor in evaluating if the official is receiving dual compensation for coincident hours of work.

The Act protects the life of the unborn child at a time when the potential for the child to survive outside the womb increases, especially with the advancement of medical procedures. Specifically, this Act repeals the current sections of the Delaware Code relating to termination of human pregnancy and enacts The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Substantial medical evidence exists that an unborn child is capable of experiencing pain by 20 weeks after fertilization. As set forth in this Act, the General Assembly has the constitutional authority to make this judgment under decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court decisions. In enacting The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, Delaware is not asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn or replace the holding in Roe v. Wade. Rather, it asserts a separate and independent compelling state interest in unborn human life that exists once the unborn child is capable of experiencing pain.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes the valuable contributions that the Lions Club International makes to our local communities, as well as the world at-large, by designating April 9, 2019 as "Delaware State Lions Day" in the State of Delaware.

This Act establishes the Focus on Alternative Skills Training Program ("FAST"). FAST will provide tuition, up to $9,000, to Delaware residents who have obtained a high school diploma, Diploma of Alternate Achievement Standards, or a Delaware secondary credential, which includes earning a GED, and have enrolled in an approved non-degree credit certificate program. The Workforce Development Board will create a list of non-degree credit certificate programs approved for the FAST program.

This resolution designates April 6, 2019 as "National Tartan Day" and commemorates the outstanding achievements and contributions made by Scottish-Americans to the United States. When the United States was first formed and the thirteen states selected their first governors, nine were of Scottish ancestry. All the members of the first American cabinet had Scottish ancestry. Delaware's first governor, John McKinly, was born in Northern Ireland of Scottish descent. Americans of Scottish descent have played a vibrant and influential role in the development of this country. However, not until 1997 was this influence recognized by a single-year U.S. Senate Resolution that appeared in the Congressional Record of April 7, 1997. In 1998 National Tartan Day was officially recognized on a permanent basis when the U.S. Senate passed Senate Resolution 155 recognizing April 6th as National Tartan Day. This was followed by companion bill House Resolution 41, which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 9, 2005. President George W. Bush signed a Presidential Proclamation on April 4, 2008 making April 6 National Tartan Day. In April of 2008, then Governor Minner issued a statement celebrating the accomplishments of Scots-Irish Americans in the First State as part of a Scots/Scots-Irish Heritage Month. April 6 commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, which asserted Scotland's sovereignty over English territorial claims, and which was a significant influence on the American Declaration of Independence. Canada has been celebrating "National Tartan Day" since 1993. The idea and motivation for creating a similar American holiday was provided by the Scottish Coalition, a group of national Scottish-American cultural organizations.