Last week, this year’s attempt at reforming the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (House Bills 205 and 206) was released from the House Public Safety Committee with the support of Republicans, police, and some members of the Legislative Black Caucus.
All of the community criminal justice advocates in attendance testified in opposition to the bills as written and asked that they be tabled in order to have time to work on amendments that would strengthen the bills and make sure they deliver on true transparency. The bill sponsor did agree to consider some proposed amendments. Expectations are there will be much more discussion on these bill ahead of the close on the General Assembly session on June 30th.
What’s Coming Up This Week
HB 220, the Green Amendment, will be heard in the House Administration committee on Wednesday at noon. Based on a provision within the constitution of Pennsylvania made famous by a successful court case that prevented fracking within the Delaware Valley Watershed, the amendment would create an inherent and inalienable right for all Delawareans to a clean and healthy environment. Rep. Wilson-Anton ran this bill in House Administration last year, but Democratic and Republican leadership refused to release it from committee despite a massive showing of support from advocates and community members. It could pass on a vote this term, but as the first leg constitutional amendment it will have to pass again in the next General Assembly (2025-26) before going into effect.
HB 145, also introduced by Rep. Wilson-Anton, aims to crack down on broad police surveillance by prohibiting law-enforcement from using “reverse warrants” to obtain broad location or technology search data without probable cause that any specific person has committed or will imminently commit a crime. This bill will be heard in House Public Safety on Tuesday at 11am.
The House Natural Resources Committee will hear two bills relating to electric vehicles on Tuesday. HB 12 is Rep. Phillips’ bill that would create an Electric Vehicle Rebate Program to incentivize the purchase and lease of new and used electric vehicles (up to $2500 for all-electric vehicles; up to $1000 for hybrid vehicles.) SS1/SB 103 is Sen. McBride’s bill that would require new residential construction meet certain requirements for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
HB 208 and HB 209 would add consumer protections for rental vehicles and will be heard in House Revenue and Finance on Tuesday as well. Both bills are sponsored by Rep. Lambert.
House Judiciary Chair Rep. Lynn said last week that every bill in his committee would get a hearing before June 30, and with 14 bills on this Wednesday’s agenda it looks like that’s the case. Notable bills on this week’s agenda include SB 67, which would establish the crime of official misconduct and SB 91, which would expand Department of Justice’s wiretapping authority to include suspected fraud, official misconduct, deprivation of civil rights, and hate crimes. While these bills seem well-intentioned and aimed at catching authority figures who abuse positions of power, some questions have been raised over whether the broadness of these bills could lead to surveillance and targeting of regular state workers just trying to do their jobs.
HB 201 passed the House last week will be heard in Senate Executive this Wednesday. This bill creates the crime of Possession of a Firearm in a Safe School and Recreation Zone which is a Class E felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison. The amendment attached to the bill gets rid of the 1000 foot radius extension to a school zone, but also adds BB guns to the definition of firearm and increases the minimum student expulsion time from 90 to 180 days. While all parties agree that school safety is a top priority for legislators, concerns remain that this bill creates additional harsh penalties that can be used to stack multiple similar charges on individuals and disproportionately used against Black and Brown students.
Two important bills are in House Housing Committee Wednesday at 5pm. SB 99 would prohibit municipal ordinances that require eviction of tenants for criminal activity by a tenant, member of the tenant’s household, or a guest. HB 37 would allow tenants to pay rent into court escrow if a landlord fails to fix dangerous or defective conditions. This bill was prompted by last year’s Adams Street disaster. This is the fourth time this bill has been put on the House Housing Committee agenda.
Committee Agenda Report
While our team reviews every bill that comes up, for the sake of length and clarity, we will only be sharing the most notable bills in these reports. All meetings are livestreamed, and allow for in-person and virtual public comment. Click on the committee name under the Committee Meeting Info column for public comment info and livestream link.
You can also check here for the full list of committee meetings and click “view” next to each meeting for the full agenda and additional information.
Bills coming up the week of 6/12/23:
| Bill # | Sponsor | Summary/Description | Committee Meeting Info | Date | Time |
| HB 145 | Wilson-Anton | Reverse warrants ban that aims to crack down on broad police surveillance by prohibiting law-enforcement from using “reverse warrants” to obtain broad location or technology search data without probable cause that any specific person has committed or will imminently commit a crime. | House Public Safety | Tue, June 13 | 11:00 AM |
| HB 12 | Phillips | Electric Vehicle Rebate Program to incentivize the purchase and lease of electric vehicles by Delaware residents. | House Natural Resources | Tue, June 13 | 11:00 AM |
| SS1/SB 10 | McBride | Electric vehicle infrastructure bill requiring that newly constructed single-family and multi-family residential dwellings include certain electric vehicle charging infrastructure. | House Natural Resources | Tue, June 13 | 11:00 AM |
| HB 208 | Lambert | Prohibits motor vehicle lessors from including licensing, title, registration, and plate fees as a separately stated mandatory charge in a rental agreement. | House Revenue & Finance | Tue, June 13 | 12:30 PM |
| HB 209 | Lambert | Prohibits rental companies, shared vehicle owners, and peer-to-peer car sharing programs from recovering damages and charging administrative fees relating to the loss of use of a rental vehicle or shared vehicle. | House Revenue & Finance | Tue, June 13 | 12:30 PM |
| SB 67 | McBride | Establishes the crime of official misconduct. While this seems well-intentioned and aims to catch authority figures, concerns that the bill is overly broad and could be used against regular state workers pressured by bosses to engage in misconduct and unable to say no. | House Judiciary | Wednesday, June 14 | 10:00 AM |
| SB 91 | Gay | Expanding Dept. of Justice wiretapping authority. While this also seems well-intentioned and aimed at catching authority figures, similar concerns that this is overly broad and could lead to the potential for surveillance of state workers just doing their jobs. | House Judiciary | Wednesday, June 14 | 10:00 AM |
| HB 165 | Lynn | Codifies the prosecution’s obligation under Brady v. Maryland, a United State Supreme Court case, which requires the prosecution to provide evidence favorable to an accused. | House Judiciary | Wednesday, June 14 | 10:00 AM |
| HB 216 | Lynn | Requires police officers to enter private property to enforce custody orders when a court order requires them to do so. | House Judiciary | Wednesday, June 14 | 10:00 AM |
| HB 217 | Lynn | Requires that parents and other persons under investigation for child abuse and neglect be given written and oral notice of the allegations made against them; the right to consult counsel prior to speaking with a DSCYF investigator; the right to refuse entry to the DSCYF investigator; the right to withhold consent to medical examinations of the children; the right to refuse to submit to a drug test; and the right to consult legal counsel prior to signing a safety plan. While it’s important to protect people’s rights and privacy, concerns over the potential impact of allowing denial of medical examinations of children suspected to be victims of abuse or neglect. | House Judiciary | Wednesday, June 14 | 10:00 AM |
| HB 188 | Moore | Codifies the Equity Ombudsman program required as part of lawsuit settlements over Delaware’s educational equity. The purpose of this is to provide students and families encountering inequity in the school system with non-lawyer advocates to assist them. | House Education | Wednesday, June 14 | 3:00 PM |
| HB 174 | Moore | Requires that any student who has had 2 out-of-school suspensions in a school semester, or trimester, be referred to the school-based problem-solving team for both academic and non-academic intervention, including any recommendations based on the team’s assessment of the student. Seeks to make sure students | House Education | Wednesday, June 14 | 3:00 PM |
| SB 99 | Pinkey | Bans “crime-free housing ordinances” that require eviction of tenants for criminal activity by a tenant, member of the tenant’s household, or a guest. | House Housing | Wednesday, June 14 | 5:00 PM |
| HB 37 | Dorsey Walker | Allows tenants to pay rent into court escrow if a landlord fails to fix dangerous or defective housing conditions. | House Housing | Wednesday, June 14 | 5:00 PM |
| HB 212 | Longhurst | Prohibits manufactured home community owners from drastically increasing rent each year by prohibiting a community owner from increasing rent if the rent was increased by 5% or more the previous year or rental period. | House Housing | Wednesday, June 14 | 5:00 PM |
| HB 220 | Wilson Anton | Green Amendment. Establishes a constitutional right for all Delawareans to a clean and healthy environment. | House Administration | Wednesday, June 14 | 12:00 PM |
| SB 118 | Buckson | Would reinstate the death penalty in Delaware. | Senate Judiciary | Wednesday, June 14 | 1:00 PM |
| HB 201 w/ HA3 | Schwartzkopf | Establishes the crime of Possession of a firearm (including BB gun) in a Safe School and Recreation Zone as a class E felony; 180 days expulsion if it’s a student. | Senate Executive | Wednesday, June 14 | 3:00 PM |
| HB 202 w/ HA1 | Romer | Generally bans firearms in polling places on an Election Day. | Senate Executive | Wednesday, June 14 | 3:00 PM |