- Make it More Difficult for Lawmakers to Suspend Protections
- Reduce Marijuana Violation Penalties
- Stop State Pensions for Sex Offenders
In advance of lawmakers returning to the State Capitol Building next month, new bills were filed in the House this week:
Raising the standard
House Bill 239 — Sponsor: State Rep. Jeff Spiegelman, et.al. — The House of Representatives and Senate have rules that require public notification before a bill is debated and voted on in their respective chambers. The rules also mandate that before legislation reaches the floor, it must be vetted by a committee with public notice prior to the hearing.
However, these public participation protections can be disregarded if lawmakers choose to “suspend the rules.”
Currently, such suspensions can be accomplished with a simple majority vote. Additionally, motions to suspend the rules can be approved by voice vote, which does not record how each lawmaker voted.
This bill is a proposed constitutional amendment that would require at least 60% of a chamber’s members to agree to suspend the rules and that every lawmaker’s vote be recorded and made available for public review.
The sponsors–including Sen. Eric Buckson and State Reps. Lyndon Yearick and Mike Smith–maintain that suspending fundamental protocols designed to safeguard the integrity of the legislative process should only be done under extraordinary circumstances and require a higher threshold of approval.
Lowering the bar
House Bill 252 — Sponsor: State Rep. Eric Morrison, et. al. — This bill seeks to make several changes, reducing the penalties that could be imposed by someone using marijuana in a public place or in a moving vehicle.
Currently, individuals found guilty of either crime are classified as having committed an unclassified misdemeanor and may face a fine of up to $200 and/or up to five days in jail. Under this proposal, these offenses would be civil violations, carrying a fine of up to $50 for a first violation and up to $100 for subsequent violations.
New bill competes with previous proposal on sex offender pensions
House Bill 257 — Sponsor: State Rep. Kerri Evelyn Harris, et. al. — This proposal would allow for the forfeiture of the state’s contribution to the pension of a state, judicial, county, or municipal employee’s pension if that employee is convicted of a sex crime against a child and the offense was connected to the employee’s position.
The measure would allow judges to garnish 25% or 50% of the convicted employee’s pension to pay restitution to the victim. The percentage selected would depend on the offense.
This bill directly competes with an existing proposal, House Substitute 1 for House Bill 113, introduced by State Rep. Bryan Shupe last spring. Currently pending action on the House Ready List, the measure would deny the state’s contribution to an individual’s pension if they were employed by the Department of Education, a school district, or the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, or Delaware Technical and Community College, and were convicted of certain sexual crimes against children where the assailant’s employment helped facilitate the acts.
In statements issued this week, Rep. Shupe characterized the new bill as a half-measure designed to undermine support for his legislation.
