Delaware’s state legislature is not immune to the national discussions on key societal issues, such as firearms. With this year’s legislative session ending Sunday, here’s a look at the bills relating to guns that passed in 2024: House Bill 357 – definition of “firearm” Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Spiegelman, R-Clayton, the bill derives from a task force charged with updating …
Among the last week’s work in the 2024 session will be Delaware House of Representatives saluting six legislators who are leaving or have left the Delaware House. They include Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker, D-Wilmington; Rep. Sean Matthews, D-Middletown; Rep. Paul Baumbach, D-Newark; Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach; Rep. Michael Ramone, R-Newark/Pike Creek; and former Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown. On …
Delaware residents soon will be able to say “cheers” or “bottoms up” with the First State’s official cocktail. House Bill 444, sponsored by Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, designates the Orange Crush as the state cocktail, passed the state House Thursday night. The point of declaring a state cocktail is to increase tourism, Schwartzkopf said before asking for a vote. …
Another Republican attempt to lower the costs of buying a house by reducing taxes associated with it was shot down along party lines Wednesday. Rep. Lyndon Yearick’s House Bill 343 would have dropped the real estate transfer tax from 4% now to $3% in January 2018. That was the rate it was in 2016 before being raised in 2017 …
Just days after a fatal shooting of an 18-year-old woman on Delaware State University’s campus, the state General Assembly moved on with a bill creating felonies for people with guns in Safe School Zones. House Bill 311, sponsored by Rep. Cyndie Romer, D-Newark, adds post-secondary colleges and universities to the Safe School Zone criminal offense. That means any person who …
Two bills moving through the General Assembly officially will ban the death penalty in Delaware. Both are sponsored by Sen. Sean Lynn, D-Dover. The state Supreme Court in 2016 ruled that Delaware’s death penalty was unconstitutional and effectively banned it but state laws are still on the books. House Bill 70 would eliminate the death penalty. Instead, it would establish …
Prostitution and gun ammo were the odd couple of topics to be handled in Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing. House Bill 264, sponsored by Rep. Kim Williams, D-Marshallton, makes the crime of “patronizing a prostitute” a class E felony rather than a misdemeanor when the person from whom prostitution is sought is a minor. Williams’ second bill, House Bill 270, …
A few Republicans have heard there’s a possibility that Speaker of the House Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, plans on stepping down by the end of the week. Rep. Kevin Hensley, R-Odessa, said during a Zoom meeting with the Delaware GOP that there is speculation that a new speaker will be elected by Friday. “So the speculation, just keep in …
A few Republicans have heard there’s a possibility that Speaker of the House Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, plans on stepping down by the end of the week. Rep. Kevin Hensley, R-Odessa, said during a Zoom meeting with the Delaware GOP that there is speculation that a new speaker will be elected by Friday. “So the speculation, just keep in …
Two laws restricting the presence of guns in school zones and election polling places passed the House and are headed to a Senate committee for debate. House Bill 201, sponsored by Speaker of the House Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, aims to enable a police officer to act immediately when they see or suspect a person with a gun in …
