SB 54 is sponsored by Bryan Townsend (Democratic), Debra Heffernan (Democratic), Sean M. Lynn (Democratic), Edward S. Osienski (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), Kimberly Williams (Democratic), Helene M. Keeley, John J. Viola, John A. Kowalko, David Bentz, Paul S. Baumbach, James Johnson, Valerie Longhurst, and Margaret Rose Henry.

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Delaware 149th General Assembly (2017-2018) Status: Enacted 6 D cosponsors

SB 54 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO JUVENILE EXPUNGEMENTS.

Last action June 20, 2017 — Signed by Governor

✓
Introduced
✓
In Committee
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Passed Senate
✓
Passed House
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To Executive
6
Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced March 30, 2017. Enacted.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 82% · moderate confidence

Enacted

Current position in the legislative process.
14 sponsors

5 primary, 9 co-sponsors signed on.
Single-party support

Sponsorship is currently within one party (6 D).
Cleared a recorded vote

Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

The continued existence and dissemination of a juvenile criminal record hampers an individual’s ability to become a successful and productive member of society. These criminal histories are a hindrance to employment, education, housing and credit. This act modifies Delaware’s discretionary expungement provisions to allow more children, and adults with only juvenile records, the ability to petition the Court for an expungement. An adult conviction automatically disqualifies someone from seeking an expungement to their juvenile record. These changes would allow the Court to consider an expungement where a person with a juvenile record has demonstrated rehabilitation. These provisions will enable a greater number of deserving youth, and adults with only juvenile records, the ability to move beyond their past and recognizes that most youth mature out of offending behavior. This legislation builds on a bill passed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers during the 148th General Assembly. Senate Bill 198 streamlined the process for an individual to expunge their juvenile record. This proposed expansion removes certain prohibitions that prevent an individual from ever seeking a discretionary expungement, streamlines the scenarios of which a person with a juvenile record is eligible to seek a discretionary expungement, and creates a fair catch-all provision for those seeking an expungement to their juvenile record in cases where they were found delinquent in multiple cases, but had not been adjudicated or convicted of another crime since. This allows for eligible juveniles, and adults with only juvenile records, to seek discretionary expungements, wherein the Court would decide whether or not a person had rehabilitated.

Bill Text

Bill Text View text Current pdf

Action History

June 20, 2017
Signed by Governor
June 15, 2017
Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT
May 17, 2017
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 4 Favorable, 5 On Its Merits
May 02, 2017
Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House
April 27, 2017
Passed By Senate. Votes: 17 YES 4 ABSENT
April 06, 2017
Reported Out of Committee (Judicial & Community Affairs) in Senate with 3 On Its Merits
March 30, 2017
Introduced and Assigned to Judicial & Community Affairs Committee in Senate

Sponsorship breakdown

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5 sponsors · 9 co-sponsors · 48 not signed on

Sponsors (5)

Co-sponsors (9)

Not signed on (48)

48 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 48 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

SM

June 15, 2017

Passed 40 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other

Party	Yea	Nay	Present	Not Voting
Unaffiliated	24	0	0	1
Democratic	7	0	0	0
Republican	9	0	0	0
Total	40	0	0	1
% of votes cast	98%	0%	0%	2%

How each member voted (41)

Member	Party	Vote
Andria L. Bennett	—	Yea
Bryon H. Short	—	Yea
Charles Potter Jr.	—	Yea
David Bentz	—	Yea
Deborah Hudson	—	Yea
Earl G. Jaques Jr.	—	Yea
Gerald L. Brady	—	Yea
Harvey R. Kenton	—	Yea
Helene M. Keeley	—	Yea
James Johnson	—	Yea
John A. Kowalko	—	Yea
John J. Viola	—	Yea
John L. Mitchell	—	Yea
Joseph E. Miro	—	Yea
Melanie George Smith	—	Yea
Michael Mulrooney	—	Yea
Michael Ramone	—	Yea
Paul S. Baumbach	—	Yea
Peter C. Schwartzkopf	—	Yea
Quinton Johnson	—	Yea
Ruth Briggs King	—	Yea
Sean Matthews	—	Not Voting
Stephen Smyk	—	Yea
Valerie Longhurst	—	Yea
William R. Outten	—	Yea
Debra Heffernan	Democratic	Yea
Edward S. Osienski	Democratic	Yea
Kimberly Williams	Democratic	Yea
Sean M. Lynn	Democratic	Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden	Democratic	Yea
Trey Paradee	Democratic	Yea
William J. Carson	Democratic	Yea
Charles S Postles Jr.	Republican	Yea
Daniel B. Short	Republican	Yea
David L. Wilson	Republican	Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman	Republican	Yea
Kevin S Hensley	Republican	Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick	Republican	Yea
Richard G. Collins	Republican	Yea
Ronald E. Gray	Republican	Yea
Timothy D. Dukes	Republican	Yea

Official roll call →

SM

April 27, 2017

Passed 17 Yea · 0 Nay · 4 Other

Party	Yea	Nay	Present	Not Voting
Unaffiliated	11	0	0	1
Democratic	4	0	0	1
Republican	2	0	0	2
Total	17	0	0	4
% of votes cast	81%	0%	0%	19%

How each member voted (21)

Member	Party	Vote
Anthony Delcollo	—	Yea
Brian J. Bushweller	—	Yea
Bruce C. Ennis	—	Yea
Catherine Cloutier	—	Yea
Colin Bonini	—	Yea
David B. McBride	—	Yea
Ernesto B Lopez	—	Not Voting
F. Gary Simpson	—	Yea
Gregory F. Lavelle	—	Yea
Harris B. McDowell	—	Yea
Margaret Rose Henry	—	Yea
Robert Marshall	—	Yea
Bryan Townsend	Democratic	Yea
David P. Sokola	Democratic	Yea
John "Jack" Walsh	Democratic	Not Voting
Nicole Poore	Democratic	Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen	Democratic	Yea
Brian Pettyjohn	Republican	Not Voting
Bryant L. Richardson	Republican	Yea
Dave G. Lawson	Republican	Yea
Gerald W. Hocker	Republican	Not Voting

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights labor education

Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 54 do?: The continued existence and dissemination of a juvenile criminal record hampers an individual’s ability to become a successful and productive member of society. These criminal histories are a hindrance to employment, education, housing and credit. This act modifies Delaware’s discretionary expungement provisions to allow more children, and adults with only juvenile records, the ability to petition the Court for an expungement. An adult conviction automatically disqualifies someone from seeking an expungement to their juvenile record. These changes would allow the Court to consider an expungement where a person with a juvenile record has demonstrated rehabilitation. These provisions will enable a greater number of deserving youth, and adults with only juvenile records, the ability to move beyond their past and recognizes that most youth mature out of offending behavior. This legislation builds on a bill passed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers during the 148th General Assembly. Senate Bill 198 streamlined the process for an individual to expunge their juvenile record. This proposed expansion removes certain prohibitions that prevent an individual from ever seeking a discretionary expungement, streamlines the scenarios of which a person with a juvenile record is eligible to seek a discretionary expungement, and creates a fair catch-all provision for those seeking an expungement to their juvenile record in cases where they were found delinquent in multiple cases, but had not been adjudicated or convicted of another crime since. This allows for eligible juveniles, and adults with only juvenile records, to seek discretionary expungements, wherein the Court would decide whether or not a person had rehabilitated.
Who sponsors SB 54?: SB 54 is sponsored by Bryan Townsend (Democratic), Debra Heffernan (Democratic), Sean M. Lynn (Democratic), Edward S. Osienski (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), Kimberly Williams (Democratic), Helene M. Keeley, John J. Viola, John A. Kowalko, David Bentz, Paul S. Baumbach, James Johnson, Valerie Longhurst, and Margaret Rose Henry.
What is the current status of SB 54?: This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced March 30, 2017. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 54?: Track SB 54 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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At a glance

Identifier: SB 54
Jurisdiction: Delaware
Session: 149th General Assembly (2017-2018)
Type: Bill
Introduced: March 30, 2017
Status: Enacted
Prime sponsor: Bryan Townsend

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