Delaware 151st General Assembly (2021-2022) Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 3 D · 1 R cosponsors

SB 271 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND THE ISSUANCE OF ARREST WARRANTS.

Last action — Signed by Governor

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed House
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced April 28, 2022. 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 98% · high confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 9 sponsors

    2 primary, 7 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (3 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

  • 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 Justice of the Peace Court actively discourages the acceptance of warrants from citizens, yet the statute as it currently stands may be interpreted to allow such warrants. This Act abolishes citizen warrants in the Justice of the Peace Court and creates a requirement that all warrants must issue only by information sworn to by a law-enforcement officer.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Signed by Governor

  2. Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES

  3. Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 2 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits

  4. Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House

  5. Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

  6. Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits

  7. Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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2 sponsors · 7 co-sponsors · 53 not signed on

Sponsors (2)

Co-sponsors (7)

Not signed on (53)

53 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 53 →

"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

Passed 41 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 13000
Democratic 16000
Republican 12000
Total 41000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Andria L. Bennett — Yea
Charles "Bud" M. Freel — Yea
David Bentz — Yea
John A. Kowalko — Yea
John L. Mitchell — Yea
Michael Ramone — Yea
Paul S. Baumbach — Yea
Peter C. Schwartzkopf — Yea
Ruth Briggs King — Yea
Sean Matthews — Yea
Sherry Dorsey Walker — Yea
Stephen Smyk — Yea
Valerie Longhurst — Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Eric Morrison Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke Democratic Yea
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Yea
Larry Lambert Democratic Yea
Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic Yea
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Yea
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Sherae'a Moore Democratic Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Yea
William Bush Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Bryan W. Shupe Republican Yea
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Yea
Daniel B. Short Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Yea
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Yea
Michael F. Smith Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Yea
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Shannon Morris Republican Yea
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SM

Passed 21 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5000
Democratic 11000
Republican 5000
Total 21000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Bruce C. Ennis — Yea
Colin Bonini — Yea
Ernesto B Lopez — Yea
Kyle Evans Gay — Yea
Sarah McBride — Yea
Bryan Townsend Democratic Yea
Darius J. Brown Democratic Yea
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Marie Pinkney Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic Yea
Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
Brian Pettyjohn Republican Yea
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Yea
Dave G. Lawson Republican Yea
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety
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 271 do?
The Justice of the Peace Court actively discourages the acceptance of warrants from citizens, yet the statute as it currently stands may be interpreted to allow such warrants. This Act abolishes citizen warrants in the Justice of the Peace Court and creates a requirement that all warrants must issue only by information sworn to by a law-enforcement officer.
Who sponsors SB 271?
SB 271 is sponsored by Kyle Evans Gay, Sean M. Lynn (Democratic), Marie Pinkney (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), Timothy D. Dukes (Republican), Stephen Smyk, John L. Mitchell, Paul S. Baumbach, and Bruce C. Ennis.
What is the current status of SB 271?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced April 28, 2022. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 271?
Track SB 271 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes 2 months ago · updated continuously

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