Delaware 152nd General Assembly (2023-2024) Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 10 D · 4 R cosponsors

SB 70 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ANIMALS IN PROTECTION FROM ABUSE PROCEEDINGS.

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 March 28, 2023. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 98% · high confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 17 sponsors

    17 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (10 D · 4 R) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

This Act adds the following acts against a person's companion animal or service animal to the definition of abuse for protection from abuse proceedings: 1. Engaging in cruelty. 2. Inflicting physical injury. 3. Engaging in a course of alarming or distressing conduct. In addition, this Act provides specific authority for the Court to include provisions in a protection from abuse order that grant a petitioner exclusive care, custody, or control of a companion animal and order a petitioner to stay away from the companion animal. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Signed by Governor

  2. Passed By House. Votes: 34 YES 7 ABSENT

  3. Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 5 Favorable, 5 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 4 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits

  7. Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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17 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 45 not signed on

Sponsors (17)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (45)

45 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 45 →

"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 34 Yea · 0 Nay · 7 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 7001
Democratic 17003
Republican 10003
Total 34007
% of votes cast 83%0%0%17%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Michael Ramone — Yea
Paul S. Baumbach — Yea
Peter C. Schwartzkopf — Yea
Ruth Briggs King — Yea
Sean Matthews — Not Voting
Sherry Dorsey Walker — Yea
Stell Parker Selby — Yea
Valerie Longhurst — Yea
Cyndie Romer Democratic Yea
DeShanna U Neal Democratic Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Not Voting
Eric Morrison Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke Democratic Yea
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kerri Evelyn Harris Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Yea
Larry Lambert Democratic Yea
Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic Yea
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Not Voting
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Sherae'a Moore Democratic Not Voting
Sophie Phillips 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
Jeff Hilovsky Republican Not Voting
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Not Voting
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 Not Voting
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SM

Passed 21 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 13000
Republican 6000
Unaffiliated 2000
Total 21000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
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
Kyra L. Hoffner Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Marie Pinkney Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
Russell Huxtable 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
Eric Buckson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
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 70 do?
This Act adds the following acts against a person's companion animal or service animal to the definition of abuse for protection from abuse proceedings: 1. Engaging in cruelty. 2. Inflicting physical injury. 3. Engaging in a course of alarming or distressing conduct. In addition, this Act provides specific authority for the Court to include provisions in a protection from abuse order that grant a petitioner exclusive care, custody, or control of a companion animal and order a petitioner to stay away from the companion animal. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Who sponsors SB 70?
SB 70 is sponsored by Sean Matthews, Daniel B. Short (Republican), Cyndie Romer (Democratic), David L. Wilson (Republican), Darius J. Brown (Democratic), Laura V. Sturgeon (Democratic), David P. Sokola (Democratic), Bryant L. Richardson (Republican), S. Elizabeth Lockman (Democratic), Kendra Johnson (Democratic), Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), Sean M. Lynn (Democratic), Russell Huxtable (Democratic), John "Jack" Walsh (Democratic), Nicole Poore (Democratic), Peter C. Schwartzkopf, and Paul S. Baumbach.
What is the current status of SB 70?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced March 28, 2023. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 70?
Track SB 70 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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