HB 411 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS FOR VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS.

Baumbach & Rep.

Short HOUSE& OFRep. REPRESENTATIVES 152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE AMENDMENT NO.

1Carson TO& HOUSESen. BILL NO.

411Pettyjohn Amend& HouseSen. Bill No.

411Townsend byReps. deleting lines 5 through 7 in their entirety, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

“ofHensley, or,Ramone, hadHilovsky; that member or applicant been charged as a juvenile, adjudicated delinquent of any of the following crimes listed under paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section, is prohibited from serving as a firefighter in this State:

State.”.Sens.

FURTHERGay, AMENDHocker, HouseHoffner, BillWilson, No.Brown, Buckson, Hansen, Huxtable, Lawson, Lockman, Mantzavinos, S.

411McBride, byParadee, deletingPinkney, linePoore, 67Richardson, inSokola, itsSturgeon, entiretyWalsh andHOUSE insertingOF inREPRESENTATIVES lieu152nd hereofGENERAL theASSEMBLY following:HOUSE BILL NO.

“(18)411 IfAN anACT individualTO obtainsAMEND aTITLE background16 checkOF underTHE §DELAWARE 6647(b)CODE ofRELATING thisTO title,THE theMEMBERSHIP StateREQUIREMENTS BureauFOR ofVOLUNTEER IdentificationFIREFIGHTERS. shall provide all of the following to the Commission:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1.

Amend § 6647, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 6647.

Membership requirements for volunteer firefighters.

(a) An A member or an applicant for membership in a Delaware volunteer fire department who has been convicted of or, had that member or applicant been charged as a juvenile, adjudicated delinquent of any of the following crimes is prohibited from serving as a firefighter in this State:

any felony, or any local, state, or federal criminal offense involving, but not limited to, theft, fraud, violation of the public trust, or any drug law.

(1) A felony involving sexual misconduct where the victim’s failure to affirmatively consent is an element of the crime, such as forcible rape;

(2) A felony involving the sexual or physical abuse of a child or of a person who is elderly or impaired, such as sexual misconduct with a child, sexual exploitation of a child, making or distributing child pornography, incest involving a child, or assault on a person who is elderly or impaired;

(3) A crime in which the victim is an out-of-hospital patient or a patient or resident of a healthcare facility, including abuse, neglect, or theft from or financial exploitation of a person entrusted to the care or protection of the applicant;

(4) Arson in the third, second, or first degree;

reckless burning or exploding;

cross or religious symbol burning;

or any crime in which the applicant intentionally or recklessly started a fire or caused an explosion, or attempted or conspired to do so;

(5) A law of another state, territory, or jurisdiction which is the same or equivalent to the offenses described in paragraphs (a)(1) through (4) of this section.

HR :

RDS :

AFJ Page 1 of 3 Released:

06/11/2024 10:29 AM (b) Membership in a Delaware volunteer fire department, after a state and federal background check, must be denied or revoked if the applicant or member has been convicted or, if that applicant or member was charged as a juvenile, has been adjudicated delinquent of any of the following crimes, except in extraordinary circumstances:

(1) Any crime for which the applicant is currently incarcerated, on work release, on probation, or on parole;

(2) Any crime in the following categories, unless at least 5 years have passed since the applicant’s or member’s conviction or at least 5 years have passed since the applicant or member was released from custodial confinement, whichever occurs later:

AnyA subsequentserious statecrime criminalof historyviolence recordagainst informationa person, such as assault with a dangerous weapon, aggravated assault, murder or attempted murder, manslaughter (other than involuntary manslaughter), kidnapping, or robbery of theany individual.degree;

AnyA subsequentcrime criminalinvolving historya recordcontrolled informationsubstance ofor thedesigner individualdrug, availableincluding throughunlawful thepossession Rapor Backdistribution Systemof, asor definedintent underto §unlawfully 8502possess ofor Titledistribute, 11,a ifcontrolled substance in Schedules I through V of the RapUniform BackControlled SystemSubstances isAct available.”.of Chapter 47 of this title;

SYNOPSISc. This Amendment synchronizes the crimes and situations in which membership in a Delaware volunteer fire department must be denied or revoked with the crimes and situations in which an applicant for such membership would be prohibited from serving.

ItA alsoserious permitscrime theinvolving Commissionproperty, tosuch receiveas automaticburglary, notificationsembezzlement, fromor SBIinsurance underfraud; the rapback program.

HDd. :

LTKAny :crime involving sexual misconduct;

DSe. Page 1 of 1 Released:

06/20/2024A 12:19crime PMof 3491520125another state, territory, or jurisdiction which is the same or equivalent to the offenses described in paragraphs (b)(2)a.

through d.