DE HB 122
enactedAN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FAMILY COURT'S CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.
Delaware · 2025-2026 Regular Session (153rd General Assembly) · lower
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Quick answers
Did DE HB 122 pass?
Yes. DE HB 122 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-09-14): Signed by Governor
What is DE HB 122 about?
This Act clarifies and refines the criminal jurisdiction of Family Court. First, this Act alters the definition of “family” by removing the requirement that both parties be residents of this state. Second, this Act provides concurrent criminal jurisdiction in Family Court and the Court of Common Pleas for certain criminal offenses where the parentage of a child in common is in dispute. Finally, this Act provides Family Court and the Court of Common Pleas with concurrent criminal jurisdiction over non-felony, adult criminal cases that include charges that fall within both Family Court’s and Court of Common Pleas’ jurisdiction. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because Section 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of 2/3 of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to confer jurisdiction of a misdemeanor on the Family Court. This Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Who sponsors DE HB 122?
Claire Snyder-Hall, Mara Gorman, Cyndie Romer and 2 others are the primary sponsors of DE HB 122.
Description
This Act clarifies and refines the criminal jurisdiction of Family Court. First, this Act alters the definition of “family” by removing the requirement that both parties be residents of this state. Second, this Act provides concurrent criminal jurisdiction in Family Court and the Court of Common Pleas for certain criminal offenses where the parentage of a child in common is in dispute. Finally, this Act provides Family Court and the Court of Common Pleas with concurrent criminal jurisdiction over non-felony, adult criminal cases that include charges that fall within both Family Court’s and Court of Common Pleas’ jurisdiction. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because Section 28 of Article IV of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of 2/3 of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to confer jurisdiction of a misdemeanor on the Family Court. This Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
- Introduced
- 2025-04-17
- Latest action
- 2026-09-14 — Signed by Governor
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Sponsors
- Claire Snyder-Hallprimary
- Mara Gormanprimary
- Cyndie Romerprimary
- Nicole Pooreprimary
- Krista Griffithprimary
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
Newest first
2026-09-14
Signed by Governor
executive-signature
2026-06-23
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
passage
2026-05-06
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits
committee-passage
2026-03-24
Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate
introduction,referral-committee
2026-03-24
Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT
passage
2025-05-07
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 4 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-04-17
Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House
introduction,referral-committee
Versions
- Bill TextCompare
Documents
Votes
2/3
2026-03-24 · pass · 39-0
Member-level votes (41)
- Alonna Berry: yes
- Stephanie T. Bolden: yes
- Frank Burns: yes
- William Bush: yes
- William J. Carson: yes
- Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha: yes
- Richard G. Collins: yes
- Franklin D. Cooke: yes
- Daniel B. Short: yes
- Timothy D. Dukes: yes
- Mara Gorman: yes
- Ronald E. Gray: yes
- Krista Griffith: yes
- Kerri Evelyn Harris: other
- Debra Heffernan: yes
- Kevin S Hensley: yes
- Jeff Hilovsky: yes
- Valerie Jones Giltner: yes
- Kendra Johnson: yes
- Kimberly Williams: yes
- Kamela T Smith: yes
- Larry Lambert: yes
- Sean M. Lynn: yes
- Michael F. Smith: yes
- Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
- Shannon Morris: yes
- Eric Morrison: yes
- DeShanna U Neal: yes
- Josue O Ortega: other
- Edward S. Osienski: yes
- Sophie Phillips: yes
- Charles S Postles Jr.: yes
- Cyndie Romer: yes
- Melanie Ross Levin: yes
- Sherae'a Moore: yes
- Bryan W. Shupe: yes
- Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
- Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: yes
- Jesse R. Vanderwende: yes
- Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
- Lyndon D. Yearick: yes
2/3
2026-06-23 · pass · 21-0
Member-level votes (21)
- Darius J. Brown: yes
- Eric Buckson: yes
- Daniel Cruce: yes
- Stephanie L. Hansen: yes
- Gerald W. Hocker: yes
- Kyra L. Hoffner: yes
- Russell Huxtable: yes
- Dave G. Lawson: yes
- S. Elizabeth Lockman: yes
- Spiros Mantzavinos: yes
- Trey Paradee: yes
- Brian Pettyjohn: yes
- Marie Pinkney: yes
- Nicole Poore: yes
- Bryant L. Richardson: yes
- Ray Seigfried: yes
- David P. Sokola: yes
- Laura V. Sturgeon: yes
- Bryan Townsend: yes
- John "Jack" Walsh: yes
- David L. Wilson: yes
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-09-20T07:33:17.079032Z
Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:
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