Bill Commons

DE SB 73

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LETHAL VIOLENCE PROTECTIVE ORDERS.

Delaware · 2025-2026 Regular Session (153rd General Assembly) · upper

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Quick answers

Did DE SB 73 pass?

Yes. DE SB 73 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2025-08-20): Signed by Governor

What is DE SB 73 about?

This bill clarifies that only law enforcement officers may petition for emergency relief in the Justice of the Peace Court pursuant to Title 10, Section 7703. The statute is currently ambiguous with regard to who may file pursuant to Section 7703. Section 7701(4) defines a "Petitioner" as a law enforcement officer or any person who would be qualified to file a Petition for Protection from Abuse. Section 7702(a) provides that "a petitioner may request relief under section 7703 (Emergency hearings) or Section 7704 (Nonemergency hearings)." However, Section 7703 only addresses the process a law enforcement officer must follow to procure a Lethal Violence Protective Order ("LVPO") and fails to mention any other class of petitioner. At the time of the passage of the LVPO statute, there was specific discussion and intention to prevent individuals from filing for emergencies in the Justice of the Peace Court for the same reason that citizen warrants are no longer accepted in that Court. This conclusion is borne out by the fact that Section 7703 does not prescribe any procedure or burden of proof an individual would need to meet to prevail in an emergency petition for a LVPO. As with Weapons Relinquishment Orders governed by Section 1448C of Title 11, this proposed bill requires requests for emergency relief to come through a law enforcement agency rather than directly from an individual member of the public. The bill removes the confusion that exists with the current wording of the statute.

Who sponsors DE SB 73?

Josue O Ortega, Ray Seigfried, Timothy D. Dukes and 3 others are the primary sponsors of DE SB 73, joined by 4 cosponsors.

Description

This bill clarifies that only law enforcement officers may petition for emergency relief in the Justice of the Peace Court pursuant to Title 10, Section 7703. The statute is currently ambiguous with regard to who may file pursuant to Section 7703. Section 7701(4) defines a "Petitioner" as a law enforcement officer or any person who would be qualified to file a Petition for Protection from Abuse. Section 7702(a) provides that "a petitioner may request relief under section 7703 (Emergency hearings) or Section 7704 (Nonemergency hearings)." However, Section 7703 only addresses the process a law enforcement officer must follow to procure a Lethal Violence Protective Order ("LVPO") and fails to mention any other class of petitioner. At the time of the passage of the LVPO statute, there was specific discussion and intention to prevent individuals from filing for emergencies in the Justice of the Peace Court for the same reason that citizen warrants are no longer accepted in that Court. This conclusion is borne out by the fact that Section 7703 does not prescribe any procedure or burden of proof an individual would need to meet to prevail in an emergency petition for a LVPO. As with Weapons Relinquishment Orders governed by Section 1448C of Title 11, this proposed bill requires requests for emergency relief to come through a law enforcement agency rather than directly from an individual member of the public. The bill removes the confusion that exists with the current wording of the statute.

Introduced
2025-03-13
Latest action
2025-08-20 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Josue O Ortegaprimary
  • Ray Seigfriedprimary
  • Timothy D. Dukesprimary
  • Nicole Pooreprimary
  • William J. Carsonprimary
  • Darius J. Brownprimary
  • Nicole Poorecosponsor
  • Timothy D. Dukescosponsor
  • Kendra Johnsoncosponsor
  • Josue O Ortegacosponsor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2025-08-20

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2025-06-12

    Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT

    passage

  3. 2025-05-21

    Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 9 On Its Merits

    committee-passage

  4. 2025-04-09

    Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2025-04-08

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

    passage

  6. 2025-03-26

    Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  7. 2025-03-13

    Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • SM

    2025-04-08 · 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

  • SM

    2025-06-12 · pass · 40-0

    Member-level votes (41)
    • 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: yes
    • 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: yes
    • Edward S. Osienski: yes
    • Stell Parker Selby: other
    • 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
    • Stephanie T. Bolden: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=141938

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-23T23:48:24.685725Z

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