HB 122 DE
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FAMILY COURT'S CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.
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Summary
Delaware HB 122 expands and clarifies the criminal jurisdiction of Delaware's Family Court by removing the requirement that both parties be residents of Delaware in order for the court to exercise jurisdiction. The bill provides concurrent criminal jurisdiction between Family Court and the Court of Common Pleas for certain criminal offenses where the parentage of a child in common is in dispute, and for non-felony adult criminal cases that include charges falling within both courts' jurisdiction. The bill requires a two-thirds supermajority vote in both houses of the General Assembly to pass, as required by the Delaware Constitution for conferring misdemeanor jurisdiction on Family Court. The bill also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to Delaware's Legislative Drafting Manual standards. The changes allow Family Court to exercise broader criminal jurisdiction in cases involving family matters and child parentage disputes.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill (from the OpenStates abstract — no full text available yet) — neutral, and may be imperfect.
Official abstract
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.
Sponsors (5)
- Krista Griffith Democratic · primary
- Nicole Poore Democratic · primary
- Cyndie Romer Democratic · primary
- Mara Gorman Democratic · primary
- Claire Snyder-Hall Democratic · primary
Action history (6)
- Apr 17, 2025 Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House · lower
- May 7, 2025 Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 4 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits · lower
- Mar 24, 2026 Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT · lower
- Mar 24, 2026 Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate · upper
- May 6, 2026 Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits · upper
- Jun 23, 2026 Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES · upper
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