Legislative priorities are topic in Lewes

With the Delaware House and Senate opening the second year of the 150th General Assembly, the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice (SDARJ) met to discuss upcoming bills that call for their advocacy. 

On Jan. 14, Nancy Powell, SDARJ Legislative Advocacy Committee chair, and Sandy Spence spoke to a crowd of about 30 members at Trinity Faith Christian Center on New Road, discussing the upcoming legislative session and the points that they intend to focus on. 

Important legislation for SDARJ includes bills regarding criminal justice for minors. HB 1: Civil citation program for juveniles and HB 10: No prosecution for those under 12 years old are among the measures they will support.

Powell spoke of the importance of the civil citation program, because the current expungement system in Delaware has raised barriers to education and employment, among other things.

The new legislation “keeps juveniles out of the court system, and it would mean that our expungement program would no longer be needed,” Powell said. “Obviously this is not for major felonies and violent crimes, but for smaller charges. If the young people comply with conditions that they’re in school, behaving themselves, and won’t get arrested again, then their record is not in the criminal justice system.”

The SDARJ noted several other bills they intend to monitor, including

•    SB 105: The increase of minimum wage

• HB 165: The possibility of death penalty re-instatement
• HB 80: The modification of Delaware’s Earned Income Tax Credit. This would allow recipients to choose between a credit of up to 20% of the current value of the federal EITC or a credit up to 4.5% of the value of the federal EITC toward their Delaware personal income taxes.

The SDARJ looks to continue its mission of education and advocacy regarding bills that directly affect its mission to provide equality and fair opportunity for all.

For more information on the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice, visit sdarj.org.