Bill Sponsor
Delaware Senate Bill 174
Session 152
An Act To Amend Title 29 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Pensions For The State Judiciary.
Active
Active
Passed House on Jun 27, 2024
Sponsors
Democrat
Kyle Evans Gay
Democrat
Darius J. Brown
Democrat
Peter C. Schwartzkopf
Democrat
Sean M. Lynn
Republican
Brian Pettyjohn
Democrat
Bryan Townsend
Democrat
William Bush
Democrat
William J. Carson
Republican
Timothy D. Dukes
Unknown
Kerri Evelyn Harris
Democrat
Madinah Wilson-Anton
First Action
Feb 29, 2024
Latest Action
Jun 27, 2024
Origin Chamber
Senate
Type
Bill
Bill Number
174
State
Delaware
Session
152
Sponsorship by Party
Republican
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Unknown
Kerri Evelyn Harris
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Republican
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Senate Votes (1)
House Votes (1)
checkPassed on May 15, 2024
Motion Text
SM
Summary
This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 174. Like Senate Bill No. 174, this Act adds Justices of the Peace, Commissioners in Superior Court, Family Court, and Court of Common Pleas, and Magistrates in Chancery to the State Judicial Pension Plan. Section 1 of this Act amends the “Pensions for Members of the State Judiciary” chapter’s definition of “state judiciary” so that Justices of the Peace, Commissioners, and Magistrates in Chancery are included, which then results in their inclusion in the definition of “member”. Section 1 also removes the defined term “for which he or she is eligible under the Federal Social Security Act”, which is not used anywhere in Chapter 56 of Title 29 of the Delaware Code (“Chapter 56”), and creates a new definition, “State judicial officer”, which is used in place of “member of the state judiciary” and “judge” in this Act. Sections 2 through 10 of this Act are included to ensure the term “member” is used consistently throughout Chapter 56 and to replace “member of the State judiciary” and “judge” with “State judicial officer”. This ensures that Justices of the Peace, Commissioners, and Magistrates in Chancery are included in the State Judicial Pension Plan. Section 2 of this Act also increases the amount of annual compensation in excess of $6,000 up to the Social Security wage base that a State judicial officer who is covered by the State Judicial Pension Plan on or after the effective date of this Act must contribute to the State Judicial Plan from 3% to 4%. Section 3 of this Act also establishes a one-time opt-out provision to allow a Justice of the Peace, Commissioner, or Magistrate in Chancery that may be adversely affected by the State Judicial Pension Plan, which would violate the Emoluments Clause under § 4 of Article XV of the Delaware Constitution, the ability to remain in the State Employee Pension Plan. Section 7 of this Act also includes in Chapter 56 reference to statutory procedures in Title 10 for the assignment of a retired Justice of the Peace or Commissioner. Like Senate Bill No. 174, this Act also does the following: (1) Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including (i) removing references to “or survivors” based on § 304 of Title 1 of the Delaware Code, which provides that the singular includes the plural and (ii) correcting a citation error in § 5614(g) of Title 29. (2) Makes changes to delete obsolete language, including (i) deleting § 5605(a)(2)c. of Title 29, which no longer applies to a current State judicial officer, and (ii) deleting § 5609(b), which applied for 6 months from July 7, 1998, and has not applied since then. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 174 as follows: (1) By updating the title “Master in Chancery” to “Magistrate in Chancery”, based on the passage of Senate Bill No. 179 (152nd General Assembly). (2) By changing the definition of “Commissioner” to define the term based on the Code sections authorizing the appointment of a Commissioner, rather than the powers of a Commissioner. (3) By clarifying that a Justice of the Peace, Commissioner, or Magistrate in Chancery who qualifies for the State Judicial Pension Plan on the effective date of this Act and elects to be covered by the State Judicial Pension Plan is entitled to a payout for accrued annual leave in incremental payments over a 5-year period. (4) By renaming the title of Chapter 56, Title 29 of the Delaware Code to reflect changes made by this Act. (5) By changing the effective date of this Act to January 1, 2025.
Actions (10)
06/27/2024
House
Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT
06/25/2024
House
Reported Out of Committee (Appropriations) in House with 6 On Its Merits
06/20/2024
House
Assigned to Appropriations Committee in House
06/20/2024
House
Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 1 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits
05/16/2024
House
Assigned to Administration Committee in House
05/15/2024
Senate
Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT
05/15/2024
Senate
Reported Out of Committee (Finance) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits
03/18/2024
Senate
Assigned to Finance Committee in Senate
03/14/2024
Senate
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 2 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits
02/29/2024
Senate
Adopted in lieu of the original bill SB 174, and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate
Sources
Record Created
Jun 14, 2023 1:35:47 AM
Record Updated
Jul 5, 2024 5:58:32 PM