Bill Text: DE HB84 | 2013-2014 | 147th General Assembly | Draft

Delaware House Bill 84 (Prior Session Legislation)

Draft

Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 15 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Mandatory Background Checks Of Candidates For Elected Office In The State Of Delaware.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 21)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-18 - Introduced and Assigned to House Administration Committee in House [HB84 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2013-HB84-Draft.html

SPONSOR:	Rep. D. Short & Sen. Simpson;
	Reps. Hudson, Blakey, Briggs King, Dukes, Gray, Kenton, Miro, Outten, Peterman, Ramone, Smyk, Spiegelman, Wilson; Sens. Lavelle, Cloutier, Hocker, Lopez, Pettyjohn

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

147th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 84

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 15 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MANDATORY BACKGROUND CHECKS OF CANDIDATES FOR ELECTED OFFICE IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1.Amend §3106, Title 15 of the Delaware Code by making insertions as shown by underlining and deletions as shown by strikethrough as follows:

§3106. Filing of candidacy for nomination at a primary election; withdrawal.

(a) Any person desiring to be a candidate shall give notice in the following manner:

(1) Candidates for statewide office:

a. Any statewide candidate shall notify the chair of the state committee of that statewide candidate's respective political party, or the chair's designee in writing, on forms prescribed by the State Election Commissioner on or before the deadline set forth in §3101(1) of this title.

b. At the time of giving notice as required above, each candidate shall tender the required filing fee, if any, by giving a check to the State Election Commissioner, payable to the state committee of the candidate's political party, together with a copy of the notice given the party's state chair. At such time, the Commissioner shall receipt a third copy of said notice, to be provided the candidate.

(2) Candidates for all other offices:

a. All candidates for county or countywide office, members of the General Assembly and/or municipal office for any municipality holding its election at the time of the general election shall notify the county chair, or the county chair's designee, in writing (or the city chair, or the city chair's designee, if applicable for municipal candidates) of their respective political party in their county of residence on forms prescribed by the State Election Commissioner on or before the deadline set forth in §3101(1) of this title.

b. At the time of giving notice as required above, each candidate shall tender the required filing fee, if any, by giving a check to the county department of elections, payable to the county committee of the candidate's political party (or city committee, if applicable for municipal candidates), together with a copy of the notice given to the party chair. At such time, the department shall receipt a third copy of the notice, to be provided the candidate.

(b) If any of the filing fees mentioned in subsection (a) of this section are not required, each candidate shall still give notice to the election agency having jurisdiction, as specified in paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section, and shall receive a receipted copy of the prescribed form.

(c) Any candidate who has filed for nomination as required above may withdraw said filing by notifying the respective elections agency with whom that candidate filed on forms prescribed by the State Election Commissioner on or before the deadline set forth in §3101(2) of this title. The elections agency having jurisdiction shall promptly notify the same political party chair who received the original notice of filing. The filing fee of the candidate so withdrawing shall be returned to the candidate. In the event a candidate withdraws after the deadline set forth in §3101(2) of this title, such candidate shall forfeit the filing fee to the political party. In cases where no filing fee was required, any candidate withdrawing after the deadline shall submit to the respective elections agency a check payable to the Treasurer of the State in the amount of $50.

(d) Following the deadline for withdrawal of candidates, the State Election Commissioner shall promptly turn over any remaining filing fee checks in the possession of the Commissioner. At the same time, the Commissioner shall notify each county department of elections of all those statewide candidates who have qualified under this section. Each county department of elections shall also at this time submit to the county chair or city chair any remaining filing fee checks in the possession of the county departments and shall notify the Commissioner of all persons who have qualified as candidates.

(e) Any notice of candidacy or withdrawal of candidacy required by this section shall include the signature of each candidate, together with the candidate's proper and correct name typed or printed, and the address from which the candidate is registered to vote at the time of filing.

(f) At the time of the filing of the notice required by this section, as well as at the time of the primary election, the person filing such notice shall be a registered member of the party whose nomination such person seeks, as shown on the voter rolls of the department of elections.

(g) At the time of giving notice as required above, the candidate filing such notice shall also submit to the State Election Commissioner a criminal background check waiver, on a form prescribed by the Office of the State Election Commissioner, along with fingerprints and other necessary information in order to allow the Office of the State Election Commissioner to obtain the following upon receiving the candidate's filing:

(1)A report of the candidate's entire criminal history record from the State Bureau of Identification or a statement from the State Bureau of Identification that the State Bureau of Identification Central Repository contains no such information relating to that candidate.

(2)A report of the candidate's entire federal criminal history record from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.The State Bureau of Identification shall be the intermediary for the purposes of this subsection and the Office of the State Election Commissioner shall be the screening point for the receipt of said federal criminal history records.

(h)Information obtained pursuant to subsection (g) shall immediately be made available to the public through the Office of the State Election Commissioner. The Office of the State Election Commissioner shall redact the following personal identifying information if included in the report:address, birthdate, Social Security number, driver's license number, telephone number, financial services account number, and e-mail address.

(i)The Office of the State Election Commissioner shall promulgate policies and provisions necessary to obtain and make publicly available the criminal history information required under this section.

Section 2.Amend §3002, Title 15 of the Delaware Code by making insertions as shown by underlining as follows:

(g) An unaffiliated candidate filing a nominating petition pursuant to this section shall, upon filing said nominating petition, submit a criminal background check waiver to the State Election Commissioner on a form prescribed by the Office of the State Election Commissioner, along with fingerprints and other necessary information in order to allow the Office of the State Election Commissioner to obtain the following:

(h)Information obtained pursuant to subsection (g) shall immediately be made available to the public through the Office of the State Election Commissioner.The Office of the State Election Commissioner shall redact the following personal identifying information if included in the report: address, birthdate, Social Security number, driver's license number, telephone number, financial services account number, and e-mail address.

(i)The Office of the State Election Commissioner shall promulgate policies and provisions necessary to obtain and make publicly available the criminal history information required under this section.

Section 3.Amend §3301, Title 15 of the Delaware Code by making insertions as shown by underlining as follows:

(k) A candidate selected pursuant to this section who has not already submitted a criminal background check waiver to the State Election Commissioner pursuant to §3106 of this title shall, upon selection, submit such waiver to the State Election Commissioner, on a form prescribed by the Office of the State Election Commissioner, along with fingerprints and other necessary information in order to allow the Office of the State Election Commissioner to obtain the following:

(l)Information obtained pursuant to subsection (k) shall immediately be made available to the public through the Office of the State Election Commissioner.The Office of the State Election Commissioner shall redact the following personal identifying information if included in the report: address, birthdate, Social Security number, driver's license number, telephone number, financial services account number, and e-mail address.

(m)The Office of the State Election Commissioner shall promulgate policies and provisions necessary to obtain and make publicly available the criminal history information required under this section.

Section 4.Amend Chapter 43, Title 15 of the Delaware Code by making insertions as shown by underlining as follows:

§4311.Mandatory Background Checks for Candidates.

Candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States, United States Senator, and Representative in Congress shall not be required to submit to the mandatory criminal background check otherwise required for candidates under this Title.

Section 5.Amend §7103, Title 15 of the Delaware Code by making insertions as shown by underlining as follows:

(f)A candidate qualified to run pursuant to this section shall, upon selection, submit to the State Election Commissioner a criminal background check waiver, on a form prescribed by the Office of the State Election Commissioner, along with fingerprints and other necessary information in order to allow the Office of the State Election Commissioner to obtain the following upon receiving the candidate's filing:

(g)Information obtained pursuant to subsection (f) shall immediately be made available to the public through the Office of the State Election Commissioner.The Office of the State Election Commissioner shall redact the following personal identifying information if included in the report: address, birthdate, Social Security number, driver's license number, telephone number, financial services account number, and e-mail address.

(h)The Office of the State Election Commissioner shall promulgate policies and provisions necessary to obtain and make publicly available the criminal history information required under this section.

SYNOPSIS

This Bill requires candidates for statewide office, county or countywide office, members of the General Assembly, and candidates for municipal office for any municipality holding its election at the time of the general election who also file to run in a primary election in this State to submit to a mandatory criminal background check.This Bill further requires candidates nominated by a major political party that did not file to run in a primary election, unaffiliated candidates, candidates for minor political parties, and candidates in special elections for the General Assembly to similarly submit to a mandatory criminal background check.Excluded from the requirements of this Bill are candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States, United States Senator, and Representative in Congress, whose candidate requirements are determined by Federal law.

This Bill tasks the Office of the State Election Commissioner with developing policies and procedures necessary to obtain and make publicly available the required criminal history information.Specifically excluded from the criminal history information that must be made publicly available under this Bill is certain information that could lead to identity theft.

By requiring that certain candidates' criminal history information be made available to the public in advance of an election, this Bill supports transparency in government and recognizes that elected officials work for the people.Many employers throughout this State require criminal background checks during the hiring process.This Bill recognizes the importance of allowing the public to know the criminal histories of candidates seeking their trust and vote.