republic-os/legislation/us/states/de/150/hb-5.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, legislature, session, identifier, citation, classification, subjects, status, primary_sponsors, version_count, action_count, vote_count, first_action, last_action, source, source_identifier, source_url, source_hash, vintage, source_snapshot, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	legislature	session	identifier	citation	classification	subjects	status	primary_sponsors	version_count	action_count	vote_count	first_action	last_action	source	source_identifier	source_url	source_hash	vintage	source_snapshot	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
Bill	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO IMPRISONMENT.	The stacking of sentences can, and has, in some cases, result in severe prison sentences without permitting the sentencing judge any discretion as to the offender’s individual circumstances or the facts of the case. In order to provide such judicial discretion, this bill reforms concurrent and consecutive sentencing. This bill provides sentencing judges with the discretion to sentence prison time concurrently when appropriate. However, this bill mandates consecutive sentences when there are multiple victims for the most serious crimes. In addition, this bill requires consecutive sentences for assault in a detention facility. Under this bill, based upon the facts and circumstances of a case, prosecutors are able to recommend and judges have the discretion to order consecutive sentences.	us/states/de	Delaware General Assembly	150	HB 5	Delaware HB 5 (150)	bill		enacted	Gerald L. Brady John A. Kowalko Nicole Poore Sherry Dorsey Walker Stephanie T. Bolden Valerie Longhurst	2	10	2	2019-05-13	2019-06-25	openstates	ocd-bill/a5dcfeb6-ccf0-4c1a-bf21-c58da64b37ef	https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=47469	13562525f2a9d09555f47e00784dbe9c5409eda2d8c10ca9853fe2d552de6354	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-de

Delaware HB 5 (150) — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO IMPRISONMENT.

The stacking of sentences can, and has, in some cases, result in severe prison sentences without permitting the sentencing judge any discretion as to the offender’s individual circumstances or the facts of the case. In order to provide such judicial discretion, this bill reforms concurrent and consecutive sentencing. This bill provides sentencing judges with the discretion to sentence prison time concurrently when appropriate. However, this bill mandates consecutive sentences when there are multiple victims for the most serious crimes. In addition, this bill requires consecutive sentences for assault in a detention facility. Under this bill, based upon the facts and circumstances of a case, prosecutors are able to recommend and judges have the discretion to order consecutive sentences.

Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. Bill Text (committee substitute) — source
2. HA 2 to HB 5 (committee substitute) — source

Votes

• SM — 30–10 (pass) · lower
• SM — 20–1 (pass) · upper

Sponsors

• Gerald L. Brady — primary (person)
• John A. Kowalko — primary (person)
• Nicole Poore — primary (person)
• Sherry Dorsey Walker — primary (person)
• Stephanie T. Bolden — primary (person)
• Valerie Longhurst — primary (person)
• Bryan Townsend — cosponsor (person)
• David P. Sokola — cosponsor (person)
• Debra Heffernan — cosponsor (person)
• Edward S. Osienski — cosponsor (person)
• Franklin D. Cooke — cosponsor (person)
• Harris B. McDowell — cosponsor (person)
• Kendra Johnson — cosponsor (person)
• Melissa Minor-Brown — cosponsor (person)
• Paul S. Baumbach — cosponsor (person)
• S. Elizabeth Lockman — cosponsor (person)
• Sean M. Lynn — cosponsor (person)
• Stephanie L. Hansen — cosponsor (person)
• Trey Paradee — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

• 2019-05-13 Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House introduction, referral-committee
• 2019-05-15 Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 8 Favorable, 2 On Its Merits committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage
• 2019-06-10 Amendment HA 1 to HB 5 - Introduced and Placed With Bill amendment-introduction
• 2019-06-11 Amendment HA 1 to HB 5 - Stricken in House
• 2019-06-11 Amendment HA 2 to HB 5 - Passed In House by Voice Vote amendment-passage
• 2019-06-11 Passed By House. Votes: 30 YES 10 NO 1 ABSENT passage
• 2019-06-11 Assigned to Judicial Committee in Senate introduction, referral-committee
• 2019-06-20 Reported Out of Committee (Judicial) in Senate with 3 On Its Merits committee-passage
• 2019-06-25 Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 NO passage
• 2019-06-25 Signed by Governor executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/a5dcfeb6-ccf0-4c1a-bf21-c58da64b37ef. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Delaware legislature records).