Delaware lawmakers pass proposed edits to state constitution

The proposed amendment text covers rules for charitable games and lotteries, cabinet members’ residency, and appointing a temporary member of the Court on the Judiciary. The text concerns volunteer fire companies, veterans’ groups, religious or charitable organizations, fraternal societies, cabinet members, and the Court on the Judiciary. Bingo and lotteries are described as lawful when sponsored and run by specified organizations, with proceeds used for their purposes and the organizations meeting federal tax-code conditions. Lottery sponsors must have existed for at least two years.

The proposed text covers election rules, including voter registration, election offenses, and appeals of convictions. These provisions concern general elections, voter registration, and prosecutions for offenses listed in the state constitution’s election article. Registration is described as required only for general elections that choose state representatives, unless lawmakers provide otherwise by law. A person convicted of an election offense may appeal within three calendar months after sentencing; an appeal pauses the sentence only if the person provides an approved bond. The appeal period described is three calendar months after the sentence is pronounced.

The proposed text covers state tax and license-fee increases, certain old corporate charters, the Lieutenant Governor’s compensation, and soldiers staying in homes. The provisions address the Lieutenant Governor, state tax and license-fee rates, corporations in existence on June 10, 1897, and owners of homes where soldiers might stay. A state tax rate or license fee may be increased only with approval from three-fifths of each house of the General Assembly. The corporate-charter rule concerns corporations that existed on June 10, 1897. In peacetime, a soldier may stay in a home only with the owner’s consent; in wartime, a civil magistrate must authorize it in a manner set by law.