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Committee releases proposed constitutional right to individual privacy amid mixed public comment
Summary
House Bill 14, a proposed amendment to entrench an individual right to privacy in the Delaware Constitution, was released from the House Administration Committee after a lengthy hearing featuring legal explanations, pro and con public testimony, and drafting clarifications from legislative counsel.
The House Administration Committee voted to release House Bill 14, which would add an explicit individual right to privacy to Article I of the Delaware Constitution.
Representative Blake, sponsor of the amendment, said the proposal would enshrine protections including the right to use birth control, to marry, to be a parent, and "the right to be left alone." He tied the proposal to the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court——s decision in Griswold v. Connecticut and said recent federal shifts in jurisprudence have created urgency to place privacy protections in state law.
The committee asked technical and scope questions. Debbie Gottschalk of the Division of Legislative Services explained drafting conventions: "For title 1, person includes human beings, but also also artificial entities. So when we draft and if we mean only a human being, not just any person, we say individual." That exchange prompted discussion about whether the proposed right could be read to apply to corporations; the sponsor and counsel said the intent is to protect natural persons.
Opposition and concern came from multiple commenters. Chris Rome, a New Castle County resident, asked whether a right to privacy was needed in Delaware and pointed to Article I, Section 6 (search and seizure protections) as existing protections. Nandi Randolph of the Delaware Family Policy Council testified against the bill, calling the proposed language "sweeping and undefined" and warning it could allow courts to overturn laws that protect minors or regulate medical procedures. Supporters, including Linda Barnett of the League of Women Voters and others, raised privacy risks from technological surveillance and data collection.
After recorded roll-call discussion, the committee moved and seconded a motion to release the bill. Votes recorded in the transcript show Chair Harris, Vice Chair (name recorded variably), Speaker Maya Brown, and Representative Spiegelman voting yes and Representative Dukes voting no; the motion carried. The bill will proceed to the House floor for further consideration.
