Delaware General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., June 14, 2016.

Looks like we might get those April primaries after all.  HB 375 (Bolden) passed the House Thursday with only two no votes (Bennett, Collins). Recognizing that the General Assembly virtually never does anything that is not in the political interests of its members, the members must view this as added incumbent protection.  Challengers certainly won’t be able to knock doors until 8 pm if the new schedule is enacted, so maybe that’s one of the elements they considered. The bill has already been assigned to a Senate committee and is scheduled for a Wednesday hearing, so it’s on the fast track.  I did not see this coming.

One other note from Thursday.  Sen. Hocker sponsored a bill that would help maintain Delaware’s waterways by raising annual boating fees.  The current fees are really low.  For example, the bill would raise the fees for 65-foot vessels (that’s pretty big, isn’t it?) from $60 annually to $120 annually.  Smaller vessels would receive smaller fee increases. The bill would raise about $1.3 mill a year.  My point is that there was one no vote.  Colin Bonini.  I take that to mean that he would not maintain Delaware’s waterways for boaters should he become governor.

Today’s House Agenda leads off with a bill that increases penalties for talking or texting on a hand-held device while driving.  I support the bill, although I question the assertion that ‘novice drivers’ are most likely to ignore the law. Based on my observations, virtually everybody ignores the law. The bill also adds points for a second offense and thereafter. Good.

The agenda is highlighted by two anti-discrimination bills.  HB 316 (Heffernan)  ‘makes it clear that an employer is expressly prohibited from taking adverse employment action against an individual based on his or her reproductive health care decisions.  HB 317 (Rep. K. Williams) ‘prohibits discrimination in employment based upon an individual’s caregiving responsibilities’.

 HB 400 (Baumbach)  incrementally, and I mean incrementally, expands the use of marijuana oils for minors.  This time,  by ‘by classifying pain, anxiety, or depression, if related to a terminal illness, as a qualifying condition in the Delaware Medical Marijuana Act for patients under the age 18, who will still be restricted to using CBD and oil products.’  The only thing objectionable about this bill is that it accepts the notion that any minor who could incidentally ‘get high’ via governmental imprimatur must be prevented at all costs.

Today’s Senate Agenda features two bills that would provide ‘urgent and preventative’ dental care to Medicaid recipients.  SB’s 142 and 148 (Hall-Long) together would cost the state about $8 mill annually.  I’m assuming that they’re being considered now b/c the Joint Finance Committee has included that funding in the budget.

And now we come to an important proposed constitutional amendment, sponsored by Sen. Peterson.  SB 190  ‘provide(s) for equal protection regardless of race, sex, age, religion, creed, color, familial status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin’.  According to the synopsis, ‘(t)his Act enshrines the value of equality in the Delaware Constitution and will cause any unequal treatment of or discrimination against members of the protected classes listed to be subject to the strictest scrutiny.’  This is the first leg of the consistutional amendment, and would have to pass in identical form in two consecutive General Assemblys.  It’s a 2/3 majority bill, so I don’t know if there will be enough votes to get it through this year.  We can help by contacting our senators.

Lotsa interesting bills in committee this week. In the interest of my sanity, I will, unless otherwise noted, consider only Senate bills in Senate committees and House bills in House committees as I’ve presumably previously discussed bills that have already passed one chamber.  Let’s run down the key bills:

Senate Committees:

*A real good bill from Sen. Bryan Townsend. SB 224  ‘requires political committees to report a contributor’s occupation and employment information. This is already a requirement in federal campaign finance law. If only a contributor’s name and address are disclosed (without occupation and employer), it is difficult to determine which industry, company, or group is funding a candidate. This will assist in furthering transparency and disclosure in the electoral process. It also addresses the obligation of the reporting candidate and treasurer’.  Let’s see who is serious about transparency.  My guess? Not enough members of the General Assembly, but I’m prepared to be pleasantly surprised. Senate Administrative Services/Election Committee.

*As predicted, Claymont indeed is the first community to avail themselves of the recently-enacted bill providing for the creation of “Complete Community Enterprise Districts “.  SJR 12 (McDowell)  ‘endorses the TIGER (U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant application for funds for the design and construction of the Claymont Regional Transportation Center’.  The idea is to transform much of what used to be the Evraz steel plant into a state-of-the-art rail/transportation hub. Anyone who has used the Claymont Train Station knows just how obsolete it is. Senate House Transit & Energy Committee.

*Hmmm, this bill appears to be a reaction against the cynical manner in which the General Assembly went about using the housing settlement funds to patch holes in the budget instead of dedicating it to those who were impacted by the S & L scandal.  SB 273 (Townsend)  is the first leg of a constitutional amendment  that would:

limit the ability of the State to appropriate moneys in a special fund with a dedicated revenue source and with a limitation on the amount or percentage of the revenue source that may be used for non-capital operating or administrative expenses. This Act essentially creates a lock box on these special funds that can only be opened by the agreement of three-fourths of all the members elected to each House through legislation separate from an annual budget act, bond and capital improvement act, or grants-in-aid act.

In the Senate Executive Committee.

*SB 168 (Townsend) would include DELDOT workers who ‘work on interstate, expressway, arterial, and collector roads in the classification of employees who are eligible to receive hazardous duty pay’. The bill is in the Senate Finance Committee b/c it couldn’t be worked until/unless the Joint Finance Committee approved funding, (about $2.5 mill a year), which it recently did, for this. The bill will benefit roughly 1,000 DELDOT workers.

House Committees:

*Well, they’re gonna try again to permit direct wine shipments to consumers, which is what HS 1/HB 134 (Hudson) would do.  While they’re at it, they might also want to poke their collective heads out of the sand and notice that Pennsylvania (!) has passed legislation permitting supermarkets to sell wine.  Should Delaware not follow suit, this will represent a competitive disadvantage to Delaware stores.  Maybe the Honorables will stop cashing the Trone Brothers checks long enough to recognize this. House Business Lapdog Committee.

*It appears that this bill is specifically designed to address the ongoing issues concerning Wilmington schools.  HB 425 (Bolden)  (I’m gonna provide the synopsis in its entirety):

…clarifies that a vote by the General Assembly as required in 14 Del. C. §§ 1008(g) and 1026(d) in support of redistricting serves to authorize the State Board to proceed with the redistricting, but does not constitute approval of any particular revenue or spending measure proposed in the Plan of the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission.

It also sets forth the intent of the General Assembly with respect to education funding.  Funding will be provided for a Wilmington Redistricting Transition Fund to implement the redistricting plan.  Statewide funding will be initiated for students of low socio-economic status, English Language Learner and basic special education, K-3, and shall be provided initially to the Red Clay School District, Capital School District, and Indian River School District, with the intention that at least one school district from each county will also receive additional funding in subsequent years.  School districts are encouraged, but not required, to match up to 30 percent of said funding.

Education heads, what saiest thou?

*HS 1/HB 294 (Dukes)  requires that an attorney, insurance company or any ‘paying agent’ to someone who has received a monetary award (court judgment, workers’ comp claim, etc.) first ‘contact the Division of Child Support Enforcement before releasing any funds to prevailing parties to verify that no child support arrears or retroactive support is owed.’  Seems like a good bill to me. House Health & Human Development Committee.

The House Apprpriations Committee, just like the Senate Finance Committee, considers bills with a fiscal impact only after the Joint Finance Committee has prepared its budget.  In fact, the members of the House Appropriations Committee are indeed the House members of the Joint Finance Committee.  On Wednesday, the committee will consider the following bills that received the requisite fiscal go-ahead in the budget:  HB 30 (Rep. K. Williams), which provides State funding to kindergarten through third grade for basic special education;  HB 117 (Heffernan), which will ‘create a funding source for students enrolled in Delaware public schools who are determined as low-income according to the Department of Education’; HB 234 (K. Williams) requires that ‘all public secondary schools, including vocational-technical schools, but not including charter schools, to have a school-based health center’.  There are three such schools that do not already have a health center.  The state will provide start-up funding for one school in each of the next three fiscal years.  Those schools currently without a health center are Conrad School of Science, St. Georges Technical High School, and Appoquinimink High School.

I like HB 361 (Yearick), which establishes ‘the Work Opportunity Tax Credit that will offer a tax credit to employers hiring qualified ex-offenders and individuals completing a drug recovery program in an amount equal to 10% of that individuals wages, with a maximum credit of $1,500′.  House Revenue & Finance Committee.

That’s it. I’m all written out.

See you tomorrow. Maybe.