Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Week of Jan. 20-23, 2015

While the General Assembly awaits Governor Markell’s State of the State address this Thursday, we already know what won’t be in the governor’s speech: There will be no proposed income tax increase; there will be no proposed gas tax increase.  We know that Jack’s millionaire buds have convinced him that they would suffer if they had to pay even a penny more to fund government. So, Jack has already announced that he won’t be asking the wealthy to sacrifice.  And, in a gesture that is, um, ungubernatorial, Markell has whined that, since the General Assembly turned its collective noses up at his gas tax proposal last year, he won’t propose anything to close the gap in the state’s infrastructure budget.  He’ll just wait for the General Assembly to come up with…something. If only he’d take that approach with public education.  His legacy grows more undistinguished by the day.

Although Gov. Markell seems, to borrow a word from Monsignor Lavelle, ‘loathe’ to lead boldly, at least some members of the General Assembly are poised to push ahead without him.  The Low Wage, Service Industry Task Force, chaired by Sen. Bob Marshall and Rep. Mike Mulrooney, has proposed a $10.25 minimum wage, to be fully phased in by 2017.  The bill is supported by the usual proponents and opposed by the usual opponents.  The arguments against the minimum wage increase ring as hollow as they ever have.  From the News-Journal story:

“Delaware family incomes have not recovered since their precipitous drop in 2008, and it is vitally important that the Delaware State Government not pursue policies, regardless of how well-intentioned, that will reduce the number of jobs available, the number of hours worked, and reduce take-home pay for workers,” they said in a minority report.

Well, of course, the incomes of Delaware families would increase if the minimum wage was increased, and an excessive minimum wage had nothing to do with the ‘precipitous drop of 2008’ but, when Colin Bonini, et al, are ‘writing’ the minority report, you can’t expect more than boilerplate.  Memo to all Democrats: You want to prove that you belong in the Democratic Party, support this bill when it’s introduced. Otherwise, step aside. If you don’t support a decent wage for all, then you’re not a Democrat.  Which is why Tom Carper is not a Democrat.

Perhaps this is the week that Alex Pires gets his customized banking legislation passed. If not, then next week will be the week It’s already passed the House unanimously. As Nancy Willing pointed out, this bill was introduced at the behest of Alex Pires, and it will only benefit Pires’ bank. The article further points out that this may not be the first time that Pires has had undue influence on the General Assembly.  Let me state the obvious: If you or I were disadvantaged by some ‘arcane’ statute, do you think we could get the Speaker to sponsor it, fast-track it, and get it through the General Assembly within a week or two?  And just because the Bank Commissioner, who largely does the bidding of the banks, says it’s ‘arcane’, is it really arcane?  Or is it merely an impediment to a connected businessman who wants to write his own rules and get the Speaker to sponsor them?  Whether the bill deserves passage on its merits is hardly the point.  The point is that representative government does not represent most of us.  But it DOES represent people with lots of clout, regardless of how they accumulated it. Which is why Alex Pires will get his banking bill.

While the Senate does not have a posted agenda, the House will run an agenda of two bills on Tuesday.   HB 16 (Baumbach) permits smaller restaurants (those that seat 12 or more) to offer alcoholic bevarages along with meals.  While I have no problem with the bill, one glance at the sponsors suggests that the restaurants seeking the bill are in the Newark area and in Sussex County.

HB 21 (Matthews) waives a $10 administrative fee for applicants requesting a ‘Gold Star family special license plate in recognition of a close relative’s death while serving in the military’.  It’s got a slew of co-sponsors. I know, didn’t even have to say it.

A few more committee meetings this week, all scheduled for Wednesday.  Here is the Senate Committee meeting schedule. Highlights include:

The Written to Spec Alex Pires bank bill will be considered in the Senate Banking and Business Committee.   As will SB 11 (Townsend), a major piece of legislation that seeks to implement recommended changes to Delaware’s abandoned/unclaimed property (escheat) laws.  The bill is the product of a Task Force designed to “Improve Fairness and Compliance in Delaware’s Unclaimed Property Program”.

The Senate Executive Committee considers several nominations from the Governor.

No, SB 7 (Henry)  isn’t the awaited decriminalization of marijuana bill. It simply ‘clarifies the appointment process for and internal operations of the Medical Marijuana Act Oversight Committee’. In the Senate Health & Social Services Committee.

Here are the highlights of the House Committee schedule:

A bunch of Department of Education bureaucrats will try to blow smoke up the butts of House Education Committee members as they discuss “the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Waiver Process”. Betcha Kowalko’s at the meeting. Betcha some legislators leave with smoky butts.

HB 17(Bolden) may help curtail financial exploitation of the elderly by requiring reporting in certain instances. In the House Health & Human Development Committee.

OK, that’s the best I can do  with a slow opening to session.  But we’ll have plenty more to talk about on Al’s show today (WDEL-1150, 10 to noon, listen right here), including: Anybody got a spare room for our State Auditor?