General Assembly Post-Game Wrapup and Pre-Game Show-Wed., June 17
Here’s what happened yesterday.
Commentators have already discussed the demise of the Jake Brakes bill. It looks like Bob Venables was trying to argue that local and county noise ordinances could handle any issues, presumably b/c they had done such a great job previously. Not. No, this was a sop to the truckers, pure and simple, and common sense prevailed, and maybe your phone calls helped.
BTW, when is the Senate gonna put the bleeping roll calls online? You can see the final vote totals, but not how each member voted. It’s just one more extended middle finger from Adams and Cook. The House has provided the roll call breakdown for years.
Doesn’t look like peach pie was on the menu yesterday in the Senate. Is it being held hostage as part of a quid pro quo by the Strawberry as the State Fruit cabal?
The Schooley/Sokola education reform package discussed yesterday is flying through both chambers.
Dave McBride’s solar panel legislation passed the Senate as did (to ‘bulo’s surprise) his Terry Spence Memorial Swimming Pool bill. Maybe the bill will sink and drown in the House…
YMMV, but not much here to pique ‘bulo’s curiosity.
Perhaps Bob Marshall’s SB 115 is most intriguing, as it appears aimed at nursing homes and others that are reimbursed for Medicaid services they are allegedly providing. Even a cursory reading of annual nursing home surveys suggests that Delaware facilities are illegally collecting millions of dollars from Medicaid for services the facilities claim to have provided but in fact have not provided. Maybe this penalty surcharge will make them think twice before they resume stealing.
Today’s Senate Committee Meetings
A reminder that SB 121 is being considered in today’s Senate Insurance Committee meeting at 2 pm.
The Senate Executive Committee meets in the Senate Chamber at 1:30 to “consider appointments and reappointments”. In keeping with Sen. Adams’ disdain for open government, none of the nominees are listed by name.
Today’s House Committee Meetings
It is possible that this will be the last full committee day for the House. The House doesn’t meet on Wednesdays for substantive deliberations, as the entire day is given over to committee meetings. However, sometimes, the last two weeks of session do not provide for a committee day, as there is so much to address on the floor. And there’s lots going on in today’s House committees:
Remember, Rep. Viola’s bill legalizing beer and wine sales in supermarkets is scheduled for today’s Revenue and Finance meeting at 12:30.
Viola’s bill eliminating deposits on bottles is on the Natural Resources Committee agenda at 4 p.m.
Rep. Gilligan has a construction-trades piece of legislation, HB 230, called the ‘Workplace Fraud Act’, ostensibly designed to make sure that contractors don’t screw employees by calling them ‘independent contractors’. It has been assigned to the House Administration Committee, and will be heard today.
A couple of interesting bills in the House Judiciary Committee today. Greg Lavelle, who has been the Catholic Diocese’s most forceful apologist when it comes to sexual abuse by priests, has his bill to apply the same standards to the public schools. ‘Bulo has no problem with the bill, just his specious argument that what happened over several decades in Catholic schools was anything but an institutional failure.
Of far more worth and importance is Melanie Marshall’s HB 168, which repeals minimum mandatory sentencing for non-violent drug offenders. This would reverse the disastrous and financially-wasteful legislation pushed through with brute force by the likes of Tom Sharp, Wayne Smith and Jim Vaughn, and would end one of the most willfully wrong-headed initiatives ever passed in Dover.
Check out all the info, and you will likely find stuff more to your interest.
Greg Lavelle, who has been the Catholic Diocese’s most forceful apologist when it comes to sexual abuse by priests…
The same Greg Lavelle who primary-sponsored legislation that expanded the statute of limitations for victims to file lawsuits?
For public school kids, not parochial school kids. That was Karen Peterson. This is just a ‘companion’ bill.
He tried to hold up passage of the expanded statute of limitations bill to add on the public provision which, since it took place at the very end of last session, would have effectively killed the bill.
Why it took him this long to get this bill ready to go is beyond ‘bulo.
Ooooooh. I don’t know about Lavelle and his history with the Diocese, so I cannot referee.
But let’s begin the throwdown between Bulo and The RSmittonator.
Naah, wouldn’t be fair to the Village Smitty. If today is like any other day, then, by his own account, Smitty’s already 2 or 3 icy cold ones ahead of the Beast Who Tipples (but only after 5)…
When will the measure that ends the $500 property tax exemption for senior citizens surface? We do need the money to pay the bloated salaries of the swinish hacks with their snouts in the public trough.
No throwdown from me (except for the turnin’ upside down, which ‘bulo knows the reference) on this. I wasn’t aware of all that detail. I had honestly thought what I said in #1 was accurate. I’m sure I could find more detail, too, but must get back to work!!!!
Actually, you apologist for the state, a version of this bill has passed the House 3 times and has not come up for a vote in the Senate. Perhaps the 4th time will be the charm.
“This is just a ‘companion’ bill. ”
Perhaps you would like to tell the victims of rape and sexual assualt of public employees that they are “just” victims and they should stand in line and hope for the best from Delaware.
When you decide to use your real name, I’d be happy to debate.
The idea that the Diocese should be legally responsible for those in its care and that the state should not is as specious as it gets, Som.
Apologies are in order on that one.
Greg Lavelle obviously doesn’t read this site too often if he’s referring to El Somnambulo as ‘you apologist for the state’. And, yes, Greg, your lame attempt to try to intimidate by ‘outing’ ‘bulo was excised.
What is it with these legislators who feel the need to try to threaten in order to silence? You can now number yourself in the proud company of John Atkins and two pathetic bloggers who shall remain nameless.
Truth is, most people who read here know precisely who El Somnambulo is , so your tactics are doomed to fail b/c they are pointless.
As to what passes for your ‘argument’, rape and sexual assault are as heinous as crimes against young victims can get. And, yes, everyone should be held accountable for such terrible offenses.
The difference, which should be obvious to anyone with a brain, is that, unlike the institutional ignoring, covering up, and facilitating of sexual abuse that took place within the Catholic Church, the Wilmington Diocese, and dioceses all over the country (moving pedophile priests from parish to parish, ‘rehabilitating’ them w/o rehabilitating them, threatening and cajoling victims to stay silent), there is no evidence whatsoever of any similar epidemic of sexual abuse and institutional cover-up in public schools over the same period.
Yes, there were and are the cases that made/make the papers and led to corrective action. But, unless you can enlighten us, there was no organizational coverup at the state level like there was within the Catholic Church. Hence the focus on the Church in expanding the statute of limitations.
‘Bulo repeats and stands by what he wrote in the above article:
“Greg Lavelle, who has been the Catholic Diocese’s most forceful apologist when it comes to sexual abuse by priests, has his bill to apply the same standards to the public schools. ‘Bulo has no problem with the bill, just his specious argument that what happened over several decades in Catholic schools was anything but an institutional failure.”
He also believes you have just proven his point about you being the Diocese’s #1 apologist when it comes to sexual abuse by priests.
“He also believes you have just proven his point about you being the Diocese’s #1 apologist when it comes to sexual abuse by priests.”
Well then you’re an idiot.
If he was an apologist for the diocese trying to kill the bill, then why now, after that bill has become law, is he still pushing aggressively for the state to also be liable?
And after what happened at Sussex Central over the last few months, are you saying the state should not be held accountable?
-Edited-
The legislation was to extend the statute of limitations, which was necessary b/c the Church for years covered up sexual abuse on an institutional level and discouraged victims from coming forward.
Of course, public institutions should be held to the same standard. And ‘bulo wrote that he has no problem with the bill. But is anyone seriously arguing that there was any sort of coverup in the public sector that took place over twenty-plus years? Anyone except Greg Lavelle? If so, ‘bulo has not seen that argument nor supporting documentation.
And FSP’s Sussex Central argument has nothing to do with any of these bills designed to protect the rights of victims of sexual abuse from several years ago by expanding statutes of limitations. Laws are now in place to ensure that those people can and should be tried to the fullest extent of the law, and that the victims should be provided with all of the services that they require. Lavelle’s bill has nothing to do with that.
FSP is just raising the kind of false argument that is raised when facts inconveniently do not apply.
“FSP is just raising the kind of false argument that is raised when facts inconveniently do not apply.”
False argument? Could you be more of a tool? Lavelle’s bill remove’s the state’s immunity from accountability in situations EXACTLY like what’s happened at Sussex Central THREE times in a year.
The Diocese bill passed and is law. It’s irrelevant to the conversation.
You also conveniently discarded my question about why, if Lavelle is trying to protect the Diocese as you falsely accuse, would he still push this bill? The reason you fail to answer is because answering honestly would reveal you to be a fool.
I’ll let you in on a secret: in this case, that’s pretty much already been revealed.
El Somnambulo will use small words so that even FSP can understand what he is saying.
Lavelle has said that he thinks the Diocese is being unfairly singled out, and that is the impetus for his bill and the answer to the question FSP claims ‘bulo is ducking. ‘Bulo feels that the institutional nature of what the Church did and did not do fairly singles them out.
Regardless, although ‘bulo has from the beginning said that he has no problem with the bill (a point conveniently ignored by both Lavelle and FSP), he questions whether Lavelle’s bill will have any impact at all since there does not appear to have been any public institutional coverup. However, if even one victim comes forward, then the bill will have proven to be worthwhile.
Both bills deal with extending the statute of limitations on behalf of victims in the past who have not yet come forward. Insults to the contrary from El Burrito Junior notwithstanding, Lavelle’s bill will have nothing to do with the Sussex Central case.
If all this is not clear to people, then El Somnambulo’s ability to explain things has once again failed him.
“Regardless, although ‘bulo has from the beginning said that he has no problem with the bill (a point conveniently ignored by both Lavelle and FSP), he questions whether Lavelle’s bill will have any impact at all since there does not appear to have been any public institutional coverup.”
You see, my friend, sometimes there are coverups. Sometimes people get fired for whistleblowing, file complaints, and then get paid off to go away.
You just can’t put one abused kid on a different level than another. You either allow all abused kids legal rights or you don’t.
“Both bills deal with extending the statute of limitations on behalf of victims in the past who have not yet come forward.”
You’re also ignoring section 2 of the bill, which waives state immunity in the future for any such action.
The scurrilous actions of Ms. Holt were not covered up by the Brandywine School District, were the subject of non-stop coverage, and she must now face the consequences.
Whether Ms. Giamotti was a whistleblower and whether she had a right to compensation (the princely sum of $30,000 to ‘go away’) is and was a civil matter. Reading the paperwork leaves it an open question.
If that’s what you’re hanging your hat on, hope it’s not 10-gallon size.
However, ‘bulo believes that “House” is about to come on, so he will agree with FSP that one abused kid is one abused kid too many, and that all should have legal rights.
Deal.
Enjoy your show.
Congrats and thanks to Som for standing up for a proper principle. Lavelle’s false equivalence needed sound rebuttal. There is no evidence whatsoever of the State, or any other institution, replicating the RCC’s half-century of comprehensive cover-up of pederasty.