Legislative Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., Jan. 28, 2010
Last Pre-Game Show for 6 weeks, as the General Assembly recesses for budget hearings.
That means that today will be busy, with certain bills being fast-tracked for final passage before the recess.
Yesterday’s activity sets the stage for today, meaning it’s time for the…
The General Assembly’s latest sop to Del-Tech, SB 202 (or more precisely, SS1 for SB 202) passed the Senate. Basically an omnibus catch-all bill for several fiscal matters, the bill also exempts Del-Tech from complying with permitting procedures required of everybody else. If someone has an explanation as to why this is in the public interest, please come forward. And, if someone has an explanation as to why this is being stuffed into an unrelated bill, please come forward. The very fact that this favor for Del-Tech is being stuck into an unrelated bill says all you need to know about why they didn’t want it seeing the light of day on its own. This appears to have descended on Dover when it comes to saying anything about it:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1eUIK9CihA[/youtube]
I expect this bill to be worked in the House today before the break, probably under a motion to suspend rules, so an explanation would be appreciated. Even a question about it on the floor would be nice.
It is also possible that nominations were considered by the Senate yesterday, but there is no record of it in the Session Report, which is in keeping with there being no notice of the nominees on the Executive Committee agenda. The attitude of a lot of these officials is that, the more that they are ridiculed for obvious failure to provide the public with the most basic of information, the more obstinate they get about providing it. Uncle Thurm may be gone, but Tony DeLuca seems committed to the ‘Don’t Tell, Don’t Tell’ policies of his predecessor.
PRE-GAME SHOW
The Governor will present his proposed FY ’11 Budget today, and that will be the focal point of everything. I don’t know to what extent he will offer specific revenue enhancers to offset projected deficit figures, but I want to see progressivity restored to the income tax code, and the wealthy finally forced to pay their fair share after they’ve enjoyed 20-plus years of inequitable tax breaks. Real meat is being cut out of essential programs, and it is simply unfair not to expect the To the Manor Born set to pay. Not if you’re a Democrat.
The Senate Agenda, as expected, features HB 310(Schwartzkopf), which legalizes and establishes a framework for table games at Delaware casinos. So far, no senate amendments have been placed with the bill. I mention this because, sometimes, especially right before a recess, you get this Alphonse/Gaston thing going, where one body puts an amendment on the bill, which then requires that it go back to the other house for approval. Unless there’s something absolutely essential, I doubt that the bill will be amended, and it will be to prevent anything interfering with a bill going to the Governor’s desk this evening. Nothing else on the agenda strikes my fancy but, check it out, YMMV.
The House Agenda features…yep, no surprise, the Del-Tech sop in the guise of SS1/SB 202. The initials “MTSR” that you see on the agenda stand for “Motion to Suspend Rules”, which will enable the bill to come to the floor without going through committee. I, for one, will look to see whether an amendment is introduced striking the offending Section 4, and whether those House members in Del-Tech’s thrall/employ will abstain from voting due to conflict-of-interest. The bill requires a 3/4 vote, so, if enough like-minded ‘good-government’ legislators raise objections, the offending section may have to come out. I’m not holding my breath.
Sen. DeLuca’s companion bill to HB 310, SB 188, is also on the agenda and should fly right through.
I’ll be back tomorrow with my Post-Game show. Should be lotsa news coming out of today’s doings…
