Legislative Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show-Thurs., March 25, 2010

Let’s start with yesterday’s Session (In)Activity Report. The General Assembly could have, and I think, should have, saved the State some money by, at most, holding one week of session from mid-March to the Easter break. The lack of activity does not justify 9 days of session. I understand why the action is relatively sparse–there’s no money. OK, then don’t hold as many session days. Save the per diem costs and even the mileage costs, and don’t hold session.

Here’s what little happened yesterday:

The Senate passed one bill of at least marginal substance. SB 157 (Peterson). And even this bill merely brings Delaware into conformity with Federal statute–“Consistent with federal law, this bill protects up to $125,000 of a debtor’s equity in their principal residential home in a bankruptcy proceeding.”

Some bills were released from committee, but the record is once again unreliable. Rep. B. Short’s bill regulating door-to-door solicitations was released from committee last week, but that didn’t stop Legislative Council from reporting that it was just released yesterday.

BTW, Legislative Council, the alleged ‘research’ arm of the General Assembly, is generally the repository for plum patronage spots for those with ‘special’ relationships with legislators. The sloppiness of the session reports simply reflects the disinterest with which many of them approach their jobs. If you are looking for legislative cost savings, Legislative Council is one place where you could save some serious $$’s.

I’ve padded the post-game show as much as I could. Let’s see what’s on the docket for today, shall we?

I don’t think I could make up a more pathetic agenda than today’s Senate Agenda.

And that’s with one substantive bill on it: SB 197 (Blevins), which creates the crime of strangulation as a stand-alone felony. Strangulation is often used in domestic violence incidents, and this bill seeks to address that. For those who are wondering, I checked and, no, John ‘Law-Abiding Citizen Since 2007’ Atkins is not a cosponsor. In that case, put me down as a ‘yes’ vote.

Of course, likely to receive the most attention is Rep. Hocker’s HB 203, which designates strawberries as Delaware’s Official Fruit. You know strawberries, ‘The Fruit of the Devil’, so named b/c they are so devilishly hard to pick. I am still waiting for Hocker’s bill to designate ‘migrant laborers’ as Delaware’s (or at least, Sussex County’s) Official Workforce. Perhaps he’ll sell them strawberries at cost in his stores since, you know, they picked them. Might want to do the same thing with chicken as well.

The House Agenda is far more interesting, albeit worrisome. No worries about HB 137 ( Rep. D. Short), which requires the IC to conduct random audits of insurance companies writing small business health policies.

However, Sen. DeLuca’s SB 60 is on the agenda, and it’s a bad bill pure and simple. A bad bill supported by the AG’s office. Memo to Beau Biden: This is precisely the kind of bleep that Jane Brady routinely pushed, i. e. minimum mandatory sentencing for non-violent drug offenders, and it led to disastrous fiscal and public policy consequences. If this Constitutional amendment passes two consecutive General Assemblies, every headlined crime in the paper, if papers are still around, will lead to emotion-driven legislation, the kind of bills that the weak-kneed in Dover dare not oppose. Been there, done that, don’t do that.

Unless Biden wants to go down the same path as Brady (and he might), he would do well to reconsider his support for this abomination.

I’ve previously discussed the other bills of interest on the agenda. As always, check ’em out as YMMV.

Sorry for the truncated report. On my way to work.