General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., March 24, 2011
Two major developments highlight this week’s action in Dover. On Tuesday, the civil unions bill was introduced, and has a very good chance for passage–if it gets out of committee in the Senate. I think it will. And, as UI posted this morning, the governor, legislative leaders, and representatives for state employees have tentatively approved a deal that would provide state employees with a 2% annual pay increase, but would reduce pension benefits for new hires, and would increase health costs for current employees.
Predictably, Monsignor Greg Lavelle moaned that this wouldn’t take $100-plus million out of the hides of state employees:
“I didn’t know that zero was the goal,” Lavelle said.
Which, of course, simply proves that zero is what Lavelle and the Billionaires On The Hill believe state employees and those lazy teachers are worth. It’s what they do: Do everything possible to make government dysfunctional and then blame any real or alleged dysfunctionality on those being starved of resources. It is the Big Lie, and they repeat it over and over again. Gov. Markell has come dangerously close to at least providing passive support for that meme. I can only hope that these words from chief aide Brian Selander put that approach to rest:
“If Greg Lavelle thinks that state employees don’t deserve a pay raise for the next several years, I guess that’s his prerogative,” Markell spokesman Brian Selander said. “We don’t agree with him.”
Plus, since this is largely a ‘wash’, this doesn’t grow the base of the budget at all. This makes for a much easier June than previously expected, but capital improvements issues, in particular, remain front and center. I expect to see the Joint Finance Committee restore some of the most draconian cuts proposed by the Markell Administration in pretty short order, thanks to the ‘found’ money, aka the $155 million in increased revenue projected by DEFAC (Delaware Economic and Fiscal Advisory Council).
Enough prognosticating. Time for some good ol’-fashioned reporting. Done from the comfy chair that faces my desktop.
On Tuesday, the House passed HB 6 (Bennett), which appears to increase penalties for gang-related offenses. Without commenting on the merits of the bill, Bennett fils follows in the jackbooted footsteps of Bennett pere, who couldn’t resist doing stuff like this. The bill ran into big-time opposition and almost failed, and I’m not sure why, as supporters and opponents were all over the ideological map. Could one of our Dover snitches (and I mean that in a good way) please let us know what went on here?
The House also passed HB 47 (B. Short), which gives the Department of Health & Social Services the authority to investigate and inspect conditions at abortion clinics. There were amendments, there were amendments to amendments. The bill ultimately passed, 27-12, with all no’s coming from R’s. Look for their own grandstanding piece of legislation any minute now.
Here is the entire Activity Report for Tuesday. Plenty of new legislation introduced. Plus, nothing of note took place in the Senate. Dog Bites Man.
On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously passed SR 9 (Katz), which calls for an ‘open and transparent’ redistricting process, and which calls for ‘open meetings and opportunities for the public to be heard in the redistricting process.’
Kids, please keep in mind that simple resolutions are not binding documents. However, I hope and expect that both the House and Senate will conduct at least one public hearing in each county, as well as the City of Wilmington. That should be the absolute minimum standard.
The rest of the day was given over to committee hearings. While we won’t know all bills released from committee until later today, we do know that Sen. Henry’s medical marijuana bill was one of those that cleared committee yesterday. Doltish ‘leaders’ in the law enforcement community immediately weighed in with their banalities:
Lewes Police Chief Jeffrey Horvath said the bill would send “the wrong message” to children.
“We’re going to send a message that marijuana is a good thing, marijuana isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” said Horvath, vice chairman of the Delaware Police Chiefs Council.
OK, Chief Horvath, I’ll bite. Marijuana isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can be a good thing. Especially if it’s relieving agonizing pain for your fellow human beings, if you deserve to be counted in their midst. If you can’t teach your children that, I can only hope that you don’t have any children. Do me a favor. Don’t take an early pension and seek a second one in the Delaware General Assembly. Too many of your fellow idiots reside there now. People who (don’t) think just like you.
Ahhhh, feel so much better now. Wonder if any of John Atkins’ ‘friends’ are reading today…
Let’s scope out today’s agendas:
Nothing much in the Senate. Just a bill clarifying that sewer and water authorities fall under the Freedom of Information Act. However, what is notable is that the aforementioned Medical Marijuana bill has been scheduled for a Day Certain, Thursday, March 31. Bills are generally scheduled for a Day Certain if there is great interest in the bill and if the sponsor and indeed those on both sides of the bill want to enable supporters and opponents to speak to the legislation on the floor. Expect a big crowd for this one.
The House has a lengthier, if only marginally more interesting, agenda, including some leftovers from earlier this week. Most notable is SB 16 (Sokola), which would enable school districts to make offers to teachers earlier in the year, thus enabling them to attract and retain quality teachers. The bill unanimously passed the Senate earlier this year, and should pass the House with equal ease.
I found two other bills especially interesting. HB 41 (Brady) would exempt the Academy of the Dance from ‘taxation and assessment for public purposes by county or local government as long as such property is not held for purposes of investment.’ Now, don’t get me wrong. The Academy of the Dance was created by the great Jamey Jamieson, who was the ballet master under Agnes DeMille for the original Broadway production of ‘Brigadoon’. It has long been a teaching mecca for aspiring dancers. But if the institution is having trouble, and I don’t know that it is, what singles them out for special treatment? Could this be the start of a spate of bills like it? I just have the questions, not the answers. If it wouldn’t be tutu much, could someone with more knowledge of this situation please fill us in?
Finally, Brad Bennett is at it again. His HB 51 would mandate ‘the Department of Transportation to display on its variable message signs information regarding missing senior citizens, suicidal persons, or persons with a disability’.
While I have no particular problem with the premise of this bill, how is DELDOT expected to sort this out? And, frankly, why should DELDOT have to sort it out? Don’t they have enough to do already? If DELDOT gets word of a missing kid, a missing senior, a missing suicidal person, and a missing person with a disability, who gets preference? At least with the license plates, everybody gets preference. I plan to continue lobbying for my very own ‘Nobody Special’ vanity plate.
And when does this end? Considering the sponsor of this bill, I have a prediction as to what the next one will be: A Mandatory Purple Alert for Ex-Wives.
The ‘Nobody Special’ vanity plate- Henceforth known as the “humility plate” is a must. I think it should be a random series of numbers & letters.
Brad Bennett and I are both products of the mean streets of Dover. The gritty reality is that gangs are a means to surviving each day until 3:00pm when the old guys have cleared off the front nine at Maple Dale.
DELDOT’s message signs are meant to convey information about road conditions. The messages are short, sweet and easy to understand.
By the time the message board would flash the missing person’s name and age, the motorist will just about be past the car {unless the message board is located in a construction zone}.
In any case, it’s a stupid idea.
I’d like to see more automated radar signs, and less speed trap cops hiding in bushes.
The Academy of the Dance.
Under Jamie & Madam was a not for profit arts organization. Jamie, if you remember, was a leading light in the establishment of the state arts council, along with Mom. When Victor took it over (canny Scotsman that he is) he converted it to a private business. (Victor just couldn’t picture working for something with no hope of profit.) Then Victor got sick, and because we were a 19th century country with no healthcare he wasn’t in a position to mortgage his house every year to put on the Nutcracker, so he moved back to Scotland where the government would help.
The Academy then was supported by (mostly) an organization of parents and folks long affiliated with it (although not the previous board) and moved locations. A year or so ago they finally found a home, over near The Logan House, and are trying to rebuild. I can guarantee they’re having trouble (what arts organization isn’t?) but I don’t know why a specific bill for property tax relief is on the slate. Perhaps they’re just trying to cover a gap until 501 3c comes into force, but I really don’t know.
I was in the committee room to hear people speak one after the other about the benefits of the marijuana on their myriad of physical debilitations. Not one of the three I heard who spoke against the bill, including Horvath, had ever been ill. Also, there was a lot of seemingly false testimony that was refuted by the Senate’s expert. Horvath actually snickered out loud at one speaker for saying that pot is harmless. Compared to the addictive nature of narcotics being prescribed…..yeah?
The costs of Marinol and synthetic THC drugs are up over $2,000 a month mostly covered by government insurance programs. And as mentioned, these pills only contain THC. The plant has over thirty other cannabinoids (sp?) also believed to be effective in treatment. People were just asking for a choice in the medication that made sense and worked for them.
Blevins wondered if the means test in the bill for low income relief for the purchase of medical marijuana would be fair to those who may have to pay even more. How expensive is it to grow pot, Patty!
How about we just change the current “random” issued license plates from “The First State” to “nobody special” (note, not even the first letter gets capitalized!) and charge an extra fee for that “special/not special” tag?
As to the message signs, I think it’s called the Amber Alert system that is used by other states and wouldn’t require anyone at DELDOT to do anything, since access to the boards is provided by use of a “connection” to the 911 dispatch center. Easy, simple, effective. Forget any attempts to create anything else beyond that – period.
Hmm, Ex-wife = Purple Alert? Interesting thought, will it require GPS enabled ankle bracelets? Ooooh, jewelry!
WTS, the bill establishes a ‘Gold Alert’. So I’m sure you’re right that it would just use the existing technology. Except…the more alerts, the more people you’d have. Would the names, etc. rotate?
Plus, as Mediawatch pointed out, those boards are primarily for use to notify motorists of traffic/road work situations. Who decides which takes precedence? There’s more moving parts to this than may have been considered, that’s all I’m saying.
I may seem to be taking this argument to fairly extreme levels, but someone is gonna have to make those decisions, and we should all hope it isn’t Brad Bennett.
BTW, is ‘engorged purple’ a color?
It is pretty tragic/sad when an elderly family member wanders off. Getting the word out right away and asking people in cars to be on the lookout might have some impact. I think this is use of those signs might be more legitimate than the lost child alerts.
Rep. Lavelle is following the political strategy of “starve the Beast”. He want to starve it of resources so that it will wither away, fulfilling his laissez-faire fantasies.
Yes, a John Atkins supporter is reading today. “Too many of your fellow idiots reside there now”?!? You come across as a neanderthal, El Somnambulo. Tap into your lucidity (if there are any shreds within you) and critical thinking skills instead of the rambling, self-serving posts where you do nothing but showcase what a dullard you are.
Is the bill talking about those temporary signs that are towed by trucks and sit on a trailer? Mongo sees these signs pop up along the shoulder before and during a road project.
Personally, Mongo thinks those signs should be reserved for zombie warnings.
I keep wondering if we have a democrat or republican as governor
Can’t believe I supported him. Next time around – I simply can’t. But the other side is not an option either.
That’s the problem, isn’t it?