Gotta get this in before everyone, including me, finds themselves wasting away in MediocreMargaritaville later hoy.
And what better morning pick-me-up than yet a third consecutive day talking about Senate roll calls?? Thought that’d get the sangre flowing.
Some stuff I just can’t make up. Turns out there’s a le-e-e-tle progress, but not as much as a normal person would expect. On Tuesday, I praised the Senate for putting the roll calls online. On Wednesday, I took it back as the roll calls weren’t on line. On Thursday…I’ll let you decide. Turns out that the roll calls are now put on line, but only after the Senate has changed the Legislative Day. Which means that you won’t get Tuesday roll calls on line at least until Wednesday after the Senate reconvenes and ‘changes the legislative day’. Which also means that you won’t get the Senate roll calls for Thursday until Tuesday. Which also means that you won’t get the Senate roll calls for Thursday, May 12 until Tuesday May 31. I’ve stopped trying to figure out what kind of thought process goes into such decisions, and, for the sake of your mental health, you should too.
There’s one other glitch to discuss, and it pertains to redistricting. You may, or may not, recall that the General Assembly passed legislation last session requiring prison inmates to be counted, for census purposes, at their last-known address, not at the prison location where they are currently housed. Turns out that nobody told the software contractor in time, and the contractor says it’ll cost money to rejigger the numbers, money I don’t expect the General Assembly to spend. As screw-ups go, this is a small one. Look for a bill, probably one line long, that addresses this. We’ll still have maps no later than the end of this month.
Next to no official action yesterday as both the House and Senate primarily conducted business in committee meetings. We don’t even yet know which bills were released, but we will when the House and Senate reconvene today and the committee reports are read into the record. We do have some excellent clues, though, as certain bills that were being considered in committee yesterday are on today’s agendas.
Let’s take a look at said agendas, shall we? The Senate sure has its priorities straight. Tony DeLuca’s bill addressing a crisis situation within the Delaware Commission for Italian Heritage And Culture is first up, and why not? Go to the Commission website here (yes, this is a state agency), and see the vital role this agency plays in exchange for your tax dollars. The site hasn’t been updated since February 10! Perhaps this bill will enable the Commission to publicize the St. Anthony’s Italian Festival…on the state’s dime. Call it economic development. I’m a big fan of Rick DiLiberto, but, I’m sorry, the state has no business spending money on this nonsense. This holds true for any and all other ‘commissions’ that might be doing similar ‘work’ with state funds.
Don’t think that I like SB 53(Bushweller) either. Just what we need, give the big insurance companies more investment ‘flexibility’. Call it economic development. Worked out great for AIG. This has all the earmarks of a Karen Weldin Stewart bill. Advice to Senate: If you don’t understand it and/or agree with it, don’t vote for it.
Law-abiding Representative John Atkins’ bill to legalize the shooting of fattened doves in a barrel on Sundays on commercial game preserves is on the agenda. Passage will be like shooting fattened doves in a barrel, something everyone but Dick Cheney can master, should they be so inclined. Call it economic development.
To the shock of no one, I am beating a point to death. And that is that you can label virtually any bill a boon to economic development, and it’s much easier to sweep aside any objections because opposition stands in the way of economic development. I believe that we’re on such a kick in Delaware right now, and that we’ll pay the price later for not examining ‘economic development’ legislation more rigorously. Yes, I’m exaggerating for effect here, but I’m trying to make the point that there are risks to Delaware residents and Delaware taxpayers in passing bills that are labels masquerading as substance. Sometimes, a giveaway is merely a giveaway, and Delawareans end up with nothing to show for it.
The House Agenda features at least four notable bills, three of which are worthy of passage. The fourth, of course, is Gerald Brady’s latest video camera/speed monitor jag, HB 66. In attempting to make the bill both workable and intelligible, he has introduced two amendments that may make the procedures so convoluted that no municipality will want to pursue this. One can only hope.
I commend Representatives Keeley and Kowalko for HS1/HB 57 and HS1/HB 58, which address the plight of homeowners facing foreclosure. Major props to the Attorney General and his staff for taking the lead on this. Both bills have strong bipartisan support and, frankly, it’s difficult to envision anyone voting against this legislation.
Finally, much to the chagrin of law-abiding Rep. Atkins, the legalization of medical marijuana is likely to successfully waft its way through the House Chamber today.
Allow me to create a mathematical formulation for Rep. Atkins:
Shooting Doves in a Barrel on Sundays=Right Message to Our Youth
Providing Medical Marijuana to Relieve Chronic and Excruciating Pain=Wrong Message to Our Youth
Wonder which youth he’s talking about. Must be ‘Youth Who Can’t Think for Themselves’. In other words, the kind of people Atkins relies on for reelection.
Hasta La Vista, Baby!