General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., April 4, 2012

So much for that 2-week meme about the R’s taking over the Delaware State Senate. Admittedly aided and abetted by moi. Just as Sen. Margaret Rose Henry‘s switch from R to D swiftly ended then-Sen. Myrna Bair‘s publicly-proclaimed dream of becoming Delaware’s first female President Pro-Tem, Sen. Liane Sorenson‘s announcement that she would not seek reelection did the same to Sen. Gary Simpson’s.  Even if Rep. Mike Ramone jumps into the race, Dave Sokola will almost certainly win, and Ramone’s House seat will flip to the D’s. If Ramone values his legislative pension, he will likely stay right where he is.

Sorenson has been described as a moderate, and she certainly is in the mode of a Rockefeller Republican. However, I think she’s more of a progressive than a moderate, and she hasn’t hesitated to support causes that may not be popular with Republican constituencies. The fact that two of Delaware’s very best were tonymandered together is a significant loss to the legislature and the citizens of this state. The state is far better off b/c Liane Sorenson chose to dedicate herself to public service. Jack Markell would do well to ensure that Liane’s public service career continues. We cannot afford to lose people like her.

Biff Lee, eh, not so much. But he too announced his retirement yesterday. He used to be a state cop. He used to be in leadership, and now he’s a back-bencher. And he put in 22 years. That’s about it.

Other than the retirement announcements, there were few surprises during session yesterday. For at least the second consecutive day, HB 270(Osienski) ,which ties graffiti and loss of driving privileges together, was on the agenda, at the top of the agenda, actually, but was not worked. I hope it’s b/c someone is rethinking the unintended consequences this bill could have.

The Senate passed HB 245(Heffernan) and HB 265(Hudson), and sent them to the Governor for his signature. Both had been previously discussed here. The House passed a couple of Senate bills, and also sent them to the Governor.

Time to check out the highlights of today’s committee meetings. Starting with the Senate:

SB 186(Peterson) ‘expands the restrictions against motor vehicle parking in residential districts to trailers that are not attached to a motor vehicle. It also limits the parking of non-oversized motor vehicles with trailers to locations immediately adjacent to the owner’s residence.’ Wonder what’s the over/under on how soon before we see an amendment exempting Kent and Sussex Counties from this act. In the Senate Community/County Affairs Committee.

SB 182(Ennis) eliminates the special election should the post of New Castle County President become vacant. The bill provides that the remaining council members vote on the person to temporarily fill that position.  Senate Community/County Affairs Committee.

HB 222(Jaques) requires that the Department of Labor publish the names of employers who have violated the Workplace Fraud Act, by misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor or otherwise. Senate Labor & Industrial Relations Committee.

On the House side:

HB 111(B. Short) extends the statute of limitations from 3 to 4 years on bringing antitrust actions, and thus strengthens the Office of the Attorney General’s ability to work collectively with the federal agencies and other state attorneys general in multi-state antitrust investigations. The federal statute of limitations is already four years, so this bill brings the state and the Feds into accord on this. In the House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance/Commerce Committee.

HB 289(Keeley) is pretty comprehensive legislation seeking to address issues dealing with ‘payday loans’. The bill would limit to five the number of short-term consumer loans  that any one borrower may obtain in a twelve month period. It changes the definition of short-term consumer loan to include loans up to $1000 rather than $500. The bill also provides for establishment of a database to track the number of short-term consumer loans an individual has obtained in a twelve month period. Finally, the Banking Commissioner is directed to provide a report on the prevalence and nature of these payday loans to the General Assembly. In today’s House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance/Commerce Committee.

Speaking of this committee, still no sign of the minimum wage bill, which has passed the Senate, and has been assigned here.

Unlike the ‘slow-walked’ minimum wage bill, HB 292(Bennett), just introduced yesterday, is already on today’s House Education Committee agenda. The bill ‘requires that a background check be completed on a new public school hire before that person begins employment’. I thought that new hires already were required to undergo background checks. Guess I was wrong.

HB 296(Bolden) ‘establishes a comprehensive system of support resources and services that directly targets the runaway and homeless youth population.’ The bill reads like a well-thought-out game plan from the Department of Services to Children, Youth and their Families, and appears to make a lot of sense. The savings, both human and financial, would more than compensate for any initial fiscal investment. Plus, it’s the right thing to do. In today’s House Health & Human Development Committee.

HB 192(Hudson) would move Delaware’s statewide primary from September to August, ostensibly to ensure the timely issuance receipt and return of military absentee ballots in the general election. Which, perhaps coincidentally, would likely disenfranchise anyone who takes vacation in August. I’ll say it again: if Hudson is serious about this, she would move the statewide primary back to May or June. Except, uh, incumbents would be inconvenienced by that.

There is a Senate agenda today, and I, for one, support SB 280(DeLuca), which would create a new license type known as a “Craft Distillery”, thus enabling entities to obtain a license to distill spirits. If memory serves, Dogfish was seeking such a license a few years ago. There’s nothing wrong with special interest legislation, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone and as long as there’s an economic benefit to be derived by the state. I believe this bill meets both criteria. Plus, you can drink to it. A win-win situation.

And I’ll drink to that as soon as I sign off. Like, right now…