Hoo boy, we’re gonna have us a (figurative, one would hope) Shoot-Out At the Not OK Corral today. The Sheriff of Nuttingham and his Posse Comatosis will finally have to, um, face the law(makers). Thass raht. HB 325(Schwartzkopf) occupies the Top Gun position on today’s Senate agenda. It’ll pass, and I don’t think it’ll take Gov. Markell too long to sign it. Leaving only the question: Will Sussex County’s self-proclaimed top lawman honor the law of the land?
And that’s not the only big showdown in Dover today. Guess what tops the House Agenda? SB 205(Ennis), which has been discussed, praised and vilified here. To me, the math is simple. If Democrats adhere to the core principles of what made the Party great, the bill will pass. If not, the special interests, Rob Tunnell and his ilk, will win. I intend to hold them accountable either way, and I hope you will as well. If you support the bill, (politely) make that phone call, or e-mail, urging your legislators to support the bill. In case you’ve forgotten, here’s what this modest bill would do:
SB 205(Ennis) seeks to keep the (manufactured housing) tenants at least even with Goliath. It would provide that, if an owner desires to raise the average rentals charged to homeowners in a manufactured home community more than the increase in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers for the preceding year, the owner must seek approval of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Manufactured Housing. The bill would enable the Council to consider information provided by the landlords that would warrant an increase above the increase in the CPI. The bill would essentially take the arbitrariness away that had enabled landlords to suddenly impose huge rent increases with no warning. In other words, this bill seeks to protect 30-45 thousand people who live in Delaware, and live in fear that they can be uprooted at any time. The landlords would still get their increases, they could even be higher than the CPI if they can justify them.
This bill passed the Senate with the bare minimum of 11 votes. I have been told that many senators considered this a ‘free’ vote b/c they think that it will not pass the House. They probably think that it (a) will not come to a vote; or (b) a killer amendment will be added. After all, you don’t have to kill Bambi, you just have to starve Bambi. The House has 26 D’s and 15 R’s. In other words, if Democrats truly represent a Democratic constituency, there’s no reason the bill can’t pass.
Well, one key bill, one which clearly rattled the pro-Charter education establishment, was tabled in committee yesterday, in favor of a comprehensive review of Delaware’s 1995 charter school law. While I’m disappointed that the bill didn’t move forward, I’m not really certain if that was the ultimate intent of Rep. Earl Jaques, the bill’s prime sponsor. There are worthy reasons to introduce legislation other than trying to get it passed. One such reason, and I think this bill has served the purpose, is to create an action-forcing mechanism to move an issue forward. And that’s what Jaques has done here. I think it’s time someone said it: Jaques is a damn fine legislator.
The gun-nut ignoramuses, led by shootin’ range owner Sen. Dave Lawson(Rethug-Mary-Del), defeated legislation that would have made permanent the Community Firearms Recovery Program. Is there a lobbying organization with more blood on its hands than the National Rifle Association, and its local ally, the Delaware Sportsmens’ Association? Lawson argued that collecting these firearms was just a drop in the bucket, but , of course, didn’t mention that the successful lobbying by the pro-gun lobby is the reason why it’s so hard to stem the flow of unfettered firepower. And, psst, don’t tell anyone, they like the idea of carnage in Wilmington.
The Senate unanimously passed HB 317(Schooley), which will lead to the creation of a ‘learning readiness tool’ to make sure that those entering kindergarten are ready and able to learn. The Senate also passed SB 212(DeLuca), which provides for electronic publication of notice requirements for procurement bids, agency meetings, and public hearings. Good bill, about time.
Here’s yesterday’s entire Session Activity Report.
It’s not just The Jeff Christopher Show in the Senate today. No, we also see the first appearance of the Most Cynical Bill of the Year on today’s agenda. That would be SB 235(Blevins), the totally phony ‘redistricting reform’ bill. What do I mean by cynical? Well, I can hear the conversation in my head: “They want redistricting reform? We’ll GIVE ’em redistricting reform. We’ll create a commission, appoint our own political flunkies to it to make sure that they do our bidding, and then we’ll claim we’ve removed ourselves from the process. It even gives us plausible deniability to those rubes out there. What could be more perfect?”
Folks, that’s what this bill does. It creates an 11 person ‘commission’. Well, 10, actually, with an eleventh ‘non-voting’ chair to be appointed by the commission members. Who will serve on this commission? One appointee each by the House and Senate leadership. 10 slots, 10 political appointments. Make no mistake. All this bill does is create one degree of political separation from the General Assembly. Oh, and I suppose you’ve already figured this out, there is nothing in the bill to prohibit or discourage ongoing contact between the appointees and those who appointed them. Because, of course, the puppet masters will still be drawing the lines, their appointed marionettes will simply be holding the pens. Total snake oil, which is what you get when snakes rub up against each other. Well, that, and more snakes.
Yet another bill designed to help veterans (I’m sorry, but yet another protected class, as far as I’m concerned) will likely pass unanimously today. HB 275(Jaques) creates the Veterans Opportunity Credit, which provides yet another tax credit for businesses who hire veterans. Sure would be nice to see a similar bill for those who lost their jobs during the recent economic downturn. Remember when I wrote about the bloated membership of the House Veterans Affairs Committee? You don’t? Well, here:
Also, you will note the outsized membership of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. 24, count ‘em, 24 of the 41 members of the House will ’serve’ on this committee that maybe considers about 10 bills max a session. This is a JOKE, and simply a ploy to enable a host of undistinguished ‘Honorables’ to put on their campaign lit, “As a member of the House Veterans Committee, I fought for those who served their country and their families.” In virtually every case, that will be a lie, but it won’t stop ‘em from doing it. By contrast, the next largest committee membership is the House Education Committee with 14 members.
Here’s where I was wrong: I’ve finally figured out that this committee was formed and basically told to ‘go crazy’ when it comes to devising bills that give special benefits to veterans. Hey, we’ve got an all-volunteer military now. Veterans chose that profession. I respect veterans, I respect them a lot. But I don’t think they are worthy of all these special bennies at state expense and at the expense of other citizens who find themselves in the same straits as do veterans. Oh, did I mention there’s an election in a few months?
I’m almost afraid to check out today’s House Agenda, but, hey, I signed on to report the Good, Bad & the Ugly. Yep, ‘Ugly’ rears its head with HB 87(Brady), back for a mere pro-forma vote after the Senate added an amendment to it. This expands Delaware’s Special Class of Victims to include public transit workers. Mark my words: Bills like this will soon become as plentiful as those special license plate bills. Bad legislation, but easy to demagogue, and designed to win political chits. Which co-sponsor Sen. McDowell needs.
SB 206(Sorenson) should pass handily, and it deserves to, as it requires school districts and charter schools to establish a policy on responding to teen dating violence and sexual assault. The bill is more comprehensive than that synopsis, and I think it’s essential legislation.
A very good bill bears close watching today. You will recall that, last week, legislation protecting students’ social media from the prying eyes of others handily passed the House. This week, HB 308(Scott). It would:
make it unlawful for employers to mandate that an employee or applicant disclose password or account information that would grant the employer access the employee’s or applicant’s social networking profile or account. This Bill also prohibits employers from requesting that employees or applicants log onto their respective social networking site profiles or account to provide the employer direct access. It is acknowledged by the General Assembly that new technological advances in internet use and social networking require new approaches to protecting reasonable expectations of privacy in personal information.
This is a big step forward in that the General Assembly supports the right to privacy and extends it to encompass rapidly-evolving social media. Let’s see if there are any no votes here.
I’m off today. Just might get online and listen to the feeds from both the House and Senate. Without a doubt, the two houses are leading off with blockbuster bills, and I want in on the action. Uh, as long as I don’t have to set foot in Leg Hall…snakes bite, you know. And suck.