Well, it looks like the State is gonna piss away $9.9 mill on the casinos. Even though not even its strongest proponent can make a reasonable case for it:
“We got half of it done today,” said Sen. Brian Bushweller, a Dover Democrat and sponsor of the bills that now go to the House. “At least I think we’ve sent them a package that does provide the Band-Aid that we need … and sort of lays the groundwork for a more permanent kind of effort to stabilize this industry so we lose as little as possible out of this situation.”
The ‘half’ they got done is passing bailout legislation in the Senate. This bill, and this bill. The only senators deserving praise are the five who voted no: Lopez, Marshall, McDowell, Peterson, and Sokola.
The bills contain no requirements that casinos cannot lay off workers. Nor should this graf from today’s News-Journal fill anyone with confidence that they won’t:
Indeed, there are no guarantees that there won’t be layoffs, said Denis McGlynn, President and CEO of Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment and Dover Motorsports Inc., who said any decision about staffing will come after discussions with banks that must renegotiate loans with the casino and hotel. “I’m not going rule it one way or the other, in or out,” he said.
In fact, Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf gives the game away, that it’s the casinos extorting concessions from the General Assembly and the taxpayers while threatening layoffs that could well happen even if/when they get their money:
Spending the money on casino relief is worthwhile, he said. One of the things being talked about is eliminating the midnight to 8 a.m. shift Monday through Thursday if the legislation fails, at a loss of maybe 100 employees, Schwartzkopf said. (Gee wonder who’s talking about that?)
“I’m not a real smart guy, but I can tell you that spending $9.9 million to save over ten-point something is not a bad deal,” he said.
Fair use prevents me from quoting Karen Peterson, who points out that this magical discovery of $9.9 mill would have helped the Joint Finance Committee to do some actual public good with the money.
This was the Delaware General Assembly at its most venal and cynical. It should come as no surprise that Colin Bonini, who earlier this week voted against the Budget Bill and cited the need to make ‘hard choices’, (cuts for state employees and reduced healthcare spending, of course) voted for the bailout, as did the other two Rethug no votes on the budget.
Hey, folks, guess who didn’t show up in Leg Hall yesterday to push for what his own office calls a critical piece of legislation regarding new standards for bail? (Insert ‘Jeopardy’ theme.) That’s right. No-Show Beau, your Attorney General. The result? The same as with his bill to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally-ill. Ignominious defeat. Or, more specifically, 3 or 4 votes short of its required super-majority. ‘Acting Attorney General’ and spokesman Joe Rogalsky (I’d hate to have his job, no matter what it pays), per usual, was the only AG’s office employee available for comment:
“This is an important piece of legislation that will make our communities safer and is something many states and the federal government already have. Just like we did last year in the Senate, we will be working hard in the House until the end of the legislative session to get this passed.”
The ‘we’ does not include the Attorney General himself. But we’re not supposed to talk about that.
The Budget Bill passed the House and goes to the Governor. No dead-enders voted no. Unanimous with one absent.
‘Beer and a movie’ passed the Senate and goes to the Governor. Because, of course, this was something the public was clamoring for. Not. Special interest legislation, if you hadn’t figured that out by now. Hope you enjoy sharing the movie theatre with inebriated patrons. Should work wonders for the movie-going experience.
The Senate approved a new Supreme Court Justice, Karen Valihura, and David Small as DNREC Secretary. At best, one can hope for Small to be a competent bureaucrat. Just don’t look for the ‘vision thing’.
BTW, I can’t let this go without a comment about Justice Carolyn Berger‘s resignation from the Delaware Supreme Court and seemingly ‘injudicious’ comments. I don’t know it she’s right on the specifics of Markell not taking her seriously, but she’s right on point when it comes to, well, I guess the operative word is ‘paternalism’, when it comes to women appointees to judgeships. BTW, when I first started working in Dover, the operative word was ‘chauvinism’. I’ll leave it to others to decide whether paternalism is a step up from chauvinism. To me, it’s ‘same old wine in a brand new bottle’. From Philadelphia Business Journal:
Berger’s situation outlines a concern in some quarters in Delaware that women do not have enough of a role on the judicial branch. Berger said women have advanced on the state’s family court, superior court and court of common pleas. She is also the only female to serve on the Court of Chancery, which deals with business litigation.
“Family court is the only court ever to have a woman chief judge,” Berger said. “The court of chancery has had no women judges for the past 20 years, despite the fact that several well-qualified women have applied in the past. And I’ve been the only woman on the supreme court. Many other states have more than one woman justice, and in several jurisdictions, women justices outnumber male justices.”
Maybe it’s the same menfolk arguing that Delaware’s courts are the nation’s most prestigious who, in their own paternalistic minds, don’t want the wimmenfolk messing with that reputation. Perhaps the wimmenfolk who are assuming the leadership role in the State Senate just might have something to say about this moving forward. I hope so. But, I digress. You can as well. In the comments section.
Paul Baumbach’s midwifery bill finally passed the House, 27-12. I think a yes vote was the right vote. However, the roll call is all over the map. I hope this bill at least gets considered in the Senate before adjournment.
Here is Wednesday’s Session Activity Report.
We’ve already discussed many of the items on today’s Senate Agenda. I am, however, pleased to see that HB 198(Brady) has resurfaced after languishing for over a year since it passed the House. According to the synopsis, the bill ‘removes prohibitions targeting municipal action in the area of recycling. The sunset provision of § 6099A is also removed with a view toward the future crafting of legislation which will address reduction of plastic bag dissemination.’ The bill passed the House with no opposition. Hope the same thing happens in the Senate today.
Color me a little skeptical of SCR 62(Hocker), which ‘establishes the Delaware Waterways Management and Financing Advisory Committee to develop and submit recommendations for sustainable and dedicated funding for Waterway Management activities statewide’. The abundance of downstate sponsors suggests to me that, once again, Sussex County will look to foist off the costs of its deliberate serial pollution onto the state. I mean, more than they already do. Convince me I’m wrong.
As I suggested yesterday, the House will be working from three agendas today. The first agenda is comprised of bills that were not worked from yesterday’s agenda. House Agenda I consists of House bills, and House Agenda II consists of Senate bills. Future agendas could include nothing but charter changes, super-majority bills, and other themes.
I can’t wait for this session to end. Which is perhaps why I wrote yesterday that Sunday night was the final night. As Liberalgeek, who can read a calendar far better than I, pointed out, Monday night enjoys that dubious distinction.
Hmmm, might have to do something about my scheduled Tuesday Al Show appearance…need my beauty sleep, wanna look good on the radio.