Vote Tracker For the Week of March 30-April 3, 2015

Last week, as Jason noted, the Delaware Senate passed again, as they did last year, the repeal of the Death Penalty. And as last year, the voting produced odd bipartisan ‘alliances,’ which demonstrates that on this issue, and perhaps only this issue, partisan considerations take a back seat to considerations of faith and conscience. Republican Senators Cloutier, Lopez and Republican Minority Leader Simpson all voted to repeal. Democratic Senators Hall-Long, Ennis, Marshall and Poore voted to keep the Death Penalty. Monsignor Lavelle, as El Som is fond of calling the Minority Whip, was absent, in today’s display of a lack of courage or conviction.

Senator Townsend’s Concurrent Resolution calling for a Constitutional Convention to overturn the Citizens United decision passed along party lines, with all Democrats voting for it, and all Republicans voting against it.

Senator Sokola’s bill to continue the Teach for America program that recruits and trains teachers to teach in Delaware passed the Senate and House this past week and it is onto the Governor. Curiously, the only No vote was that of Rep. Kowalko, though the vote was likely in response to the shortening of the re-authorization period from 2020 to 2018.

Senator Poore’s bill implementing the IEP Improvement Task Force Recommendations was rescued from the table and passed the Senate 20-1, with the sole No being Republican Gubernatorial candidate Colin Bonini.

Senator Townsend’s SB 47, which modernizes and reorganizes the Public Defendant’s Office in order to ensure that indigent people charged with crimes are well represented, passed the Senate 20-1. The sole NO vote? You guessed it. Republican Gubernatorial candidate Colin Bonini.

Rep. Bolden’s HB 17 has passed the Senate and is now onto the Governor for his signature. HB 17 would allows financial institutions, including brokers, dealers, investment advisers and banks, to freeze transactions that they suspect are financial exploitation of an elderly person.

Rep. Spiegelman’s HB 37, which would allow a local school district board to delay new or changed rules, regulations, or administrative procedures from becoming effective during a school year once the school year has started, so as to make sure rules and procedures are consistent during the school year, has been released from the House Education Committee and is awaiting a vote on the House floor.

Rep. JJ Johnson’s HB 36, which would have placed limits on the use of the punishment of solitary confinement in Delaware prisons, was tabled in the House Corrections Committee. I assume that means the bill is dead for the session unless the committee votes to release it.

Rep. Barbieri’s HB 46, which would establish a “Bill of Rights” for children in the custody of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families (DSCYF), has passed the House 41-0. Onto the Senate.

Rep. Williams’s HB 53, requiring charter schools to submit to the Auditor of Accounts processes with respect to audits, has been released from committee and is awaiting a vote on the House floor.

Rep. Lynn’s bill to require the use of helmets when bikers are riding their motorcycles on Delaware roads (HB 54) has met the anticipated opposition (wearing helmets = tyranny) and has been left in limbo in Committee. The Committee did not table it, nor did it vote it down or release it. It’s just hanging there in mid-air in suspended animation. Much like a biker is when time slows down after an accident has thrown him or her from their bike into air. It is during that moment in time that the biker realizes he or she is about to die, and probably really should have worn that helmet. Lucky for all of us, we no longer have to deal with the idiot opinions of that biker, because he or she will be dead.

Rep. Potter’s HB 56 that places a moratorium on all new charter schools in Delaware for three years, has passed the House 32-3 with 6 not voting. Republican Reps. Debbie Hudson, Lyndon Yearick and Rich Collins were the No votes. Rep. Lynn missed the vote as he and his family were ill with a stomach flu (see Rep. Lynn’s comment below).

Rep. Baumbach’s Midwifery licensing bill has been released from Committee and is awaiting a vote on the floor.

There is of course more, so please check the charts. New legislation added to the chart will be highlighted by yellow. Committee action on a bill will be highlighted in blue. Any positive Chamber votes will highlighted in green. Any negative action will be highlighted in red. Remember, we are not tracking all the bills, just the bills of progressive or liberal interest, including those sponsored by Republicans, and including those that we, as progressives and liberals, want to see defeated (i.e. the Estate Tax Repeal bill). You can download the tracker in the form of a Excel spreadsheet by clicking on the menu button in the lower right corner of each box.