The Legislative Pipeline Is Open
19 bills have been prefiled in the House. Several of which are important bills. Here is the full list.
Here are the ones that jump out at me:
The Rethugs are wasting no time in trying to get rid of the Estate Tax.
Looks like David Bentz might be a progressive champion. His HB 11 “removes the prohibition against receipt of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (“TANF” also referred to by the name Aid for Families with Dependent Children or “AFDC”) funds by persons convicted of a drug felony, so long as that person is otherwise eligible for TANF assistance”. The prohibition was implemented under the ill-considered ‘War Against Drugs’.
Kim Williams sponsors HS1/HB 12, which ‘provides State funding to kindergarten through third grade for basic special education’. Currently, funding for basic special ed doesn’t begin until 4th grade. There are even 2 R’s on the bill: Reps. Briggs King and Spiegelman. Good for them.
I like HB 13 (Potter). The bill ‘… clarifies that dogs may not be held potentially dangerous or dangerous for animal control enforcement or for purposes of criminal liability based solely on breed-specific criteria.’ Pit bulls (aka Staffordshire Terriers) can be as cuddly and loving as any dog. It’s only when they are trained to fight that their jaw structures become weapons.
HB 14 (Lynn) requires that motorcyclists must wear helmets. Acording to the bill synopsis:
Of the 49 motorcycle fatalities in Delaware since 2014, just over half of the motorcyclists, 28, were wearing helmets at the time of the crash.
Don’t know how I feel about this one. But, then again, I support physician-assisted suicide. Why not ‘suicide by idiocy’?
Rep. Sean Matthews has introduced two bills relating to school attendance and the requirements for dropping out of school. HB 23 and HB 24. What do our education experts think about these?
BTW, and I know it’s early, but I find the new LIS system tracking legislation to be more user-friendly than in the past. Thumbs up to whoever is responsible for the upgrade!
BTW, and this should come as no shock, the bloated House Veterans’ Affairs Committee has scheduled its first meeting. If you guessed ‘to consider yet another Special License Plate bill’, this time for veterans of Operation Desert Storm, dingdingdingding.
My question? How can you have four special license plates on the same vehicle?
While walking my dog I was attacked by a Pit Bull that, according to its owner, was “cuddly and loving” up until the moment is attacked us. So, I disagree strongly with your take on at one. Frankly, and with all due respect, it is bullshit. Those dogs are ticking time bombs.
As someone who may possibly need a new kidney one day, I am opposed to the mandatory helmet law. Live free and die! and remember to sign your donor card.
lol.
Any dog can turn, especially if not properly trained (being “cuddly” isn’t trained). Pit Bulls just inflict more damage when they do it and unfortunately are one of the cheapest breeds out there to get due to their presence in shelters; this means they often fall into the hands of owners who are not equipped to handle them properly.
What– No one introduced another casino bailout bill yet?
In the organ industry, we refer to helmetless rider on a motorcycle as a donorcycle.
Which reminds me…Delaware still doesn’t offer tax relief for those who voluntarily donate and pay out of pocket costs. Odd, that a few years back the Speaker donated a kidney, we talked abit back then about key pieces of legislation such as that and I don’t recall anything coming of it.
Chris. Good catch.
Did I mention that the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee had a bloated number of members?
How about 29 members? Out of only 41 House members in total. Shameless posturing.
TO MEATBALL What associated expenses with donation are you referring to? Hospital or out of work time, because medical expenses for kidney donation should be covered under Medicare ( RENAL Patients with ESRD END STAGE RENAL DIEASE qualify for Medicare and cost of transplantion, both for the donor and recipient. NOT covered Anti rejection meds after 36 months post transplant.
Thanks, El Som, for giving me an opportunity to ask a question about committees, and payment for committee membership.
I saw the new committee membership the other day, and like you, was shocked and horrified by how many people “serve” on the Veterans committee, but only 6 serve on Transportation/LandUse/Infrastructure?
Shameless posturing, yes. But, do they get PAID for this? I know serving on committees nets legislators more money, but how much, and how often? Are they padding their wallets?
Why are there not a set number of people per committee, so they can focus on a set number of issues, do their homework, and actually legislate?
More interesting… only the house Ethics, Administration and Rules committees have even fewer members than the infrastructure committee. Guess that ‘splains it.
The only committees where members get extra pay are those that meet during hours when the General Assembly is not in session. The Joint Finance Committee, the Bond Bill Committee and the Joint Sunset Committee, to be specific.
As it turns out, some members, most specifically Colin Bonini, got paid for Joint Sunset Committee meetings he didn’t even bother to attend.
As to the Veterans Affairs Committee, the huge membership is b/c all of the members want to claim that they support veterans. Yes, you can bet that all 29 members feature this ‘membership’ in their political brochures. It’s a bleeping joke and a disgrace.
As to the Transportation/Land Use/Infrastructure Committee, keep in mind that the committee does not have the ability to allocate dollars. The Bond Committee generally does that. So the committee’s responsibilities are not as great as you might imagine.
The Speaker of the House makes all House committee appointments and determines the size of the various committees. Thanks for asking. I generally try to catch everybody up to speed at the start of each legislative session, but for those of you who are new to the blog, PLEASE ask all the questions you can think of.
Thanks El Som. I appreciate your perspective, and glad you are still blogging!
This election made me resolve to be more involved and more vocal, but it is good to be loud AND informed. This distinguishes us from angry cheetos.
@Catherine Ciferni
Yes, mileage, lodging, lost wages, meals and medical expenses associated with organ donation. A bunch of states much less blue than DE offer such tax incentives.
“I like HB 13 (Potter). The bill ‘… clarifies that dogs may not be held potentially dangerous or dangerous for animal control enforcement or for purposes of criminal liability based solely on breed-specific criteria.’ Pit bulls (aka Staffordshire Terriers) can be as cuddly and loving as any dog. It’s only when they are trained to fight that their jaw structures become weapons.”
This is very open-minded and tolerant – I support it 100%.
Zero tolerance for breedism in the first state!
“More than 1800 Pit Bulls and Pit Bull mixes have been euthanized (executed may be the more appropriate term) between 2005 and 2008. The shelters outside of Denver have become overburdened and overcrowded as a result of Denver’s breed ban.
Dog Whisperer Cesar Milan features well-behaved Pit Bulls on his television show that proves they are not all dangerous, nor are they predisposed to be dangerous. There are so many false media reports and stereotypes out there against the Pit Bull and so many are euthanized every day due to being born a Pit Bull. Where are the stories about the Pit Bulls slathering people with kisses?
Breed specific legislation doesn’t work. Politicians, to solve a problem created by irresponsible dog owners, created this legislation. Some feel that it is similar to the policies that Nazi Germany instigated during the 1930’s and 40’s. Counties, cities and entire countries around the world continue to turn to BSL policies in a desperate attempt to protect their public from the rising number of serious and sometimes-fatal dog bites. Instead, we need to educate the owners and make them responsible for their dogs. The breed itself is not responsible for being aggressive or mean. Dogs as weapons in gangs around London and other cities is becoming a real problem and a source of a significant part of the media-reported dog attacks.”
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/breedism-is-to-dogs-what-racism-is-to-people
HB 23 could seems like a great Idea, though implementation is going to be very difficult. It’s not exactly easy to convince someone who has dropped out to come in for a meeting. If they do come in, though it may not convince them of the importance of school, can still help them once they leave school.
For HB 24 in many (all?) schools parents are notified every day when they miss school, so there is a check before the 10 day notification. The meeting could be good for some families to become aware of a problem, and especially in identifying needy families. But this could mean a lot of extra work for school councilors, especially in high needs areas.
If you are going to put additional responsibilities on schools, you need to make sure they have the resources to implement the policy properly. Hoping they pursue additional funding for low income students. One can dream right?
ModernProgressive you seem like a nice person who has never been attacked by pit bull. Speaking as someone who has, the breed is inherently dangerous.
I guess black people should ask that German Shepards be banned after the civil rights movement. Those dogs were trained to attack black people. Obviously the whole breed will forever be bigoted beasts.
I don’t get your point. However, (American Staffordshire Terriers)Pit Bulls have been specifically bred to have a high level of aggression to other dogs. Given that, their strength, and the fact that the aggression toward other dogs also manifests as aggression to humans, they are inherently dangerous regardless of training.
Of course, if you believe that dogs haven’t been bred for behavioral traits and that Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is no different than a Pit Bull, then you have a screw loose.