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!