OK, kids, lube up those finger joints and start making some calls.
Here’s the deal. HB 109 (Kowalko), which lowers the current tax rate by .05% for each bracket.and creates a new tax bracket at $125,000 with a rate of 7.05% and an additional bracket at $250,000 with a rate of 7.80%, will be considered in today’s House Revenue & Taxation Committee. With 9 D’s and 4 R’s on the committee, you would think the bill would get out of committee. Not so fast, my friends. Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf has stacked this committee with three Chamber-leaning D’s. If they all vote with the Rethugs, the bill doesn’t get released. So, if either Bryon Short, Andria Bennett, or Quinn Johnson is your State Rep., call them and urge them to vote like a Democrat. And let them know that you’ll be watching. This is important. DO IT!
Speaking of important, SB 27 (Townsend), the independent redistricting bill, is on today’s Senate Agenda. This is the first legitimate reapportionment legislation I’ve seen, which is why I doubt that it will ever become law. Hope it does, though…
Legislation moving Delaware’s statewide primary from September to April passed the House yesterday by a 34-6 vote. I think it’s ill-advised for the reasons I cited yesterday.
Two key pieces of legislation to combat Delaware’s opioid epidemic unanimously passed yesterday. SB 41 (Hansen) and HB 100 (Keeley) will now trade chambers on their way to full passage.
Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report. The Repeal the Death Penalty Repeal bill, aka the ‘Extreme Crimes Protection Act’ (why would you want to protect extreme crimes?) has been introduced. The D’s on this bill?: Sen. Ennis, Reps. Carson, Mitchell, and Paradee.
There are loads of substantive bills in committees this week. We’ll start with today’s House committee meetings. Here are the key bills I’ve identified:
*This one looks like a request from at least one county government. HB 83 (Matthews) ‘enables a county government to enact an ordinance that concerns the maintenance of sidewalks in residential subdivisions.’ Seeing as how all the sponsors are from New Castle County, this looks like a Matt Meyer initiative. Transportation/Land Use/& Infrastructure Committee.
*HB 103 (Matthews) increases penalties for home improvement fraud. Looks like everybody wants this bill in their campaign brochures. Judiciary Committee.
*HB 96 (Mulrooney) ‘makes compensation a mandatory subject of bargaining for any group of employees who have joined together for purposes of collective bargaining and certified a labor organization to serve as their exclusive collective bargaining representative.’ Labor Committee.
*HB 80 (Paradee), if I’m correct, is a bill that the insurance companies don’t want. The bill ‘establishes permissible rating factors for insurance companies to use in the rating of automobile insurance and requires the offering of a good driver discount plan for qualified drivers’. The statement in bold apparently means that seniors are entitled to a ‘good driver discount, something that the insurance companies oppose. We will see if Bryon Short pushes for the bill to be released. He is, after all, a lackey for the insurance industry. Business Lapdog Committee.
*HB 111 (Keeley) appears to be the Live Nation Enablement Bill. Everybody knows that the Darth Vader of the live music industry will be taking over operations at the Queen. Next to Governor Carney’s ineptitude, it’s the worst-kept secret in Delaware. This bill:
changes the number of live music events required for an entity to be a qualified “concert hall” for purposes of alcohol licensing. Previously a concert hall was required to hold at least 250 live music events per year and be open at least 5 days per week. Pursuant to this change, the 5-day requirement is eliminated and the venue must hold 250 live music events per two-year period.
Every member of the Wilmington legislative delegation is on the bill. Campaign checks to follow. If they haven’t arrived already. Business Lapdog Committee.
*Two of the bills allegedly designed to turn the Dover Mall into a destination shopping mecca are in the House Administration Committee. They are HB 115 and HB 116, both by Rep. Lumpy Carson.
*HS 1 for HB 85 (K. Williams) ‘eliminates the use of an enrollment preference for students living within a 5-mile radius of a charter school. For any charter school using the 5-mile preference at the time of enactment, the school is required to eliminate the preference through notification to the authorizer prior to the 2018-2019 school year. The bill allows a new preference for students located in the portion of the regular school district that is geographically contiguous with the location of the charter school.’ The bill has support of both Sen. Sokola and Rep. Jaques along with some of the strongest advocates for public education, which bodes well for passage. Education Committee.
*HB 91 (Mulrooney) is part of the package of bills to combat substance addiction. The bill ‘would enhance the ability of the prescription monitoring program to make informed determinations as to prescribers who may be making extraordinary prescriptions of opiates or other controlled substances, and to refer such cases to law enforcement or professional licensing organizations for further review.’ Health & Human Development.
Highlights from the Senate Committee schedule for today:
*SB 20 (Lavelle) is the second leg of a constitutional amendment that would limit the use of Transportation Trust Fund moneys to transportation projects and debt payment. The irony here, of course, is that Mike Castle and his corrupt Transportation Secretary (and future felon) Kermit Justice hit upon the idea of raiding the fund for operating expenses soon after the bill was signed into law. Almost three decades later, the Rethugs, led by the perennially-outraged Greg Lavelle, turned it into a political issue. I’m fine with the bill, but, kids, remember your history. It was Castle and Justice who made a mockery out of the bill’s original intent. Transportation Committee.
*SB 30 (Townsend) ‘requires political committees to report a contributor’s occupation and employment information’. This is already a requirement for Federal campaigns, and it would enable Delawareans to determine which special interests are buying their legislators. Elections & Government Affairs.
*SB 28 (Townsend) ‘requires that all candidates for President and Vice President of the United States file copies of their federal tax returns with the Delaware Department of Elections as a prerequisite for appearing on the ballot in the general election in Delaware.’ I doubt that this one would pass constitutional muster. Elections & Government Affairs.
*SB 24 (Henry) eliminates the requirement that a psychiatrist must sign off on a prescription for medical marijuana. Wonder who put that stupid proviso in the statute in the first place. Health, Children & Social Services.
* Three more bills designed to attack the opiate epidemic will be considered in the Health, Children & Social Services Committee, all sponsored by Sen. Townsend. SB 44, SB 45, and SB 48. As the husband of a pharmacist, I particularly like SB 48, which holds harmless a ‘ a pharmacist who dispenses narloxone under an established set of circumstances…unless it is established that the pharmacist caused the injuries or death wilfully, wantonly, or by gross negligence’.
*I also like SB 54 (Townsend), which makes it easier for someone who has a juvenile criminal record to expunge the record if they can demonstrate that they have been successfully rehabilitated. Judiciary.
*Tip of the sombrero to President Pro-Tempore Dave McBride. There is only one nominee being considered by the Executive Committee, but the name is listed on the committee agenda. India Colon, for the State Board of Elections.
Kids, another teaching moment. Crowded committee agendas invariably lead to crowded House and Senate Agendas. Meaning, lots to discuss in the upcoming days.
Scratch that. The General Assembly adjourns for a two-week Easter recess this Thursday. Instead of an Easter Egg Hunt, a search for Jellyfish John’s manhood might be in order. Most disengaged governor ever.