General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., April 6, 2017

First, let me just say that what Colin Bonini and Dave Lawson did yesterday is perhaps the most disgusting display of bigotry I’ve ever seen in Dover.  Which, believe me, is saying something.  Two utterly despicable alleged human beings.

(Deep cleansing breaths.)

A truly-independent redistricting process is one significant step closer to enactment today. The roll call on  SB 27 (Townsend) was 12 Y, 7 N, I NV and 1 Absent.  Two R’s voted with the majority, Delcollo and Pettyjohn. For the life of me, I don’t understand why the rest of the R’s voted no or, in the case of Cloutier, went not voting.  I almost think that they’d rather have the issue to exploit for political purposes than to have the independent redistricting they’ve been pushing. IMHO, this is the first legit proposal for independent redistricting that has ever come before the General Assembly.  Previous bills merely enabled the leadership to appoint members to a commission in direct proportion to who controlled the House and Senate.  They created the optics of independence while ensuring that the lines would be drawn precisely the way they wanted them.  This is different.  Which is why I’ll be interested to see where Speaker Pete assigns this bill.  I’m betting House Administration Committee where Val Longhurst awaits.

HB 109 (Kowalko), which creates two new higher tax brackets, was released from the House Revenue & Finance Committee.  This is more important than perhaps you might think.  More and more legislators are coming to the conclusion that the Governor is totally uninterested in the policy-making process.  They recognize that this vacuum might well be the defining feature of the Carney Administration. They’re pretty much amazed by it.  Absent genuine leadership from Jellyfish John, they understand that any alternative to Carney’s lazy-ass budget must come from them.  For example, I doubt that even R’s want to cut direct aid to education by $37 mill.  For D’s in particular, there is no political downside in charging a higher rate to those in the upper brackets.  This bill, or something similar to it, might well pass and at least find its way into budget negotiations in June.  Frankly, there is no justification in calling for ‘shared sacrifice’ when the only people who benefited from the so-called economic recovery sacrifice nothing.

Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report.

A couple of fairly minor bills are on today’s Senate Agenda.

Today’s House Agenda features HB 91 (Mulrooney), which 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’.  In other words, help to scope out the pill mills and shut them down.

The Live Nation Enablement bill is also on the agenda.  Just remember it the next time you’re sipping an $8 Miller Lite at the Queen.

Following today’s sessions, it’s a two-week recess.  For me as well.