General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., May 3, 2017
When it comes to legislators being courageous vs. fear of being demagogued, fear wins every time. Which is why HB 122 (Smyk) unanimously, unanimously, passed the House yesterday. Just use your critical thinking skills and parse every syllable of its synopsis:
This bill provides greater protection to correctional officers and other state employees who are assaulted in detention facilities by prohibiting assaults committed with a reckless state of mind.
Never mind that the bill won’t do what the bill says it will do. It shows that the Honorables will do something, anything, to make it look like they’re going to crack down on reckless inmates. In fact, it shows that nobody, including the Governor, has a clue as to how to address the disaster that is our corrections system.
In more encouraging news, the Senate unanimously passed HB 11 (Bentz), which ‘‘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 or TANF assistance’.
Here’s yesterday’s Session Activity Report.
Bringing back the death penalty appears to be Job One for this bloodthirsty General Assembly. Following on the heels of the unanimous passage of a bill that any attorney worth their salt should challenge, the House is back at it today as it considers the restoration of Delaware’s death penalty. Specifically, the House Judiciary Committee will consider HB 125 (Smyk), the, wait for it, ‘Extreme Crimes Protection Act’. Which raises the question, have the House Rethugs hired Frank Luntz to name these bills? Four D’s are on the bill: Ex-cops Ennis and Mitchell, plus Earl Jaques and Trey Paradee. Let’s check out the Judiciary Committee membership…oh, that’s just great. Mitchell is the chair, and Paradee is a member. That is not by accident. In fact, it’s just the way that Pistol Pete Schwartzkopf planned it. Bill’s coming to the floor, folks. You know what to do. Per usual, Jellyfish John is Absent Without Leadership.
Other House Committee ‘highlights’:
*Following on the footsteps of the Commission on Delaware Italo-American Affairs (it’s a real thing, I’m not making this up), we may now have the Delaware African and Caribbean Affairs Commission. You can look forward to lots of these–kinda like those special license plate bills. Except with almost-forgotten hacks ‘serving on’ these commissions. (House Administration)
*The House Revenue & Finance Committee considers two tax bills–one that generates revenue and one that results in a revenue loss. HB 101 (Kowalko) ‘increases State tax levied and imposed on both domestic and foreign limited liability companies’. LLC’s, aka one of Delaware’s greatest scams, as in ‘You can’t sue is, we’re an LLC’. To paraphrase Donald Trump, ‘Tax the shit out of them”. And, of course, the Rethugs are once again pushing the repeal of the estate tax. Just because.
*The Senate is wasting no time in considering SB 5 (Townsend), which ‘modernizes Delaware’s laws on abortion to be consistent with the scope of the right protected by the United States Constitution and the practice in Delaware for the past 43 years. In doing so, this Act permits the termination of a pregnancy prior to viability, to protect the life or health of the mother, or in the event of serious fetal anomaly‘. Which brings us to a learning opportunity. Kids, you may be asking yourselves, ‘Why does a bill that was just introduced last week have a bill number as low as SB 5’? Good question, wish I’d thought of it. The answer is that legislators can request that certain bill numbers be reserved for bills that will be introduced later. I’m pretty sure that the numbers have already been reserved for the final Budget and Bond bills. So, there’s your useless information quotient for today. Impress and/or bore your friends.
*The Senate Executive Committee considers a couple of nominations, including that of Noel Primos to be a Superior Court judge.
Today’s Senate Agenda includes two excellent House bills designed to address troubled youth in transition to adulthood. HB 39 and 40, both sponsored by Rep. Lynn to be specific.
That’s all I got for today, I ain’t got no more.
I’m just getting to know you. This is your commentary based upon your observations yesterday at legislative hall?
Blackflyer: Although I worked for the General Assembly for about 24 years, I haven’t set foot in Leg Hall since I completed the paperwork for my pension, and I have no desire to return.
So, I almost always start out by looking at the legislative record, especially the Session Activity Report from the previous day. Then, I look at the agendas, committee meeting schedules and the like. I also look at newly-introduced legislation, plus bills in committee that strike my interest. Oh, and roll calls on key bills.
I always provide a link to each day’s Session Activity Report in every piece, as there’s often stuff that I either missed or that I found less intriguing than others. We’re lucky to have readers with specific issue interests to call attention to those oversights.
Then I write about what happened and what’s on the docket, utilizing my perspective and legislative experience. And, of course, my opinions. As you’ve probably likely seen, I’m not worried about burning bridges.
I’ll also look at and, when appropriate, link to other articles. Plus I talk to some legislators and former legislators if/when I’m searching for information not readily available through the public record.
I think it’s a unique niche, but I hope that I provide information that is not only useful, but can be acted upon as well.
El Som is one of the few folks who provide valuable insight to the daily happenings in Dover. Keep up the great insight and analysis. We get nothing out of the local media.
I’m with Chris on this one. El Som is my go-to source for all things political in the state of Delaware. The News Journal on the other hand is basically useless.