What a shock. Liquor store owners, beer distributors and the like flooded Legislative Hall yesterday to rail against tax hikes, specifically sin tax hikes. As might be expected, the wavering quaverers, or are they quavering waverers, were ready to fold at the first hint of special interest anger. Led, of course, by Bryon Short:
Rep. Bryon Short suggested the tax increase was not worth the amount it would raise. With the amendment, the bill would raise $5.2 million in the next fiscal year and $7.1 million in the year after that.
“I think this is nibbling around the edges and, respectfully, does not contribute meaningfully to the solution,” Short said.
Of course, Rep. Short supported eliminating the Estate Tax, which incrementally reduced revenue available to the state. I hardly see the increases as onerous. A penny for a can of beer? 13 cents on a bottle of wine? Drinkers will more than find a way to pony up. Oh, and $7.1 mill more in available revenue is not insignificant when one considers the cuts that await the General Assembly. Hey, as Pete Schwartzkopf pointed out, this could all be done by collecting more in income taxes, but there appears to be no stomach for that. Did I mention that Dems suck? Of course, Bryon Short could take the lead and push for a higher minimum wage, and people would have more money in their pockets to spend on beer and wine, but he and The Chamber have ensured that that won’t happen. He needs a primary challenger. Stat. ( Not coincidentally, Mo’ Better Democrats returns after the end of session.)
Screed over, for now.
For the record, legislation increasing the personal income tax and adding a new higher bracket, increasing taxes on alcohol products, raising taxes on tobacco products, and increasing taxes on LLC’s, all cleared the House Revenue & Finance Committee yesterday.
Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report. Not much to glean, other than that cursive writing appears to be making a comeback. Andria Bennett’s HB 70 passed and now goes to the Governor. Sen. Sokola’s ‘Don’t Run Over a Bicyclist’ bill also passed, and goes to the House.
The General Assembly is working around the edges while the key issues of raising revenues and crafting a budget remain unresolved.
Today’s House Agenda and Senate Agenda both reflect the current uncertainty. Here are the highlights:
*SB 111 (Townsend) ‘establishes the Behavioral Health Consortium that will provide oversight and coordination of the State’s private and public bodies to address behavioral health issues in Delaware.’ Senate.
*HS 1/HB 85 (K. Williams) ‘eliminates the use of an enrollment preference for students living within a 5-mile radius of a charter school’. This bill encountered controversy in the House as the Roll Call was not along traditional lines, with most progressives voting no. Senate.
*HS 1/HB 173 (Jaques) continues the consolidation of all animal welfare law enforcement and responsibility within the Office of Animal Welfare (Patti Blevins’ golden parachute). House.
*HB 214 (Mulrooney) allows ‘non-uniformed correctional employees, including correctional counselors, correctional administrative staff and similar occupations, to bargain over compensation. These correctional employees are presently the only correctional employees excluded from compensation bargaining.’ You’d ordinarily expect every R to vote no. B-b-b-ut, it’s corrections. House.
*HB 220 (Bentz) ‘establishes the Addiction Action Committee as a means to establish a comprehensive, coordinated strategy to address addiction in Delaware.’ House.
One final note: HB 190 (Osienski), the Coastal Zone Permit Conversion Act, has been placed on the Senate Agenda for Thursday, June 29. Meaning that it will likely be considered in the Senate Environmental, Natural Resources & Energy Committee on either next Tuesday or Wednesday.