General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., Jan. 10, 2018

Here is yesterday’s quote unquote Activity Report.  Let’s see…Ruth Briggs King carrying the Koch Brothers’ water on prevailing wage? Check.  Pushing the cannabis report back until the end of February? Check. Pushing the School Consolidation Report back until the middle of May? Check.   In a Bizarro Universe, some would call this progress.

Not much in today’s committee meetings either.  The Senate Executive Committee will consider the nomination of Saundra Johnson for the position of Secretary of the Department Of Human Resources.  Johnson has been serving as the Acting Secretary of the newly-created department, which is charged with ‘confront(ing) issues important to state employees and improv(ing) the delivery of human resources services. The new agency’s priorities will include promoting diversity and inclusion across state government, and working with the Department of Correction to address the state’s shortage of correctional officers.‘  Following the committee meeting, Johnson will likely be confirmed by the full Senate today.

Members of the House and Senate Education Committees will hear from the Special Education Strategic Advisory Council today.

Highlights of today’s House Committee Meetings:

*I guess the ATF can’t control the scourge of unstamped cigarettes flooding Sussex County.  At least that’s the sense I get from SB 67 (Pettyjohn).  The Senate passed the bill unanimously, so I guess they agree. House Judiciary Committee.

*There was some disagreement in the Senate over SB 47 (Bushweller), which:

requires that if a home owner association has made an offer under this section and 2 years have passed since the community owner first provided notice of the decision to sell, transfer, or convey the manufactured home community, the notice and right of first offer process in this section must start again before an ownership interest in the community can be sold, transferred, or conveyed. This Act also allows the home owner association to make a counter offer any time a third party makes an offer higher than the alternative price offered by the home owner association.

The bill passed with 13 yes, 1 no, 4 not voting and three absent.  In House Manufactured Housing Committee.  If there are some unresolved issues, I’m confident that chair Paul Baumbach can address them.

Can’t turn this sow’s ear into a silk purse. That’s all I’ve got for today.