Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Since this is the last week before a two-week break for the Easter holidays, look for bills that the two houses want to get to the Governor quickly to receive top priority.
Both the House and Senate will run agendas today, and the Senate will also hold a couple of committee meetings.
Highlights on today’s Senate Agenda:
SB 5 (Gay) ‘creates an automatic voter registration system at the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and grants the State Election Commissioner the authority to implement automatic voter registration at other state agencies that already offer voter registration services under existing law. This Act stipulates that an unregistered adult citizen who provides proof of U.S. citizenship during a DMV license or identification card transaction will be automatically registered to vote by the Department of Elections, if otherwise eligible for registration’. In other words, it’s a pro-democracy bill. Wonder if any Senate Rethugs will vote for, you know, democracy. I’m betting ‘no’.
SB 40 (Brown) ‘allows the Court to suspend an amount of the fine for uninsured driving if the defendant provides evidence that they have now secured insurance, demonstrating compliance with the law’. A nice incremental improvement.
SB 72 (S. McBride) ‘adds the term “religion” to the list of prohibited bases for discrimination and defines “religion” to include all aspects of religious observance and practice, not just belief’.
Today’s House Agenda once again features a longer ‘Consent Agenda’ than it does an ordinary agenda. In the past, the Consent Agenda had been used for insubstantial items, charter changes, technical language adjustments, and the like. No longer. Maybe Speaker Pete and Our PAL Val are just bored with the process.
I grant you, there’s little of interest today. Here’s the best that I could glean:
HB 89 (K. Williams) ‘will allow a critical need reimbursement to be distributed directly to an institute of higher education or Secretary of Education approved Alternative Routes to Teacher Licensure and Certification program for an eligible teacher who is taking noncredit-earning seminars or workshops or credit-bearing coursework in order to attain a Standard Certification in a state-approved critical need area’.
HB 111 (Lynn) ‘prohibits discrimination because an individual takes PrEP (AIDS prevention) medication in the issuance or renewal of disability, long-term care, and life insurance’.
There is one bill of note on today’s Senate Committee Agenda. It’s a House bill that deserves to head to the Governor’s office this week:
HB 95 (K. Williams) ‘requires that individual, group, State employee, and public assistance insurance plans provide coverage for epinephrine autoinjectors for individuals who are 18 years of age or under and must include at least 1 formulation of epinephrine autoinjectors on the lowest tier of the drug formulary developed and maintained by the carrier if the insurance plan has tiers.’
Hey, I’m sorry. Some days are less interesting than others. Today is such a day. Tomorrow will be different.
Where’s the legalize it bill?
The bill has cleared the Health & Human Development Committee. However, it has been reassigned to the House Appropriations Committee, presumably b/c there will be costs associated with the implementation of the bill. Although, of course, it will generate far more revenue to the state than it will cost the state.
It has not yet been scheduled for a committee hearing. The members of the Appropriations Committee are also the House members of the Joint Finance Committee. The problem? Speaker Pete has appointed Ol’ Lumpy Carson to chair that committee, meaning the committee could split 3-3 on releasing the bill. Once again, Schwartzkopf has constructed a potential roadblock to legislation that the public supports:
Chair: William J. Carson
Members: David Bentz
Stephanie T. Bolden
Kimberly Williams
Ruth Briggs King
Kevin S Hensley
Since the law states the election commissioner the ability to provide other agencies the ability to register to vote i would think that the DOL and DHSS would also be great opportunities to do that same
Yes. I think it’s a real good bill.
Hard not to notice that the will of the people often takes a back seat to the political agendas of scum like Swartzkopf and the frequently all it take is one highly placed and influential clown like Swartzkopf to block legislation that the people want. As such I hereby dub this worthy as The Mitch McConnell of Delaware, and in doing so expose a highly flawed political process.
Dave McBride and Nicole Poore did the same thing in the Senate. Marie Pinkney defeated McBride, and Poore was dumped from leadership as a result.
That’s why the Senate has been an oasis of progressivism this year.
Schwartzkopf is/was a cop first, legislator second. Longhurst is a self-dealer on par with Poore. Casually corrupt. Still might need a couple more progressives to topple them.