Today’s the day that marijuana legalization comes to the House floor. It’s likely to be a lo-o-o-ng day. After all, it’s a lo-o-o-ng bill. HB 150 (Osienski) already has ten pre-filed amendments to wade through. There could well be more, including perhaps an omnibus amendment that incorporates whatever is needed to get enough votes for passage. Four have been filed by the prime sponsor. It appears that none of the amendments are ‘killer’ amendments designed to deep-six the bill. That, at least, encourages me. I know that there are a lot of supporters of this bill who read this blog. What do you think about the amendments?
Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report. I neglected to mention SS1/SB 93 (Poore) in yesterday’s preview. It passed the Senate unanimously, and I think it’s an excellent bill. It ‘provides protections for consumers in connection with contracts with automatic renewal provisions. Multiple states have enacted laws regulating the automatic renewals of contracts, often described as “evergreen” clauses. These state laws are aimed at protecting consumers from unknowingly entering into these types of agreements by requiring that evergreen clauses be presented in a clear and conspicuous manner and that sellers of such contracts provide notice to consumers about an upcoming renewal. This Act also requires sellers of such contracts to provide consumers with a means to cancel the contract that is at least as easy to use as the means available to sign up for the contract’.
The much-discussed (in yesterday’s Comments thread) SB 155 (Gay) is on today’s Senate Agenda. While there has been a pre-filed amendment placed with the bill, it might make sense to delay consideration of the bill until the concerns that have been raised are addressed. There are some excellent bills set for consideration today, including SB 147, SB 148, and SB 2.
Having said that, the real action is in the House today. Not only will HB 150 be considered, but we will see yet another attempt to pass HB 75 (Bentz), the second leg of a Constitutional amendment ‘that would eliminate from the Delaware Constitution the limitations as to when an individual may vote by absentee ballot’. The first leg passed handily, but that was before the Rethuglican Party conjured up The Big Lie and decided that, as a Party, it would seek to keep as many people from voting as possible. In other words, the fate of HB 75 remains in doubt. Will even a single Rethug stand up for democracy? We’ll see.
One final note: Yesterday was the last regularly-scheduled House committee day. There will likely be additional committee meetings, but every legislative day until June 30 will also consider legislation. There’s a lot to consider.