Paid Medical And Family Leave. I’ve been around so long that I can recall the debate on unpaid Medical And Family Leave. The Chamber warning of the ‘slippery slope’ this could lead to. Me thinking, “That’s a pretty good slippery slope.”
Call today Slippery Slope Day. Sarah McBride has crafted a bill that, while less than ideal, is the best bill that she can get passed. As she mentioned, every element in her original bill was not only defensible, but desirable. Pass this bill. Then, as Chamber/Delaware Way D’s fall by the wayside and we elect a less doltish Governor, improve upon it.
Not that the bill sucks. Not at all. SS2/SB1…:
…creates a statewide paid family and medical leave insurance program. Delaware employees can access up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave through the State’s paid leave trust fund for a qualifying event, including for the following: (1) To address a worker’s own serious health condition. (2) To care for a family member with a serious health condition. (3) To bond and care for a new child. (4) To address the impact of a family member’s military deployment.
Here’s what got left on the cutting-room floor:
This Substitute to Senate Bill No. 1 differs from Senate Bill No. 1 with regard to the eligibility determination process, covered relationships, length of leave, forms of leave covered, cumulative leave, eligibility criteria, implementation timeline, appeal process, departmental powers, and not requiring participation from certain smaller businesses.
The Art Of The Possible. Get rid of some of the bad actors and a lot more becomes possible.
All 14 D Senators are on the bill as co-sponsors. Only 20 D Reps are. Hmmm, let’s see which Reps have not signed on. We’re, of course, one Rep short until this afternoon, which is why Gerald Brady’s name doesn’t appear. So here are the D reps who have not chosen to sponsor the bill: Sean Matthews, Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, Lumpy Carson, Bill Bush, and Andria Bennett. Which reminds me, what the fuck is going on with Sean Matthews? He seems to have taken several steps backwards the last couple of terms. Oh, and Andria Bennett is blatantly double-dipping, yet the Kop Kabal has raised nary a peep.
Enough bad karma for today. This bill is a huge step forward. Sarah McBride has done just an incredible job in turning her vision into likely reality. Not only is she likely to end up as part of our Congressional delegation some day, she deserves to be part of our Congressional delegation some day. Or–perhaps Governor. One way to elect a less doltish Governor is to become that less doltish Governor.
The House will meet today in ceremonial session to swear in Bud Freel to fill out the remainder of Gerald Brady’s term. Perhaps, as his first official act, he can sign on to SS2/SB 1 as a co-sponsor. I think he will.
We have a few scattered committee meetings today. Only one in the Senate, though. The Transportation Committee considers SB 231(Gay), which ‘prohibits the use of gender, gender identity, or sex as a rating factor in personal automobile insurance policies’. Color me surprised, but:
The Gender Disparities in Auto Insurance Pricing Report issued by the Delaware Department of Insurance and Consumer Federation of America shows that many insured Delaware women are charged more than men even when all other factors, including drivers’ history, are the same.
I can only base my perspective on the anecdotal but, from what I saw in the Trader Joe’s parking lot the past 12 years, women, in general, were far less dangerously aggressive than their male counterparts.
So, I guess I support the bill.
There are two House Committee meetings today and, yes, one bill designed to benefit police and firefighters, and only police and firefighters.
The House Administration Committee, the home of the Kop Kabal, will consider HB 308(Schwartzkopf). It smells, for all the world, like a bullshit tax break for a certain class of police and firefighters:
A disability pension for Delaware State Police officer and County and Municipal police officers and firefighters is only for those first responders who suffer injuries on the job such as being shot or assaulted while effecting an arrest or getting burned while putting out a fire. Many who suffer these injuries while doing their job protecting the citizens of this State are unable to return to their jobs as police officers or firefighters. Under the current law, these officers and firefighters who receive a disability pension and have not reached normal retirement date must report total earnings from any gainful employment or business each year. If the officer or firefighter receives earnings over the current base pay of the officer’s or firefighter’s rank at the time of the disability, such excess must be deducted from the disability pension. However, such provision does not apply to officers and firefighters who have reached normal retirement date. This bill treats officers and firefighters who have not reached normal retirement date the same as those who have by removing the provision that requires a deduction in disability benefits if the officer or firefighter earns more than what the officer’s or firefighter’s base pay was at the time of disability.
So. They’re already making more than they were making as police officers or firefighters. On top of a disability pension. The law requires a deduction in disability benefits for some of the amount over and above what they would have made had they remained in their profession. This bill lets them collect the entire disability pension and not be liable for any deduction in disability benefits. Yet another sweet deal. If you look at the bill’s sponsors, you see a Who’s Who of Kop Kabal groupies. At least two of them are retiring. So, that’s progress.
The House Business Lapdog Committee considers one good bill and three insurance bills that seem incremental and OK. HB 299 (Cooke) ‘prohibits the seller of consumer goods or services from refusing to accept cash payment, except in limited circumstances. Sales covered by this Act are those made at a retail store through an in-person transaction.’ Good. I have one question, though. Among the exemptions is the following: ‘The Act does not apply to sales of goods or services…provided at parking lots or garages.’ Why not? Shouldn’t you be able to pay with cash when exiting a parking garage? I wonder why that’s exempted.
Back tomorrow with a Full Monty of a committee day and, hopefully, a celebration of SS2/SB1’s passage in the Senate.