General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., June 8, 2022

A productive day yesterday.  Limits on assault weapons magazines passes in the Senate (will House weaken the bill again?);  same-day voting registration passes the House.  BTW, it’s official.  Bill Bush is the House’s Joe Manchin.  Only D to vote against same-day registration.  Here is the Daily Activity Report for Tuesday.

Could the Annual Budget pass the Senate today?  It’s been Laid On The Table, meaning it can be brought up under a motion to suspend rules.  Man, don’t know if I’ll have time to dig into the Epilog Language today.  The Epilog Language is usually where the Delaware Way crap is buried. BTW, if you check out SB 251, which provides for one-time appropriations, you will note that funds have been provided for the implementation of a marijuana control act.

Here is today’s Senate Agenda.  I’m skeptical of any bill dealing with ‘Downtown Business Districts’ sponsored by Wilmington legislators.  Especially when it ‘increases the limit currently set by OSPC for jurisdictions with more than 30,000 persons from 250 acres to 400 acres and codifies that increased limitation’.  That sounds like Buccini/Pollin territory to me, especially when Darius Brown and Buccini/Pollin beneficiary Deb Heffernan are on the bill.

Highlights from today’s Senate Committee meetings (keeping in mind that I rarely cover House bills in the Senate or Senate bills in the House, as I have previously discussed them):

*Looks like the chiropractors have been active.  SB 309 (Hansen) ‘prohibits annual or lifetime numerical limits on chiropractic visits for the treatment of back pain.’  Not saying it’s a bad bill, but we know where the bill came from.  Banking, Business & Insurance.

*SB 300 (S. McBride) ‘updates the mandatory reporting requirements for Delaware physicians with anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. These changes are necessary to ensure that physicians are able to seek treatment without undue stigma or fear of loss of medical licensure.’  Good bill. Health & Social Services.

*SB 13 (Pinkney) ‘creates a “Ban the Box” policy for postsecondary institutions in the state. “Ban the Box” or “Beyond the Box” policies refer to the removal of questions about one’s criminal conviction history on a college or job application. Research shows that questions about criminal conviction history deter individuals from applying to an institution and increase the likelihood of rejection, with a disproportionate effect on people of color. This Act promotes diversity by prohibiting academic institutions from inquiring into an applicant’s criminal conviction history, with limited exceptions for inquiries into certain types of offenses such as stalking and sexual assault.’  Real good bill.  Education.

*SB 281 (Gay), aka Escheators Always Win.  More legal mumbo-jumbo that keeps Delaware taxes low. Likely also written by the Corporate Law Section of the Delaware Bar.  Judiciary.

*SB 305 (Hansen) ‘establishes a statutory requirement of greenhouse gas emissions reductions over the medium and long term to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions on the State’.  Environment & Energy.

There is no House Agenda today, as Wednesdays are reserved for committee meetings.  At least until the last two weeks of session.  Here are today’s House Committee meeting highlights:

Both HB 450 and HB 451 will be considered in the House Administration Committee.   The hypocrisy of gun-enablers Longhurst and Schwartzkopf sponsoring these bills is not lost on me.  HB 450 ‘prohibits the manufacture, sale, offer to sell, transfer, purchase, receipt, possession, or transport of assault weapons in Delaware, subject to certain exceptions.’  Reps. Kim Williams and Sean Matthews  are not sponsors on this bill. HB 451 ‘makes a person under the age of 21 prohibited from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a firearm or ammunition of a firearm except under limited circumstances.’  Reps. Williams and Matthews are sponsors on this bill.  Meaning, if either Williams or Matthews are your reps, contact them, urge them to support HB 450, and tell them you’ll be watching.

HB 455 (Minor-Brown) ‘ defines “reproductive health services” for the Board of Medical Practice, the Board of Nursing, and Regulatory Council for Physician Assistants, and makes clear that physicians, physician assistants and nurses who perform, recommend, or provide reproductive health services, if such services are lawful in this State, do not engage in unprofessional conduct and cannot be disciplined for such services even if such services are illegal or considered to be unprofessional conduct or the unauthorized practice of medicine or nursing in another state.’  Health & Human Development.

HB 424 (Mitchell):

The Delaware Code currently has no provisions for dementia care. This bill defines dementia care and sets forth staffing requirements for all facilities that provide dementia care, including setting minimum staffing ratios.

Well, that’s true.  However, there are minimum staffing requirements by shift in the Delaware Code.  One reason why there are minimum staffing requirements for the overnight shift is b/c those with dementia do not generally have the same sleep cycles as those who do not have dementia.  While this is a good bill, the problem is that the Division Of Long-Term Care Residents’ Protection or, more specifically, previous Division Directors Carol Ellis and Yrene Waldron, openly refused to enforce those staffing-by-shift requirements.  This bill will only be as effective if those charged with protecting residents actually protect residents.  Health & Human Development.

HB 388 (Hensley) ‘authorizes the application of funds from the Delaware School Safety and Security Fund, which is subject to available appropriations, for the retention of constables to be utilized by the LEAs.’ I’m shocked, shocked, that Speaker Pete didn’t bury this bill in the Appropriations Committee like he did with the legal protection for tenants bill.  Actually, I’m not.  It’s why Schwartzkopf and the Kop Kabal must be dethroned.  They bury good progressive legislation. Funding for both HB 388 and the legal protections for tenants was provided in the budget bill.  One bill never gets assigned to Appropriations, the other bill gets buried there.

I think I finished this before the day’s first committee meeting.  Time to dig into that Epilog language…