21 Reasons Why The Kop Kabal Must Go

Since they took power back in 2010, the Kop Kabal has routinely buried hundreds of progressive bills, sometimes at the behest of Governor Markell and Governor Carney, and most of the time because they either don’t like the sponsor and/or they are not progressive in the least.    Keep in mind, since the Speaker names the members of each House committee, he can place bills in committees hostile to progressive legislation.  He also places loads of bills in the House Administration Committee that any reasonable person would agree don’t belong there.  The following bills have effectively been buried by Speaker Pete and Our PAL Val this session alone. By committee:

House Administration Committee (aka the House ‘Ethics’ Committee that whitewashed the investigation of Gerald Brady, and has neglected to investigate/sanction either Andria Bennett and Steve Smyk):

HB 74 (Kowalko): ‘reaffirms the Constitutional requirement that the General Assembly appropriate money belonging to the General Fund by making clear that funds received by the State or a State agency from settlements or other final orders or judgments, other than those funds awarded specifically to a party or consumer or as attorneys’ fees, or explicitly directed otherwise by law, are to be deposited to the General Fund and may not be transferred or expended until the funds are appropriated by the General Assembly. Included in the exclusion, are all funds that exist in the Delaware Code where the law provides for the money that must go to the specific fund and how the money in that fund may be spent.

HCR 3 (Lynn): ‘establishes the Delaware Corrections Investigation Task Force to investigate and make findings and recommendations regarding the treatment of inmates and the quality of healthcare provided to inmates in this State’s correctional institutions.

HB 102 (Kowalko): ‘removes the broad exemption in the Freedom of Information Act for the University of Delaware and Delaware State University…”

HB 351 (Morrison): ‘requires candidates for either House of the General Assembly to obtain a criminal history background check to ensure that they have not been convicted of or plead guilty to any crime that, per the Delaware state constitution, disqualifies them from holding said office.’

SB 233 (Lockman): ‘While some municipalities are exploring ending municipal voter registration requirements, and the General Assembly has authorized some to do so by changing their charter, this Act would do so for all municipalities as it relates to resident voters.’

HB 366 (Morrison): ‘requires a candidate’s political committee’s contribution and expense report, provided to the Department of Elections, to include the primary employer and job title of each person contributing to the committee. The Act requires the Department to review every committee report for any contribution or expense violation and to note the report, on the Department’s website, as either “submitted but not reviewed” or “reviewed and final”. The Act also requires the Department of Elections to provide a telephone number and online form for reporting alleged campaign financing violations with an option for the informant to provide their contact information to the Department.’

HS 1/HB 288 (Morrison): ‘requires private and public employers in the State to give any employee who is a resident of Delaware and scheduled to work at least 7.5 hours on an election day 2 hours of paid leave in order for the employee to exercise the right to vote in person.

HB 220 (Wilson-Anton): ‘first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to conserve, protect and maintain Delaware’s natural resources, including its water, air, soil, flora, fauna, ecosystems and climate. This Amendment would create an inherent and inalienable right for all Delawareans to a clean and healthy environment. The Amendment would also declare that the State, including all of its branches, agencies, and political subdivisions, as trustee of the State’s natural resources.’

HB 405 (Kowalko):  ‘establishes an independent and nonpartisan Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the position of the Inspector General.’

SS1/SB 11 (Townsend): ‘the first leg of a constitutional amendment that will modernize the bail provisions within the Delaware Constitution and clarify the power of the General Assembly to define either certain offenses for which, or circumstances under which, pretrial release on bail may not be available. The current provision allowing that only “capital offenses” are not bailable first appeared in its present form in the Delaware Constitution of 1792. At that time, “capital offenses” included many more offenses than the term does today.’

Agriculture Committee (Ol’ Lumpy Carson):

HB 297 (Dorsey Walker): ‘(1) Requires the Department of Agriculture (“Department”) to take certain actions to include socially disadvantaged farmers in the agricultural decision-making process in this State and provide outreach to socially disadvantaged farmers to make them aware of programs to assist them. (2) Establishes an agricultural training program in the Department to encourage and assist a socially disadvantaged farmer, military veteran farmer, or beginning farmer in the ownership or operation of agricultural land in this State. The Department is to collaborate with the Cooperative Extension programs at the Delaware State University and the University of Delaware. (3) Establishes an agricultural land lease program in the Department to identify land owned by this State that is suitable for agricultural use and give priority for leases to socially disadvantaged farmers, military veteran farmers, and beginning farmers. (4) Requires the Department, in collaboration with the Cooperative Extension programs at the Delaware State University and the University of Delaware, to develop a farmer incubator program that provides a military veteran farmer and beginning farmer with the opportunity to receive training on a plot of land at an incubator site operated by the Department, identify the initial and annual costs of and a location for the program, and report the Department’s findings. (5) Requires the Secretary of the Department to issue an annual report on activities required under this Act.’

Appropriations Committee (Pete’s Stooge: Ol’ Lumpy Carson):

HB 37 (Minor-Brown): ‘creat(es) a “public health emergency credit” that would automatically be awarded when a public health emergency is declared. Credits would be awarded at the rate of 6 months for every month served during the public health emergency up to a maximum reduction in sentence of 1 year. This has the practical effect of moving forward release dates for inmates whose release would come within the next year regardless of the emergency. This will reduce the prison population in an orderly and fair manner…

SS1/SB 3 (Lockman): ‘(1) Creates an application process to obtain a handgun qualified purchaser card to authorize the purchase of a handgun. While an applicant will incur costs related to fingerprinting and required training, a fee will not be charged to obtain the permit. (2) Requires licensed importers, manufacturers, or dealers, as well as unlicensed persons, to require an individual to present the individual’s handgun qualified purchaser card before selling or transferring a firearm to an individual. (3) Requires that an applicant complete a firearms training course within 5 years before the date of application, similar to what is required by Delaware’s concealed carry permit law. An individual licensed to carry a concealed deadly weapon is exempt from this requirement as they must already complete a firearms training course to be licensed. (4) Sends to law-enforcement information that is already collected at the time of sale and required under federal law to be made available to law-enforcement. This change assists law-enforcement in the criminal investigations they already conduct.’  This key gun control measure passed the Senate in April of 2021 and has been buried in this committee ever since. While Pete ‘n Val grandstand with measures full of loopholes, they are intent on killing this bill.

HB 118 (Lynn): ‘Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have established a process for compensating individuals who have been wrongly convicted. This Act creates such a process for Delaware.’

SS1/SB 101 (Townsend): ‘creates a right to counsel for tenants in evictions and other landlord-tenant actions. Approximately 18,000 eviction cases are filed each year in the State of Delaware, and while 86% of landlords are represented by an attorney, agent, or business manager, only 2% of tenants have representation.’  Speaker Pete reassigned this bill in order to give both Lumpy Carson and Stephanie Bolden a second chance to kill it.  The Senate needs to play hardball on this.

Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee (aka ‘The Business Lapdog Committee, chaired by Rep. Bill Bush, Delaware’s Joe Manchin):

HB 10 (Kowalko): ‘adopts the Agreement to Phase-Out Corporate Giveaways, under which member states are prohibited from offering or providing company-specific tax incentives or grants to an entity as inducement for the entity to physically relocate to the state from a location in a member state.’

HS 1/HB 239 (Lynn): ‘creates an exception to the restriction on manufacturers operating vehicle dealerships in Delaware to allow a manufacturer of zero-emission vehicles that does not operate any franchises to own, control or operate dealerships in Delaware.’

HB 261 (Griffith): ‘(1) requires health carriers to use a common summary of payment form, developed by the Department of Insurance, in collaboration with health insurers, for defined sensitive health care services; (2) prohibits the health carriers from specifying any defined sensitive health care services in the form…

HS 1/HB 94 (K. Williams): ‘this bill ensures that employees who receive tips or gratuities also receive a minimum wage increase when other employees in the State receive a minimum wage increase.’

HB 409 (Morrison):  ‘requires all employers in the State to provide employees with a minimum of 1 hour of earned sick time and safety leave for every 30 hours worked. For employers with fewer than 10 employees, the time may be unpaid, job-protected time instead of paid time. Accrued earned sick time and safety leave may be used by the employee for time off with pay at the employee’s regular wage and benefit rate to deal with the mental and physical health needs of either the employee or an employee’s family member and other specified purposes.’

Revenue & Finance Committee (The Eternally-Corrupt Stephanie Bolden):

HB 256 (Kowalko):  ‘adjusts the existing tax brackets and the tax rate for each bracket, combining some existing brackets and creating 2 new brackets. The 2 new brackets are taxed at the highest rates, but by combining some existing brackets, this Act also slightly increases or decreases the tax rate for some incomes. Under current law, taxable income in excess of $60,000 is taxed at a rate of 6.6%. Under this Act, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020, income between $60,000 and $125000 will continue to be taxed at a rate of 6.6%, but income above $125,000 will be taxed as follows: 1. In excess of $125,000 but not in excess of $250,000, at 6.75%. 2. In excess of $250,000, at 6.95%.’

The Kop Kabal has marginalized progressive legislation, often by marginalizing progressive legislators.  In the case of Eric Morrison and Rae Moore, the Kabal is actively working against members of its own Caucus, and has found ex-cops to run against them.

The Kabal must be defeated.  In the very near future, I will lay out just how to do this.