Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, June 14, 2022

What bills will the Kop Kabal allow to be considered this week?  That, after all, is how business is conducted in the House.  Don’t forget it. Act on it.

Well, let’s look at today’s House Agenda.

Want to know what the quintessential ‘bipartisan’ Delaware Way bill is this session?  It’s HB 276 (Bennett), which leads off the Agenda.  Bringing gun nuts and pot legalization supporters together in order to make sure that the Constitutional rights of medical marijuana users to acquire weapons of mass destruction shall not be impinged.  Making it even more Delaware Way?  Prime sponsor Andria Bennett (a) should have been, but wasn’t, investigated by the House Ethics Committee for admitted spousal abuse; and (b) got a cushy government job with the City of Dover that should have, but didn’t, lead to her resignation from the House in January.

Oh, there’s more.  HB 423 (Mitchell) gives the cops sole authority over background check procedures for weapons purchases. Because we know they will apply the law equally, and without favor.

And more.  HB 451 (Schwartzkopf) increases from 18 to 21 the age when persons are eligible to purchase firearms.  Except…with these exceptions:

Those circumstances are if the person is 18 years of age or older and an active member of the Armed Forces, a qualified law-enforcement officer, or has a license to carry a concealed deadly weapon. The Act does not apply to shotguns and shotgun ammunition, muzzle-loading rifles, and deadly weapons other than firearms, thus allowing those persons who are 18 to 21 years of age to purchase, own, control or possess such deadly weapons. Persons under the age of 21 may possess or control a firearm for the purpose of engaging in lawful hunting, instruction, sporting, or recreational activity while under the direct supervision of a person 21 year of age or older… the bill only criminalizes the control of a weapon which by compressed air or by spring discharges or projects a pellet, slug, or bullet by a person who is not a qualified law enforcement officer if such pellet, slug, or bullet is larger than .177 caliber shot.

Other than that, it covers everybody.  This is what passes for gun control within the Kop Kabal. And the State of Delaware. A fucking joke.

A less notable Senate Agenda today. I don’t know if SB 312 (Walsh) has unanimous support from the manufactured homes community. I notice that Sen. Ennis is not a sponsor, and I know that he has had issues with a major piece of legislation affecting people living in these communities.  Sen. Ennis has been the leading Senate advocate for these people and communities. I figure, if his name is on the bill, it’s a good bill.  If not, I have  questions.

Loads of bills in committee this week. Just not any of interest in the House today.  Tomorrow is another story.  Which I’ll write tomorrow.

Today’s Senate Committee highlights (keep in mind that I rarely discuss bills that have already passed the other chamber since I previously have discussed them when they were in the chamber of origin):

*SB 321 (Pinkney) ‘broadens the scope of mental health practitioners who are authorized by statute to conduct examinations with inmates for purposes of advising the Board of Pardons on matters material to the Board’s scope of review. This will enable licensed mental health practitioners and other clinical mental health professionals to participate in the process of evaluating and reporting upon an offender’s mental health history, likelihood to re-offend, and other pertinent matters that will assist the deliberative process of the Board of Pardons.’  Corrections & Public Safety.

*SB 315 (Walsh) ‘makes substantial changes’ to Delaware’s Workers’ Comp Act.  Based on the sponsors, this looks like legislation that benefits workers. Labor.

While I rarely discuss House bills in Senate Committee, I will make an exception for HB 205 (Lambert), which ‘establishes the Delaware Expanding Access for Retirement and Necessary Saving (“EARNS”) program to serve as a vehicle through which eligible employees may, on a voluntary basis, provide for additional retirement security through a State-facilitated retirement savings program in a convenient, cost effective, and portable manner. The EARNS program will be designed to serve small businesses who are unable to offer retirement plans to employees due to the cost and administrative burden.’  Great bill from a great legislator.  Big props to State Treasurer Colleen Davis for helping to put this bill together. Labor.

*SB 180 (Brown) has all the earmarks of ‘special interest’ legislation.  the bill ‘revises the circumstances under which an applicant can be denied a license by the Real Estate Commission because of a criminal conviction. Similar to the recent changes made other professional license requirements, this Act does all of the following: 1. Defines when a crime is substantially related to the professions regulated by the Real Estate Commission. 2. Reduces the time since conviction to be eligible for a waiver of a felony conviction for a crime against a person from 5 years to 3 years. 3. Reduces the time since conviction to be eligible for a waiver of all other felony conviction for a crime from 5 years to 2 years.’  Only two sponsors.  Sunset.

For some reason, the following lyric from James McMurtry popped into my head:

Your brother was a doctor
They sent him to the pen
Medicare fraud
They say he’s doing it again.

Let’s pray for their poor lost souls.