Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Progressive bills continue to be held hostage in the House.  Since I wrote that piece last Monday, only one of the 21 bills that the Kop Kabal has kept kaptive has been released from committee.  Rep. Kowalko’s Inspector General bill.  That, at least is good, right?  Uh, no.  Because Speaker Pete has reassigned the bill to the Appropriations Committee, where Pete’s Pet Gerbil Lumpy Carson will kill the bill. In other words, it’s like leaving Guantanamo only to be transferred to a super-max in Colorado.

Yes, I’ve been sounding the same note ad nauseum.  But, progressive legislation will not make it through the House until the Kop Kabal is gone from leadership.  Might I suggest supporting, contributing and/or volunteering for any or all of the following candidates?  James Taylor (RD 2 vs. Stephanie Bolden);  Becca Cotto (RD 6 vs. Deb Heffernan);  DeShanna Neal (RD 13 vs. Larry Mitchell);  and Kerri Evelyn Harris (RD 32 in a three-way primary for an open seat).

But, I digress, albeit an important digression.

The Budget Bill will likely pass the Senate today.  Does anybody really care whether Colin Bonini votes for it?  He effectively demonstrated his own obsolescence with his failed non-filibuster filibuster last Thursday.

Today’s Senate Agenda also features Speaker Pete’s bill raising the age for purchase of deadly weapons from 18 to 21.  The question remains whether the Senate will do anything about HA 8, which significantly weakened the bill.  Betcha the Senate would like to, but with the Kop Kabal calling all the shots in the House, I don’t know if they can and still pass something.

Today’s House Agenda features at least two bills that might deserve further scrutiny.  HB 453 (Schwartzkopf) ‘makes necessary updates to Delaware Code provisions codifying procedures related to the General Assembly to bring these provisions into compliance with current practice and to make technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.’  Among those conforming measures, the bill ‘updates the amount of the stipend paid to members of the General Assembly consistent with the amount authorized under the most recent report of the Compensation Commission.’  A nice way of giving yourself a raise.  I don’t oppose this, just pointing out how a previous General Assembly has made this practice seemingly innocuous. I also found this provision fascinating:

In Section 22, replaces the requirement that a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution be approved by two-thirds of the members of the General Assembly with a requirement that it be approved by a simple majority vote. The two-third vote requirement is unconstitutional under the Delaware Constitution because it conflicts with Section 10 of Article II of the Delaware Constitution, which provides for the passage of legislation by the concurrence of a majority of members elected to each house. The General Assembly cannot alter the requirement of a majority vote without an amendment to the Delaware Constitution. See Section 512 of Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure (2020).

I think this means that, for example, if Delaware wants to approve an amendment to the US Constitution say, legalizing the Equal Rights Amendment, the vote in the Delaware General Assembly must be a majority vote, not a 2/3rds majority.

I have no problem with the bill, just found this stuff interesting.  Might be the only one.

This bill, however, has Kop Kabal stench all over it.  No, police can’t be everywhere.  But cameras can.  The bill provides for electronic monitoring virtually everywhere.  Didn’t anybody learn a lesson from Wilmington’s abuse of red light cameras?

Today’s House Committee highlights:

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.’  This is one of the 21 bills that the Kop Kabal has held hostage.  Even if the bill is released from committee (meaning it has to run the gauntlet against Bill Bush and Stephanie Bolden), Speaker Pete will likely reassign the bill to the Appropriations Committee. Because he can.  Business Lapdog Committee.

Do we need more cops?  Do we need to be spending money for more cops?  HB 437 (M. Smith) makes it so.  It:

…seeks to create the Expanded Protection for Our Communities and Homes (EPOCH) Grant Program through a one-time appropriation of $20 million. The grant money would be distributed to every Delaware police agency that chooses to participate. The distribution would consist of a minimum standard allocation made to each agency and an allocation based on the number of uniformed officers authorized for each agency. EPOCH grants could be used by the recipient agencies to recruit new officers; promote or encourage careers in law enforcement; initially pay the salaries of newly hired officers; pay for overtime to facilitate additional work to address issues of local concern (including traffic enforcement); and implement programs designed to improve public safety in the area of the agency’s jurisdiction. The grant allocations would be available for the agencies to use for up to three years, after which any unused and unencumbered funding would return to the General Fund.

Might I point out that there is already a police slush fund, culled primarily from their seizing of property from citizens of this state, that could easily be used for this purpose?

For those of you scoring at home, or just reading this blog (h/t to Keith Olbermann back in his ESPN days), that’s two blatant Kop Kabal bills being sneaked through the General Assembly in the waning days of this session.  This one. And this one.

Today’s Senate Committee highlights:

I rarely comment on bills once they’ve passed one chamber and are being considered in the other.  The logic being, I’ve already addressed them once.  However, here are two notable exceptions, one positive, and one illustrative of Delaware Way secrecy:

HB 455 (Minor-Brown) strengthens protections on women’s reproductive health.  Among other things, the bill certifies 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. This section also authorizes the following to terminate pregnancy before viability: (1) A physician assistant with a collaborative agreement with an appropriately training physician; and (2) A certified nurse midwife or certified nurse practitioner who demonstrates knowledge and competency, including successful completion of a training or certification approved by the Board of Nursing. Section 3. This section prohibits a health care provider from disclosing communications and records concerning reproductive health services, but does provide exceptions including if such records are requested for the purposes of investigating a complaint against a health care provider and the records are relevant to such complaint or to if requested to investigate a claim of abuse and such records are relevant to such investigation. This section also provides protections and limitations against civil actions from another state relating to the termination of pregnancy.

And lots more. Legislative Oversight And Sunset.

This one, OTOH, has all the earmarks of a cover-up. In fact, the synopsis comes right out and says it:

The Department of Agriculture recently responded to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza impacting Delaware poultry farms in coordination with agencies and officials from Delaware, Maryland, and USDA APHIS, as well as individual farmers and independent contractors. In connection with that response, the Department received or drafted certain information regarding persons, animals, land, and emergency response plans that should be confidential. This Act will help to protect the safety and security of individuals, agricultural operations, and animals and avoid any vulnerabilities that disclosure poses on the control and eradication of disease among animal species.

Only the public need not be protected. Or informed.  That’s the Delaware Way.