It WAS a pretty interesting day yesterday. I listened to the entire Senate debate on the Community Workforce Agreement section of SB 35 (Walsh), and it’s still as clear as mud to me. Will it benefit minority workers and contractors, or will it provide further protection to the predominantly white construction trades? Not a word was uttered about the Delaware Way goodies I flagged yesterday. Business as usual. The bill passed the Senate on a party line vote.
I was surprised that the Realty Transfer Tax cut made it out of the House Revenue & Finance Committee yesterday, but I probably shouldn’t have been. After all, it has to be considered by the Joint Finance Committee regardless. Plus, would you want to make an enemy of Pete’s Chosen Enforcer, Bill Bush?
The same committee released the Marijuana Control Act yesterday.
Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report.
There are a few ‘must-pass’ bills that need to reach the Governor’s desk by end of business on Thursday. That will primarily be the General Assembly’s focus these next two days.
Other than a Senate Resolution on Ethics Violations, all legislative activity today will be in the form of committee meetings.
Today’s House Committee highlights:
HB 1 (Osienski): ‘(R)emoves all penalties for use or possession of a personal use quantity of marijuana and marijuana accessories. It further specifies that the adult sharing of a personal use quantity or less of marijuana is legal activity for those 21 years of age or older and that those 21 or older may possess, use, display, purchase, or transport accessories and personal use quantities of marijuana without penalty’. Health & Human Development.
HB 65 (Heffernan): ‘(P)rovides State employees who suffer a miscarriage, stillbirth or other loss, a maximum of 5 days of paid bereavement leave’. Health & Human Development.
HB 53 (Griffith): ‘(R)emoves the requirement that a head or assistant head of any Division of the State Department of Justice or the Chief Prosecutor of a particular county be a resident of the State of Delaware’. I have no problem with this. Better to have someone of high caliber in these positions even if they don’t live in Delaware. Judiciary.
HB 33 (K. Williams): ‘(I)ncreases funding for preschool children with disabilities who are not counted in either “intensive” or “complex” special education units by revising the current ratio of 12.8 students per unit to 8.4 students per unit for children 3 years of age and older enrolled in a preschool program.’ Education. I suspect that release of this bill will go a long way towards enabling the Joint Finance Committee to consider this expenditure during budget mark-up.
Today’s Senate Committee highlights:
HB 49 (Osienski), a ‘must-pass’ bill, that:
”provides post-pandemic related relief to both claimants receiving unemployment benefits and employers who are assessed unemployment taxes. This bill will increase the maximum weekly benefit amount payable to claimants seeking unemployment compensation benefits from the Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Unemployment Insurance from $400.00 a week to $450.00 a week’,
has already passed the House. The Senate will likely do the same tomorrow. Labor Committee.
I think this is Kyra Hoffner’s first bill, and it’s a good one. SB 24 ‘requires all schools with a student diagnosed with a seizure disorder to train at least 2 employees in the administration of rescue medication or treatment prescribed to treat a student with a seizure disorder’. Education.
HS 1/HB 34 (K. Williams) ‘requires school boards, including charter schools, to permit public comment on each agenda item presented for a vote at a school board meeting. The public comment period must take place before the school board vote on an agenda item.’ Education.
Some days lend themselves to snark. Some, like yesterday, don’t.