Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Stop the presses! Stephanie Bolden wants EVERYONE to know that she would have voted for HB 2 had she shown up for session on Thursday, and anyone who says otherwise is trying to besmirch her pristine reputation.  Which begs the question–will she vote to override Carney’s veto of the bill? Will she show up?  BTW, some legislators are optimistic that Carney will not veto the pot bills this year. I don’t share their optimism.  Prove me  wrong, John.

Today’s Senate Agenda features a key bill if funding has been made available to implement it.  SB 33 (Gay) would require that the Division of Family Services reduce caseload standards from 18 families to 12 families per caseworker:

Due to the volume of work generated by a caseload of 18 families, workers are significantly restricted in the time they can spend on critical case activities such as family engagement, assessment of safety, and face-to-face contact with children and families.

Agreed.  I listened to the committee hearing, I’ve reached out to the prime sponsor, but have not gotten an answer to the question: Will new funding be required and, if so, has it been provided?  Unless you’re gonna serve fewer families, you’ll need more caseworkers. If funded, it’s a great bill.

Today’s House Agenda features a ‘no-brainer’ in the form of HB 54 (K. Williams), which expands mandatory health insurance coverage for epinephrine injections to all Delawareans. The current law only covers those aged 18 years old or younger.

Also of note is HB 53 (Griffith),  which ‘removes 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.’  Rep. Griffith has filed an amendment which ‘clarifies that the Delaware residency requirement applies to Chief Prosecutors’, meaning the bill would only permit ‘a head or assistant head of any Division of the State Department of Justice’ to reside outside of Delaware.  In a nod to parochialism, Rep. Lynn has introduced an amendment that ‘requires that a lawyer designated by the Attorney General as Chief Prosecutor of a county must reside in that county at the time the lawyer is designated Chief Prosecutor of that county’.  Uh, really?

Only two committee meetings in the House today, only one bill of interest.  Said bill is HB 73 (Osienski), which, as I read it, permits ‘the Department (of Labor to) bring a civil action against a claimant for purposes of collecting an overpayment debt at any time.  Hmmm.  No statute of limitations any more.  Having said that, the sponsors are pro-labor legislators, so I honestly don’t know the bill’s impetus.  House Labor Committee.

Coming tomorrow (assuming Rep. Bolden deigns to show up), consideration of a bill that’s so terrible it’s great!  That alone is worth the non-price of admission.