General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Since not much happened yesterday, now’s a good time to ask the question that has been hanging over the General Assembly since January:  Whither goeth Speaker Pete and the House Democratic Caucus?

Fact: Schwartzkopf informed the House D Caucus during the leadership battle that he would (a) step down as Speaker at the end of this year’s session; and (b) he would also resign from the General Assembly. It, of course, could have merely been a convenient prevarication to save his Speakership, and that he had no intention of honoring his declaration.  Nevertheless, he made that promise, and it’s almost May.

We’ll have lots more on this moving forward.  Just wanted to get your political juices flowing.

Did I mention that not much happened yesterday?  Here’s the Session Activity Report.  You’ll notice that Our PAL Val has introduced several bills dealing with mental health.  Ironic coming from the most relentless bully of staff in the entire General Assembly, perhaps in the entire history of the body.  Nice to know, though, that she supports mental health treatment in the abstract, if not in her own behavior towards others. (Hey, there’s a reason she once again had to take a back seat to Speaker Pete.)  She’s never had a meaningful primary opponent, sure would be nice if someone would step up.  They could run an entire volunteer grassroots organization populated by those who have been mistreated by her.  That would be a seriously motivated grassroots.

No House or Senate agendas today save one non-controversial bill in the Senate, but plenty of key bills in committee, perhaps highlighted by SB 2, the ‘Permit To Purchase’ bill.

Highlights from today’s House Committee meetings:

SB 51 (Paradee) “prohibits food establishments from providing consumers with ready-to-eat food or beverages in polystyrene foam containers or with single-service plastic coffee stirrers, cocktail picks, or sandwich picks. It also prohibits food establishments from providing single-service plastic straws, unless requested by a consumer.”  We know that Our PAL Val will try to kill it since one of those plastic throwaway manufacturers (the ubiquitous red Solo cup is their biggest seller) is in her district.  We just don’t know how she’ll try (and likely succeed) to kill it.  Bill passed in the Senate by a 14-5 vote (1 not voting, one absent).  Has 16 House co-sponsors, including one R.  Health & Human Development.

SB 52 (Pinkney) “directs the State’s current needle exchange program to take a needs-based approach.”  Got 15 votes in the Senate. All the D’s. Health & Human Development.

HB 135 (Lynn) “requires that of the five Justices appointed to the Supreme Court, at least one is a resident of Kent County, at least one is a resident of Sussex County and at least two are residents of New Castle County.” Parochialism writ large.  There are only five.  As Mike Castle used to say, “Why not send our best?”  Almost by definition, that would exclude any R from Suxco. Judiciary.

HB 62 (Wilson-Anton) “requires that each county reassess the value of real property in the county at least once every 5 years. The first 5-year period starts when the reassessment currently being conducted by each county is completed.”  Good bill, good sponsors, in a pretty good committee.  It deserves a vote on the floor.  Housing.

Today’s Senate Committee highlights:

SB 80 (S. McBride) “codifies the current practice in Delaware of not requiring proof of citizenship or a specific immigration status on an application for a professional license. By affirmatively providing eligibility for professional licenses regardless of immigration status, this Act brings Delaware into compliance with a federal requirement…”.  Health & Social Services.

SB 83 (Brown) “creates the Delaware Community Investment Venture Fund to develop opportunities for banking organizations and credit unions doing business in Delaware to better serve the needs of low to moderate income tracts in Delaware.”  OK, what am I missing here?  It looks like what we’re really doing is bribing banks and/or credit unions to do what they already should be doing.  We’re gonna hand them $2.75 mill to, quoting from the fiscal note:

a. Invest in the development of financial products or financial product underwriting innovations that will enhance access to capital, funding, and other financial services forbusinesses in low to moderate-income tracts;

b. Deploy, test, and evaluate these innovations for providing capital and funding to businesses in low to moderate-income tracts; and

c. Promote and make these innovations available to a variety of banking organizations and credit unions for use in enhancing access to capital, funding, and other financial services for businesses in low to moderate-income tracts.

I’ve got an idea.  Since we already throw a shit-ton of state money at these corporations, how about if we, just once, require them to do something in the public interest (although I’m not convinced that this is in the public interest)? Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology.

SB 2 (Lockman).  The ‘Permit To Purchase’ bill.  A very important bill, which:

(1) Creates an application process to obtain a handgun qualified purchaser permit 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. A holder of a valid concealed carry permit, a qualified law-enforcement officer, and a qualified retired law-enforcement officer are not required to obtain or present a handgun qualified purchaser permit. (2) Prohibits a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer, as well as unlicensed persons, from selling or transferring a handgun to an individual unless the individual has a handgun qualified purchaser permit. (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. (4) Makes clear that § 904A of Title 24 is not intended to prohibit law-enforcement officials from keeping records. (5) Requires the Department of Safety and Homeland Security to develop and administer a firearms training voucher program for low-income residents to provide low-income residents with a voucher to cover the costs of the firearms training course required under Section 1 of this Act.

Judiciary.

The Margaret Rose Henry Vanity Tag bill continues its inevitable slog towards passage in the Senate today.  Only four legislators voted against this pathetic bill in the House, and I salute them:  Reps. Griffith, K. Williams, Shupe, and Wilson-Anton.  Longhurst went not voting, which is the same as a no.  Environment, Energy & Transportation.

SB 3 (Brown) “is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to eliminate the limitations on when an individual may vote absentee and authorizes the General Assembly to enact general laws providing the circumstances, rules, and procedures for absentee voting in this State. This Act is in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Albence v. Higgins, 2022 Del. LEXIS 377 (Del. 2022). This Act requires all absentee ballots to include an oath or affirmation that the qualified voter’s vote is free from improper influence.”  Hey, Rethugs took expansion of absentee voting privileges to court, and won.  Plenty of votes to meet the threshold in the Senate.  Think we’re still just short in the House.  If we knock off Ramone and Mike Smith, we’ve got it.  I think.  Executive.

Hmmm, more politics than usual in the post-game/pre-game.  I, for one, like it.