General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thursday, May 4, 2023
Two disappointing, but not entirely unexpected, committee results headline today’s wrap-up.
HB 104 (Bush), which yet again expands the ability of developers to avoid most oversight, cleared the Senate Housing & Land Use Committee. When the Chamber and the Building Trades join forces, there’s not much you can do.
HB 96 (Morrison), which would enable those 16 years and older to vote in school board elections, was tabled in the House Education Committee. One would think that Democrats would see both the policy and political wisdom in giving students some say in their education, and in causing RWNJ’s to have their heads explode. One, apparently, would be wrong.
Two other bills, one dubious, one stoopid, also cleared committee yesterday. Not a great day.
Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report. An interesting note: The Senate approved two nominees to be Supreme Court justices: Christopher Griffiths and Abigail LeGrow. Not a single Rethug voted to confirm either nominee. This is a bit of a change from what has traditionally happened. Maybe D’s will deep-six an R nominee. You know, just to let them know who’s boss.
Both agendas today are of the ‘low-hanging fruit’ variety. With the exception of SB 3(Brown), which is #2 on today’s Senate Agenda. It is the first leg of a constitutional amendment that ‘eliminate(s) 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’. Assuming everyone’s present, a 15-6 roll call is a stone-cold lock.
For all you completists out there, here is today’s House Agenda.
I feel complete. Hope you do too. If so, I complete you.
Here’s why the Rethugs voted against the two Supreme Court nominees:
https://www.wdel.com/news/delaware-senate-confirms-controversial-supreme-court-nominee/article_a4cf8122-ea09-11ed-a9c8-ff6ff0d67a61.html
Kent County ‘got thrown under the bus’. Actually, Delaware got thrown under the bus when the retiring Kent County judge only got his job through nepotism. The only thing distinguished about Justice Vaughn was that his father was the proud know-nothing James T. Vaughn, who basically ran the state corrections system (badly) from his perch in the Senate after having run it (badly) as Corrections Commissioner.
I don’t know where you got your information from but, the Delaware Building Trades has no interaction with HB 104. When I called the President of the Trades, he didn’t even know what the Bill did and has had no discussion with Rep. Bush or any other legislator or government representative regarding it. I’ve noticed that this website regularly makes accusations regarding the Trades without any verification.
When Sen. Walsh is one of the sponsors of a bill like this, it is only b/c labor wants it. Regardless of what the guy you talked to said.
You’ve got Bush and Mantzavinos, who are the two most Democratic Chamber-friendly legislators. Then you have Walsh, who–isn’t.
The guy I talked to was President of the Building Trades and AFLCIO. You should stop jumping to conclusions based on no real information. Common sense tells you that the Trades and Chamber don’t get along and don’t work together.
And Jack Walsh was a leader in IBEW. Which is why he is one of only two Senate prime sponsors on the bill. From his bio, if you don’t believe me:
“A lifelong Delawarean and graduate of St. Mark’s High School, Walsh is an electrician by trade and has been a proud member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 313 for nearly 38 years.
From 1993 to 2002, he served on Local 313’s board of directors, executive board and its political action committee. He also led the union’s Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee from 1996 to 2001. Today, Sen. Walsh works as a project manager for Preferred Electric Inc.”
Keep hanging around. You might learn something.
I try to learn the correct answers instead of assumptions by someone who has no first hand knowledge.
Your reasoning is like saying that because you produce a Democrat blog, you speak for Democrats. That’s like saying you shop at Shop Rite so you must be a supporter of Chris Kenney or you used ex Sen. Anthony Delcollo for your house closing so you support the Republican agenda.
So, also by your reasoning, Sen. Walsh has also passed many laws involving animal protection much like ex Rep. Mulrooney (Business Manager for IBEW 313 at one time) so the Electricians/ Trades must be great animal activists. Maybe it’s because they have other constituents or an interest all by themselves. Newsflash…Sen. Walsh doesn’t just work on Union Bills. He is a community activist.
C’mon man. When you find out you were wrong about a bad rumor, admit it. A failure to do so jeopardizes your credibility on everything else.
Hmmmm, let’s see–I worked in the General Assembly for some 22 years, I am in regular contact with current legislators. So I have plenty of, at least, second-hand knowledge from the first-hand knowledge of legislators who are on the scene.
Your logic is so illogical that I won’t even try to deal with it. I have no problems with Walsh as a senator, far from it. This bill will benefit the building trades b/c it will eliminate barriers to, you know, building. It is why the Chamber and the trades are on the same side in this case.
The two prime Senate sponsors on this bill represent each side of that coin–Mantzavinos for the Chamber, and Walsh for the construction trades.
That’s it. Simple.
You apparently don’t know as much as you think.
Mantzavinos worked with the Trades a s a lobbyist at one point as well as the Refinery. He didn’t sponser it for the Trades either.
In other words, you still are dead wrong on this and continue to perpetuate a lie. By your logic, you must be a Trumpster because you continue to push lies.
This bill is being pushed hard by John Carney. He views passing bills that enable rampant development as his legacy. He has assembled the coalition (Bush/Mantzavinos for the developers, Walsh for labor) to get the bill passed.
BTW, the Building Trades have every right to support this bill, and Sen. Walsh has every right to sponsor it.
You have called me a liar and a Trumpster. I am neither. Further name-calling will result in your banning from the site.
You have been warned.
Teens are too dumb/impressionable to make good choices, so the age to purchase tobacco was raised to 21. I’d have more respect for Morrison if he just said the quiet part loud. I don’t disagree with the intended (real) outcome of this legislation; he can be as honest about it as the Rs have been regarding voter suppression with no ill effect.
If we ban the very dumb and impressionable from voting I’d have some bad news for most Delaware adults.
Maybe someone can sneak in “permit to vote” legislation in parallel with permit to purchase
LIKE:) REV
I will say, I usually agree that what comes out of the Delaware State Senate is good work, the nomination of Griffiths to the State Supreme Court is one I can’t wrap my head around. Very poor decision for the high court. He hasn’t so much as ever written an opinion.
We need new leadership. #2024
@Paul T.: “Common sense tells you that the Trades and Chamber don’t get along and don’t work together.”
You have faulty common sense. In this state unions and management usually get along quite well when they both want the same thing. That’s why, for example, the unions at the Delaware City refinery were against requiring new scrubbers. Installing them would have required more workers, but management made clear that if legislation requiring them passed they would try to break the union. So the union fell in line behind management.
Meanwhile, I’m amused by the idea that because the guy you talked to said he knew nothing about it that closes the story. Did it ever occur to you that this person does not owe you the truth and might have motivation not to tell you the truth? For someone who claims to want the truth, not realizing that some people will be motivated to tell you lies seems like a fatal flaw.