It’s official: Eric Buckson is the wannabe leader of the Rethuglican Party. Either that, or he just can’t get enough of his own stentorian stylings. Or both. It’s like he’s channeling John Wilkes Booth who, lest we forget, was an AC-tor. A self-important strutting peacock. Yesterday, he voted against the so-called Consent Agenda in the Senate. He could have merely requested that bills he doesn’t like be removed from the Consent Agenda. Instead, he voted against the package of bills with that one vote. No, he isn’t an assassin. No, he doesn’t spout the N-word in public. But he needs the spotlight. (Betcha Nathan Arizona knows what’s coming. Yes, time for some Sondheim!):
You don’t get this with any other post-game wrap-up/pre-game show of the Delaware General Assembly. But, I digress.
The aforementioned Senate Consent Agenda passed, 20-1. I’m calling it: Buckson is the next State Rethug Chair whenever Julianne Murray heads for the exits. If he doesn’t run for statewide office first. And/or after he runs for statewide office and loses.
Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report. You’ll note that Sen. Buckson introduced legislation to bring back Delaware’s death penalty. Or, to be more precise, legislation to bring Delaware into conformity with the Supreme Court’s standards for imposing the death penalty. The result would be the same–restoring the death penalty to Delaware. It’s going nowhere except onto Rethug election brochures.
Other than some likely votes on nominations, all of today’s activity takes place in committee meetings.
Senate committee highlights include the following:
SB 9 (S. McBride) creates a ‘comprehensive system to eliminate lead-based paint from those residences where children are still exposed to lead’. This is major legislation. Both Sen. McBride and Rep. Lambert have been working on this for quite some time. Health & Social Services.
SB 72 (Poore) permits ‘ residents of Delaware who are active members of a labor organization to claim a tax credit equal to the annual cost of maintaining their membership in the labor organization, not to exceed $500’. That’s a 15-6 Senate roll call vote if ever there was one. Labor.
SB 99 (Pinkney) ‘…prohibits municipal ordinances that require the eviction of tenants for criminal activity by a tenant, member of the tenant’s household, or a guest’. Housing & Land Use. Some context:
This Act is a recommendation of the African American Task Force, established under Senate Bill No. 260 (150th General Assembly). In addition, the 2020 Statewide Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, a report produced by the Delaware State Fair Housing Consortium, lists the removal of crime-free housing ordinances and legislation banning such ordinances as one of its goals for ensuring that people within the protected classes have equal access to housing. Currently, at least 6 municipalities in Delaware have crime-free housing ordinances. Generally, these ordinances require landlords to include an addendum on their lease agreements prohibiting a tenant, member of the tenant’s household, or a guest from committing a criminal activity within a specified distance of their unit. If a tenant, member of the tenant’s household, or a guest commits a certain number of criminal activities within a specified time period, the landlord must initiate eviction proceedings.
The annual package of unintelligible Corporate Law bills will be considered in the Senate Judiciary Committee. This package is designed to maintain Delaware as the pre-eminent corporate law center of America. I suppose it’s best that nobody understand what’s really in it. Judiciary.
SB 103 (McBride) seeks to expand the availability of EV charging stations by ‘(r)equiring that newly constructed single-family and multi-family residential dwellings include certain electric vehicle charging infrastructure.’ Environment, Energy & Transportation.
SB 87 (Huxtable) makes changes to the Realty Transfer Tax in order to encourage the availability of low-cost housing. Executive.
Did someone liken Sen. Buckson to a ‘self-important strutting peacock’? Yep, he’s introduced term limits legislation. He knows it has no chance of being enacted. He knows he can get attention from the press by introducing it. Executive.
HB 9 and HB 10. ‘Do as I do, not just as I say’. Each bill moves state purchase of electric vehicles closer to reality. HB 9 (Griffith) ‘requires that all passenger vehicles and light duty vehicles owned and operated by the State be zero emission vehicles by 2040 by requiring increasing volumes of zero emission vehicles every few years.’; HB 10 (Heffernan) ‘establishes targets for annual purchase of electric school buses through fiscal year 2030’. Natural Resources & Energy.
HB 121 (D. Short) ‘authorize(s) artificial entities, limited liability corporations’ partnerships and trusts to vote in Municipal elections held in Seaford. Because, according to a majority of Seaford Town Council members, artificial entities and LLC’s are people. Horrible bill which should be buried. Administration.
HB 4 (Longhurst) ‘provide(s) more behavioral health supports to school districts and charter schools in the aftermath of a school-connected traumatic event, which is defined as the death of any student, educator, administrator, or other building employee of a public school’. Good bill. The worst imaginable sponsor. The very thought that the Chief Bully of the House Of Representatives can present herself as Dover’s leading mental health advocate is a sick joke. Longhurst’s idea of a sick joke. Education.
…establishes a Delaware Educator Apprenticeship Program to be developed by the Department of Education. The Department of Education will work with the Department of Labor to create a program that This program will complement the Grow Your Own Educator Program and teacher residency programs to create a low-cost pathway for aspiring teachers to earn their teaching credentials and will address the educator shortage in Delaware. A pilot program will be created for the 2023-24 school year between 1 institute of higher education and 1 district or charter school. The program shall be expanded if interest and funding is available for the 2024-25 school year and thereafter.
My oldest daughter, a teacher and a DSEA member, likes this bill. Good enough for me. Education.