General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., May 18, 2023

Last Session Day until June 6.  Joint Finance Committee finalizing the budget until then.

Meaning, in the unlikely event that Speaker Pete is true to his word, he has only 12 remaining Session days as Speaker after today.  ‘True to his word’ being the operative variable.

Here’s yesterday’s Session Activity Report.  Good day in the Senate as both SB 99 (Pinkney) and SS1/SB 102 (Townsend) passed.  Without, as predicted, any Rethug votes.

You likely recall that Sen. Russ Huxtable was and is an expert in affordable housing.  He has brought that expertise and that empathy with him to the General Assembly.  It surfaces today on the Senate Agenda.  SS1/SB87:

(1) Clarifies that the exemption from the realty transfer tax for conveyances to or from an organization exempt from tax under § 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code when the purpose of the conveyance is to provide owner-occupied housing to low and moderate income households applies to rehabilitating residential properties and reselling the properties without profit and to constructing residences on properties and reselling the properties without profit. (2) Exempts any portion of a conveyance in which it is the grantee’s intent to construct affordable housing units and the conveyances are financed using funding provided by the federal government, this State, or a county or municipality of this State for the purpose of constructing affordable housing units, defined as a residential dwelling for a household whose income does not exceed 80% of the median income for the area as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. (3) Clarifies that individuals are first-time homebuyers if they intend to occupy the property being conveyed as their principal residence after the construction of a residence on the property to include circumstances where the residence cannot be built within 90 days after the property is purchased.

Serious legislation from a senator who is already making his mark.

Another notable bill, SS1/SB 103(S. McBride), ‘…will make it easier and more convenient to own an electric vehicle in this State in the years to come, resulting in increased purchases of electric vehicles, promoting cleaner air and water, and resulting in improved health outcomes for Delawareans and a reduction of greenhouse gases to curtail global warming. Also like Senate Bill No. 103, this Act achieves these goals by doing the following: (1) Requiring that newly constructed single-family and multi-family residential dwellings include certain electric vehicle charging infrastructure. (2) Providing county and municipal government enforcement of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure requirements of this Act.’  I’m calling it, all D’s yes, all R’s either no or absent.

Today’s House Agenda is vanilla.

As was this report.