General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., Jan. 24, 2024

Looks like a short one today as, with the exception of the mini-Bond bill, leaders in both Chambers have shown little urgency to pass anything else of importance before the Joint Finance Committee hearings start.  The mini-Bond passed unanimously in the House yesterday, and is the only item on today’s Senate Agenda.

Here is yesterday’s Daily Activity Report.  The good news is what didn’t happen.  More accurately, what bills didn’t make it out of committee.  We’re talking the Ramone/Collins attempts to gut state finances by giving yet another windfall to Delaware’s wealthiest.  Neither HB 233 (Ramone) nor HB 149 (Collins) received enough votes to be released from the House Revenue & Finance Committee.  Both were considered on a timely basis, unlike the bills to protect state retirees, which what passes for the House leadership has seen fit to keep buried in the House Administration Committee.  Time to RISE up.

Pleased to see that the House passed HS1/HB 162 (Lynn), which ‘authorizes the process of natural organic reduction to be used in this State’ in dealing with human remains.  Only two no votes, Collins and Postles, and one not voting, Parker Selby.  Presumably because ‘If G-d wanted human remains to be disposed of naturally, He wouldn’t have invented the funeral home industry’.

The Senate unanimously passed SB 202 (Huxtable), which ‘increases the benefits for the beneficiary or beneficiaries from $200,000 to $375,000, payable in annual installments, with the maximum amount paid in any 1 calendar year being $50,000’ for families of those who lost someone in the line-of-duty.

I discussed bills of interest in House committee meetings yesterday.  Let’s see if there are any highlights from today’s Senate Committee meetings:

SB 200 (Sokola) ‘provides important consumer protections for property insurance contracts by improving the reliability of mailed notifications of policy cancellation or renewal.’  Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology.

SB 20 (Townsend) ‘remove(s) the requirement that a public school district employee who donates leave to another employee must donate 2 days of leave for the other employee to receive 1 day of leave.’  It’s more complicated than that, though.  The law that this bill would amend has never taken effect because Delaware’s OMB needs a letter from the IRS which OMB doesn’t believe it would receive unless the law as written is amended, which this attempts to do.  Or something to that effect. Education.

SB 132 (McBride) ‘enacts a Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights’.  Quite the comprehensive bill.  Should it pass, Delaware would join at least 18 other states in enacting such legislation. Education.

Back tomorrow, when we can all look forward to the release of the Governor’s Budget proposal for FY 2025.