Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday March 18, 2025

The Big Story:  House To Consider Death-With Dignity bill today.  

HB 140 (Morrison) is virtually the same bill that both houses passed last year, only to be vetoed by Delaware’s Worst Governor Ever, John Carney.  The bill:

…permits a terminally ill individual who is an adult resident of Delaware to request and self-administer medication to end the individual’s life in a humane and dignified manner if both the individual’s attending physician or attending advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) and a consulting physician or consulting APRN agree on the individual’s diagnosis and prognosis and believe the individual has decision-making capacity, is making an informed decision, and is acting voluntarily.

The previous bill, that was sponsored by Rep. Baumbach, passed the House in 2024 by a 21-16 margin.  I expect the margin to grow a bit this time.  Several  D reps were absent that day who could be supporters of the bill.  In addition, Reps Mike Ramone and Sean Matthews were both no’s, and they’ve been replaced by Reps. Frank Burns and Melanie Ross Levin respectively, both of whom are co-sponsors of the bill.  So, I look for about 25 yes votes this time.  Maybe more.

There’s another real good bill on today’s House Agenda.  HB 38 (K. Williams):

…requires an institution of higher education that receives funding from this State to keep and provide records for an elected or appointed official who is employed by the institution of higher education. The University of Delaware and Delaware State University are to comply with this Act for employees who are paid in whole or in part with State funds.

The bill also gives the State Auditor the authority to impose a fine should said institutions fail to comply.  We still don’t know how much Bethany Hall-Long ripped off the state for, due to the refusal of the University of Delaware to comply with the Auditor’s requests for information about her work history.  Great bill, hope it passes unanimously.

Only one bill on today’s Senate Agenda, and it’s non-controversial.  There are no committee meetings scheduled in the Senate for today, either.

There are a few House committee meetings today, here are the highlights:

HB 67 (Osienski) seeks to reign in unscrupulous towing practices.  The bill:

…creates a new chapter in Title 21 pertaining to the towing of vehicles without the consent of the owner or operator. It makes violations of the chapter an unlawful practice enforceable by the Consumer Protection Unit of the Department of Justice. The Act creates the following requirements for the towing and storage of vehicles without the consent of the owner or operator: Photographic evidence must be taken to document the unauthorized parking of a vehicle before it may be towed, and written authorization to tow a specific vehicle is required before the vehicle may be towed from a private parking area. Tow companies and storage facilities must publicly display their rates. Towing and storage rates must be reasonable, with reasonableness calculated in relation to the fees imposed by the companies for consensual towing and storage or based on average rates in the county.

The bill does a lot more.  It’s clear that a lot of work went into this bill.  I’m impressed.

OK, there was only one bill that intrigued me.

Tomorrow will be different.  Especially as the Governor and the General Assembly race to make the state safe for the Elon Musks of this world before public opinion and outcry catch up to them.