Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Was gonna write my obligatory run-down of today’s activities.
Then I read this:
Port fight reignites as lawmakers deny nominees, revive task force
I’m flummoxed. Can someone please share the story behind the story? The Governor’s office and the State Senate appear ready to go to the mat over this. I mean, I’ve always considered Jennifer Cohan to be among our most competent public officials. Yet, the Senate is rejecting her nomination. Why? I don’t have enough information to even speculate, but there’s a quiet war going on here. C’mon, pipples, spill!
Ho-kay. Back to my ‘obligatory run-down of today’s activities’.
Today’s Senate Agenda features a very important bill. SB 75 (Paradee)…:
…limits the restrictions a county may impose on the operation of marijuana establishments as follows: • Requires that a medical marijuana compassion center that was granted a conversion license for a retail marijuana store under § 1335B of Title 4 must be allowed to operate the retail marijuana store as a nonconforming use. • Prohibits the denial of a building permit to a licensee under § 1335B of Title 4 if the improvements comply with the physical requirements for property zoned for that use. The nonconforming use laws for each county, § 2610, § 4920, and § 6920 of Title 9 all prohibit structural alterations if a building is a nonconforming use but § 1335B(a)(1) requires that a conversion licensee continue to operate the location as a medical dispensing location. Thus, it is extremely likely that a compassion center with a conversion license for a retail marijuana store will need to make structural alterations to operate both as a medical dispensing location and as a retail marijuana store. • Requires that a county must allow the minimum hours of operation for a retail marijuana store to be 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays and noon until 8 p.m. on Sundays. • In areas zoned for agricultural or industrial use, indoor, fully enclosed cultivation facilities may not be prohibited. • In areas zoned for commercial or industrial use, retail marijuana stores may be prohibited from operating only within a ½ mile of another retail marijuana store and within 500 feet of a place of worship, school, licensed child care, residential treatment facility, park, or library. The limits on county restrictions under this Act preempt and supersede all existing and future county ordinances or regulations regarding the operation of marijuana establishments.
In other words, the bill tries to eliminate the gimmicks that are being used to make it virtually impossible to get the legalized marijuana industry off the ground. I have no idea if this will pass, but if legislators apply the same standard to this bill as they did to the Billionaires’ giveaway (aka ‘we need the money’), then it likely will. Of course, legislators will likely apply a totally different standard to this bill.
We have a pretty interesting House Agenda today. I guess HB 19 (Osienski) is in response to the looting of the ‘unauditable’ Delaware Unemployment Insurance Fund. One would hope that it’s not the only response.
HB 34 (Romer) attempts to force the University of Delaware to begin to pay their fair share for expenses that Newark incurs due to the university’s large footprint. While this is not technically a charter change, it is not dissimilar to one. I would hope and expect for the House to defer to the Newark area legislators who are sponsoring this bill.
…creates the Delaware Energy Fund to provide assistance to consumers whose household income is less than 350% of the federal poverty level. Under 2025 federal guidelines, 350% of the federal poverty level for a single person is $54,775 and for a family of four is $112,525. The Delaware Energy Fund will be administered by the SEU and recipients of assistance from the fund will also be required to participate in energy savings and efficiency programs. Only one assistance payment may be made per application. The Act also directs the Department of Natural Resources Environmental Control to transfer 30% of the funds generated by alternative compliance payments and solar alternative compliance payments to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
This bill is a key component of a Democratic package of bills designed to address high utility costs. This program is set to sunset in three years.
I’ll be back tomorrow to look at (hopefully) a whole lotta bills in various committees.
Until then, I anxiously await your take on the ‘story behind the story’ dealing with the political port machinations.
I really don’t understand this flex by Townsend and the Senate Dems. Terrible optics.
Right. But I think there’s more than that to it.
I just don’t know what.
I have an educated guess as to why Jen Cohan’s nomination has run into opposition from Senate Dems, but I don’t have any first-hand intel. She definitely did an amazing job running DMV and was well-regarded in the Controller General’s Office before that, and should be considered a top-notch public servant. She’s now the president of the Associated Builders and Contractors’ Delaware chapter, which the non-union group of contractors. Given organized labor’s interest in jobs at the port, I could see the unions putting pressure on Senate Dems to oppose this nomination.
That makes sense. Thanks.
I thought the job she did in completely remaking the DMV was outstanding. I actually look forward to those rare occurrences when I have to venture down there.
What we’re apparently looking at now are two dueling agencies claiming to represent the interests of the Port. I can see nothing but further litigation under that scenario. Don’t think the Port and the jobs the expansion purportedly would create could possibly benefit under that scenario.
I don’t think her ABC presidency is the rub, at least for the ILW. Those guys have a lock on port operations til the end of time. There are entrenched labor interests however, in the development of the new port if/when it happens. The trades are chomping at the bit to get that project locked down before the recession hits. I’ve seen numbers closing in on a billion dollars in project value if it happens.
Not to discount anything Jen has accomplished, but the credit for the overhaul at DMV goes to Mike Shahan.
Not sure what the issue is with the other nominee that the Senate Dems don’t like, except for maybe he wasn’t nominated by BHL.
He was who Matt nominated for Chair.
Infinitely preferable to BHL’s choice: Jeff Bullock, a unique combination of arrogance and incompetence.
Man, this Buckson is an obnoxious mansplainer.
He even told the Lt. Governor to ‘chill’.
The Lt. Governor is pretty chill. Don’t think he would have told a male Lt. Governor to chill.
SB 75 passes, 13-8. The two D’s who voted against it? Brown and Huxtable.