General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thursday, April 17, 2025

The Big News:  End-Of-Life Options Bill Set To Clear Final Legislative Hurdle.  HB 140 (Morrison) is on today’s Senate Agenda.  Barring any unexpected defections, the bill should pass.  Barely.  Gov. Meyer has pledged to sign it.  According to the Senate Public Information officer, both Senators Cruce and Seigfried will vote yes.

Some other pretty big news–the three nominees to the Port Of Wilmington Board that the Senate deigned to consider made it out of committee and will likely be confirmed today.

Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report.

Also on today’s Senate Agenda are HB 110 (Osienski), which addresses the criminal background hurdle the FBI threw at the marijuana legalization bill, and SB 91 (Sturgeon), which ‘requires schools that receive federal funding ensure students, staff, and faculty are protected from sex-based discrimination and sex-based harassment’.

We also have an interesting House Agenda today.  HS 1/HB 83 (Wilson-Anton) appears to address the renegade Christina  School Board member who has apparently been attending remotely from their home in Pakistan.  (For newbies, I didn’t make up that last sentence.)  One would have thought that the Board could and would address this, but they didn’t, which is why the bill is being considered.  The bill enumerates the reasons why people may attend remotely, and limits permitted remote attendance to those reasons.  Living in Pakistan is not one of the permissible reasons.  Some more on this guy.  Here. And here.

I also like HB 79 (Morrison), which ‘requires additional reporting and disclosure related to the use of mechanical restraint and seclusion in public schools. While public school personnel cannot use mechanical restraint or seclusion on students in absence of a waiver, law-enforcement officers can’.

Ditto for HJR 2 (Neal), which:

…directs the Department of Health and Social Services (“DHSS”) to explore participating in the federal Restaurant Meals Program (RMP). The RMP is an option that states may incorporate into their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to ensure that SNAP recipients who are senior citizens, disabled, or unhoused, or other eligible family members of those participants, may use their SNAP benefits to buy hot foods or hot prepared meals.

Shaping up to be a good day in Dover, all things considered.  After today, the General Assembly is off for two weeks for Spring Recess.