Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Monday, June 30, 2025
No longer the longest mandated day–although it could be. The hour of adjournment on the final regularly-scheduled day of this year’s legislative session will be determined by how quickly the parties can resolve the Bond Bill hold-up that has been precipitated by the Senate R’s holding the bill hostage b/c of the wind turbine bill that permits construction of the project in Sussex County. However, the Delaware General Assembly no longer needs to convene in Special Session after midnight.
The mission of the day in both houses will be to serve as a clearinghouse on the ‘must-pass’ bills and the ‘wanna-pass’ bills. The money bills of course are the must-pass bills, which is why the legislators can’t adjourn until the Bond Bill (along with the Budget bill, which is already in the hands of the Governor) and the Grants-In-Aid bill are today’s highest priorities. Well, technically, they don’t have to pass the Grants-In-Aid bill, but who would want to get between legislators and those oversized checks they carry around for photo ops? Yep, they’re passing it.
Both the House and Senate Agendas consist of multiple agendas. There is invariably a lot of skipping around today. Usually, each of the multiple agendas is in its own folder. It can be hard to follow. ‘Consent’ agendas are lists of several bills, all of which can be passed with one roll call. Any legislator may request that an item be removed from a consent agenda, and that request must be honored. Sometimes, an agenda consists of bills that must pass with super-majorities.
Communication between the House and Senate is ramped up today, as both chambers want to make sure that their members’ priorities are being duly considered in the other chamber.
Here are today’s legislative agendas:
Senate. Looks like I lied. Only one Senate Agenda. Although…
…it is almost certain that a bill or bills that don’t appear on one of those agendas will show up before the day is over. They can be considered under an (MTSR) Motion to Suspend Rules in either, or both, chambers. Same holds true for a bill that passes one chamber and must be worked in the other chamber. No time for committee meetings today.
Before we close, I want to share correspondence I received from NCC Councilman David Carter. While I disagree with him on this, his argument certainly has merit which should, but apparently hasn’t been, considered by legislators. First, from his correspondence to me, which he has granted me permission to share:
I had someone forward Alby’s recent post to me regarding the State marijuana legislation and his request for insight into the concerns raised by local governments. For context, I previously shared the message below with every member of the General Assembly, outlining specific issues from a local government perspective.
Unfortunately, I did not receive a single response or call from any state legislator. That kind of silence doesn’t foster the intergovernmental collaboration needed to move important policy forward constructively. It has caused me to make a complete reversal from strongly supporting to now opposing Marijuana retail in NCC.
As a result, New Castle County’s code is now out of sync with state law. Given the lack of engagement from the General Assembly, I don’t see the value in spending further time or taxpayer resources trying to reconcile the discrepancy and further burden NCC with this unfunded State mandate.
At this point, I’m inclined to let the courts sort it out, regardless of the time delays it may cause.
Please feel free to share this with Alby (I don’t know who that is or have an email). And of course, this is a public document should you wish to share it.
Best,
Dave
Dear Members of Delaware’s General Assembly.
I am reaching out to share my concerns regarding Senate Bill 75 (SB 75), which introduces new criteria for the minimum spacing between cannabis outlets and key community locations such asplaces of worship, schools, institutions of higher education, licensed childcare facilities, residential treatment centers, parks, and libraries. Under SB 75, the proposed minimum spacingwould be reduced to 500 feet, which is half of the current 1,000-foot requirement established in New Castle County’s Code.
I want to emphasize that I was previously a strong advocate for the responsible development of cannabis outlets in New Castle County, consistent with the original mandate passed by theGeneral Assembly. In good faith, New Castle County collaborated with our communities to draft and enact Ordinance 24-148, which regulates marijuana cultivation facilities, productmanufacturing, and retail stores. This ordinance, guided by state law, established a 1,000-foot minimum distance that balanced community expectations with responsible development. Ouranalysis identified over 500 potential locations for cannabis outlets under the existing spacing requirement, with opportunities for additional sites through Board of Adjustment reviews.
However, the changes proposed in SB 75 have raised significant concerns for me. I am deeply troubled by the reduction from 1,000 feet to 500 feet, a change I believe is both arbitrary andunjustified, given the substantial number of available locations already identified. I am concerned that this shift could create added costs, delays, and potential legal challenges for localgovernments, further complicating the responsible establishment of cannabis outlets.
In New Castle County, we approached cannabis regulation with thoughtful alignment to existing standards for liquor establishments, mirroring their spacing requirements to ensure consistency and community respect. This approach was designed to prevent arbitrary decision-making and to respect the expectations of our residents.
If SB 75 is intended to preempt local land use authority, I believe it is important to clarify which state agency will assume the responsibilities of land development, permitting, and compliance with building code standards. It would be helpful to understand whether this oversight would be managed by the Office of State Planning or another State regulatory body. Should the State choose to centralize this authority, I respectfully suggest that it also take on the associated administrative and operational responsibilities, ensuring clarity and accountability.
While I recognize the General Assembly’s constitutional authority over land use decisions, I respectfully urge that this authority be exercised with thoughtful consideration of its impact on local governance. New Castle County has acted responsibly in enacting a cannabis code that is transparent, equitable, and aligned with state guidelines. Our code currently allows for 500 parcels eligible for cannabis outlet development, which I believe sufficiently supports market demand while respecting community concerns.
An FYI, SB 75 has passed both Houses, so the Governor will determine the final course of action on the bill.
That letter is absolutely wild. Unfunded mandate? This guy is running around acting like the people who approve permits can’t just give themselves a sticky note crossing out the 1,000 and putting in 500. This isn’t advanced calc.
The idea that 1,000 feet was great and 500 is “arbitrary and unjustified” as if 1,000 was carved into rock by God and handed down to the Delaware legislature
He does not have a “strong case” if I got sent this letter I couldn’t respond in a professional manner. This is beyond silly
What’s the big deal? If a town/county doesn’t want recreational dispensaries, why force it on them?
Because you can’t let a local government negate a state law by bullshit means.
Very happy to see that Rep. Gorman’s civil liberties bills primarily designed to protect immigrants from ICE has passed the Senate.
Senate D’s called Senate R’s bluff. Passed the amended bill permitting the wind turbine project. On its way to the Governor’s office.
Only thing Senate Rethugs have is the Bond Bill. Ultimately, they don’t dare deep-six that as their districts need those projects and upgrades.
I think they’re Shit Out Of Options.
Word is the Governor signed the Wind bill with some others already this evening. The Senate needs to act on Bond, send it to the House, and get the Grants bill from the House and pass it.
Wow. Both chambers are in recess right now.
Not much the Senate R’s can do. They’re not gonna pull a Ramone and walk out.
It would make sense if they tried to pass the marijuana retailer walk back bill. They have Dem sponsors already.
The feed says the Senate has adjourned.
Is that accurate? If so, it means both houses are coming back.
They adjourned to the next legislative day. Meaningless basically. They’ll be back soon
Yep. They’re back.
Still in recess. What can the D’s give the Senate R’s as a face-saving measure?
Better parking spaces?
Rather odd to me that they still include religious institutions in this kind of legislation.
Near schools and rehabs? Sure, proximity to those could be problematic for obvious reasons.
Maybe religious institutions should just be grateful they enjoy tax exemption and stop being greedy. And perhaps legislators should revisit separation of church and state.
Woo-hoo! Rep. Larry Lambert’s HB 210, which raises penalties on chronic polluters, passes on a straight party line vote.
Yay for Larry and all of the rest of us who breathe!!!
Looks like the Senate passed some sort of face-saving bill on the wind turbines that does virtually nothing.
And now the Bond Bill is being worked in the Senate.
Here is the face-saving bill. It provides absolutely no guidance on what the bill does or doesn’t do. Neither did the brief discussion on the floor:
https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=142675
All’s, um, well that ends well. I guess.
It delays implementation, so potentially the US wind issue could be resolved by the courts (or if it drags on the could apply.)
But it also eliminates a sunset that they had added to make it more palatable, so now it will be permanent when it does go into effect
The Guv has signed HB 82! Madinah’s School Board residency Bill. The member from South Asia will not be able to cause any more mischief!
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YesYesYes!!!!!
Budget signed 1:39 veto threat averted.
Guess he’s a fast reader.
More likely a slow learner but (we can hope), a learner nonetheless.
Why did Speaker Mimi Minor-Brown kill the plastic recycling ban?
Here’s the bill:
https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?legislationId=142568
Passed the Senate 17-4. Was out of committee and reportedly had the votes–until the Speaker kept it from coming to a vote.
Does anybody know why? A snit with Trey, or just another sop to a contributor?
Trey unloaded his displeasure for her HB 190, which would have established a Grants In Aid subcommittee and basically told everyone very publicly that it was meaningless and was just another way to pay legislators more stipends for a committee that wouldn’t be able to do anything. Which based on my read of the bill, he’s not wrong. Changed some votes in the Senate after his comments and the bill was laid on the table after Sokola said it no longer had enough votes to pass. This was one of the last few bills that was worked before the Senate adjourned. My guess is it got back to the Speaker the bill tanked so she held his bill.
I think you’re right, and I agree. Trey did the right thing.
Not to mention, are there enough Rethug senators to even fill out those three committees?
The general rule of thumb had been that you could either be in leadership or on one of the money committees.
The Senate temporarily broke that rule and put Herman Holloway in leadership his last term and kept him on JFC.
Why, you might ask? So that his newly-bloated pension would be the benchmark for everybody else’s.
Now you know.
Wow I didn’t know that about Herman Holloway. Although I am not surprised…
I think the bill would have only prohibited JFC members from serving on the subcommittee. I’m not sure how the stipends work, but I suppose on the Senate Republican side you could have a Bond or Sunset member on the subcommittee potentially getting the stipends for both?
That reinforces what Trey said on the floor.
Right now, the JFC doubles as the Grants-In-Aid Committee.
By prohibiting members from holding that dual role, you create a new panel who would also get additional stipends.
About the rest, I honestly don’t know. But neither Bond nor Sunset has a similar amount of hearings/meetings to what JFC does.
You ask good questions. My answers? Not so much.
Bolden left the house before the Inspector General Bill came up. What I can’t figure out is, did she leave so Carney wouldn’t be mad at her or she left because she is plain lazy? Can’t expect too much from a double dipper can we?
I can’t speak with certainty about Bolden’s intentions here, but there was some game playing happening with Kerri and Mimi. If you notice on the roll call there were 9 absent. The House kept recessing every 10 to 15 minutes presumably to check on what House bills the Senate was or wasn’t passing. Sometime after 1 a.m. or so they recessed again so members could go to the Governor’s office to sign the money bills. However at the late hour there was a lot of confusion and no communication. Many of the members that left to go to the bill signing didn’t realize they were supposed to come back, they thought they were done because at this point the Senate was already done. And Mimi didn’t ring the bells to call them all back so quite a few ended up leaving for the night as everyone was tired after the long day. What I don’t know is if not ringing the bells was done on purpose or not, so draw your own conclusions there, but it doesn’t seem right to me. And I do know a few of the members who left were upset that they didn’t get a chance to vote in favor of the bill.
No doubt, it was incompetence.
At least Val Longhurst was malevolently competent.
Mimi is both malevolent AND incompetent.
Not 100% convinced she makes it through 2026 as Speaker.