There were no surprises in either the House or Senate today. The House unanimously passed SB 106 (Buckson), which requires school districts to craft cell phone policies for students. Because the bill didn’t pass the House last year, an amendment changing the effective date was added to the bill. The Senate will no doubt pass it in the next day or so.
Time for a brief detour: I’m pretty sure that Buckson has aspirations beyond the General Assembly. He has positioned himself as a more traditional R as opposed to an RWNJ naysayer. Yes, I find his tendency to pontificate at length on every issue annoying. Very annoying, in fact. However, I think that, if the Rethuglican Party wants to once again become competitive in Delaware (and to shed the monicker ‘Rethuglican’), they’ll need to move in the direction that Buckson is taking. Spoiler Alert: I don’t think they will.
One more example of what Buckson is doing can be found in the roll call on SB 26 (Brown), a pro-labor bill. I had expected a straight party line vote. But Buckson voted with the D’s, the only R to do so. The bill passed, 16-5.
Speaking of RWNJ naysayers, the Senate rejected a bubble-headed SCR from Sen. Richardson calling for a national constitutional covention. An excerpt should give you a taste:
WHEREAS, the Founders of our Constitution empowered State Legislators to be guardians of liberty against future abuses of power by the federal government; and
WHEREAS, the federal government has created a crushing national debt through improper and imprudent spending; and
WHEREAS, the federal government has invaded the legitimate roles of the states through the manipulative process of federal mandates, most of which are unfunded to a great extent; and
WHEREAS, the federal government has ceased to live under a proper interpretation of the Constitution of the United States; and
WHEREAS, it is the solemn duty of the States to protect the liberty of our people – particularly for the generations to come – by proposing Amendments to the Constitution of the United States through a Convention of the States under Article V for the purpose of restraining these and related abuses of power…
Blahblahblah. For some reason that she can perhaps explain, Sen. Stephanie Hansen voted yes. I’m guessing because she was making a statement about the Trump Administration, but I don’t know. Do you?
Here’s the entire Session Activity Report from yesterday.
Let’s take a look at today’s scheduled committee highlights, starting with the House:
Hopefully HS1/HB 183 (Gorman) is ready for prime time. The bill would essentially require primaries to select candidates for special elections, thus ending the anti-democratic process that gave us Rehoboth’s Dan Cruce and Christiana Care’s Ray Siegfried. Two R’s, Buckson and the Original Michael Smith, are on the bill. Not that many D sponsors, though. I hereby call on Democratic State Chair Evelyn Brady to endorse this bill. BTW, very happy to see Rep. Alonna Berry, who was a beneficiary of the current system, on the bill as a sponsor. Elections & Government Affairs.
HB 151 (Gorman) ‘prohibits the operation of private detention facilities in the State of Delaware’. Good. I’d personally like to see either this bill or another bill prohibit Delaware from transferring prisoners to private detention facilities in other states. You know, like John Carney, with the encouragement of then-Corrections Czar Claire DeMatteis, did when he was Governor. Judiciary.
HB 141 (K. Williams): ‘ This Act directs the Department of Safety and Homeland Security (DSHS) to develop a Firearm Responsibilities Notice for distribution to gun purchasers to ensure dissemination of important information relating to safe and lawful handling of firearms…The purpose of the Firearm Responsibilities Notice is to deter straw purchases and other illegal transfer of firearms, to ensure awareness of Delaware’s gun safety laws, and to increase the reporting of lost or stolen firearms’. Judiciary.
HB 201 (K. Williams): ‘(S)trengthens essential protections for victims of human trafficking by removing practical barriers that prevent victims from getting convictions or juvenile delinquency adjudications obtained as a result of being a victim of human trafficking vacated and the related criminal or juvenile records expunged’. Judiciary.
Today’s Senate Committee highlights:
SB 210 (Hansen) ‘…amends the definition of “Community-owned energy generating facility”…by adding the requirement that the point of interconnection be located in the service area of a utility under the regulation of the Public Service Commission. Environment, Energy & Transportation.
SB 213 (Townsend) is the so-called ‘compromise’ between the State of Delaware and Christiana Care. Resulting, of course, in far less accountability for Christiana Care. I guess that means that they will continue to provide less care for the needy while increasing their margins. Executive.
The Executive Committee will also consider several appointments and reappointments.
As (almost) always, the House has no agenda today, as Wednesdays are reserved for committee meetings. Even when not many committees are meeting. The Senate Agenda features one notable bill as well as a few nominations to consider. The one notable bill:
SB 17 (Brown): ‘… establishes the Office of New Americans to help improve the lives and economic prosperity of new Americans who come to Delaware and of all Delawareans generally.’
One final note before I close out: It’s generally pretty rare to have nine full session days scheduled in January. However, the calendar (and the fact that this is the second year of this session) has granted us that dubious honor this year. Let’s see if work expands to fill time allotted.
See you tomorrow.