Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, May 12, 2026

It was bound to happen.  I forgot all about writing this post–until now.

So, whatever I spew out will probably be a bit truncated.

Looks like Michael Dell is skipping town before the multi-billionaire has to spend less than a pittance for licensing renewal fees.  HB 400, which has already passed the House, is on today’s Senate Agenda.  It ‘alters (aka ‘increases’) various fees assessed by the Delaware Secretary of State’.  Not a single Rethug voted for the bill in the House.  Look for a similar straight Party line vote in the Senate.

We also have the ‘DuPont-Cook Financial Responsibility Act’, which codifies the Delaware Economic & Financial Advisory Council (which projects how much money Delaware has to spend on its budget) as an ongoing entity.  The name is apt, which is why it kinda sickens me, as both DuPont and Cook embodied The Delaware Way at its worst. This one passed the House unanimously, and I’m pretty sure we’ll get the same result in the Senate.  I don’t mind the bill, just the name of the bill.

Didn’t find much of interest on today’s House Agenda, although I suspect the session will be of interest, if only for Kevin Hensley’s announcement that he won’t seek reelection.  Quite a few R’s heading for the exits.  Coincidence, or common sense?

Today’s House Committee highlights:

HB 392 (Ross Levin) ‘is designed to uphold and safeguard the long-standing principle of nonpartisanship for tax-exempt nonprofit organizations operating within the State. The bill reinforces the protections established by the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits 501(c)(3) nonprofits from engaging in partisan political activities, including endorsing or opposing candidates for public office. Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce.

Kids, you might find this interesting.  While AIPAC is not a 501(c)(3) non-profit, its sister organization, the American Israel Education Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) organization.  This is how AIPAC itself defines their relationship:

The AIPAC Tomorrow campaign, a planned giving and endowment initiative of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), allows our supporters to invest in the future strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

‍AIEF is the charitable organization affiliated with AIPAC, America’s pro-Israel lobby. All gifts to AIEF are subject to the discretion and control of its Board of Directors. AIEF will support only AIPAC programs that are consistent with its status as a charitable and education organization, tax-exempt under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Ho-kay.  Glad we cleared that up.

HB 374 (Lambert) ‘requires that the Office of Management and Budget prepare an annual report regarding hiring for state large public works projects with an aggregate cost of $3 million or more. The information in these reports will help identify if Delaware workers, particularly individuals who live near a state public works project, are being hired to work on these projects and for how many hours.’

Rep. Lambert was at our Democratic RD Committee meeting last night.  He explained that, when companies, many of whom are being gifted grants from the taxpayers for these projects, brag about how many jobs are being created, they provide no information as to how many jobs go to Delawareans.  Labor.

Well, that’s about the short and short of it.

I’ll try to do better tomorrow.