Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tues., March 19, 2019

Assuming that sick bay has emptied out, the Senate will consider legislation raising the permissible age to purchase tobacco products from 18-21 today.  The momentum is clearly with the bill, and it would be difficult for prospective opponents, especially D opponents, to vote against the bill. If all the members are on hand today, the bill will likely pass. Two amendments, one of them fairly substantive, have been placed with the bill by its sponsor, Sen. Townsend.

HB 34(Schwartzkopf) is also on the  Senate Agenda and makes clear that LLC’s are not ‘people’ for voting purposes in Rehoboth Beach.  You may have read that Rep. Kowalko has stated that he will introduce similar legislation to prohibit such artificial entities from having voting privileges in Newark elections. Newark City Council recently passed legislation pushing that change to the city charter.

The House Agenda features an election reform bill well worth passing.  HB 38(Bentz):

…establishes in-person early voting in Delaware beginning January 1, 2022. Registered voters will be allowed to vote in-person during at least 10 days before an election, up to and including the Saturday and Sunday immediately before the election at locations determined by the State Election Commissioner. This Act also charges the State Election Commissioner with determining whether such voting should occur by voting machine or paper ballot. All other procedures relating to conducting voting are the same as for general election voting. Further, this Act requires that for statewide elections there must be at least 1 in-person polling place in each county, and an additional location in the City of Wilmington.

Kids, it has now essentially been proven that, when people are able to vote, they don’t vote for people who embrace white nationalists. The entire Rethug meme about voter fraud has been exposed as the canard it always was.  Fact is, the only way that R’s retain any semblance of power is through denying people their voting rights. Whether it be through blatant gerrymanders, corrupt Secretaries of State purging legitimate voters from the rolls, making polling places inaccessible to scores of voters, you name it, Rethugs have made a mockery of ‘one person, one vote’.  There is no earthly reason why people should be barred from voting early.  I can’t imagine any D voting against this bill. Let’s see how many, if any, R’s will embrace greater access to voting. Ruth Briggs King is on the bill, but that’s no guarantee.

Time for a MAJOR MEA CULPA.  After having heard from several people who I respect, I’m now convinced that the House of Representatives indeed was working on a criminal justice reform package before AG Jennings released her reform proposals. As to who deserves the most credit, there’s more than enough to go around. But the House clearly deserved more credit for the package than I previously realized.  Since it appears that most D’s are on board, let’s see the bills get introduced and passed. BTW, AG Jennings is scheduled to make a presentation before the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow.  Hope somebody brings up the issue of civil forfeitures, perhaps Sean Lynn, who chairs the committee.

Although I don’t generally do a post-game wrap-up on Tuesday, I simply can’t let the roll call on HB46(Kowalko) go without comment. The bill established a fund to ensure that manufactured home residents could receive and afford justice resulting from claims against manufactured community owners/landlords. Not a single R voted in favor of providing justice to these residents which, I presume, is to be expected.  Notably, Mike Ramone cited a conflict-of-interest in going not voting.  Anyone know what that is? But there is no excuse, none, for any D to oppose this bill.  Yet, putative D Bill Bush did just that. And two of the D Caucus’ dimmest bulbs, Andria Bennett and Gerald Brady, went not voting.  Perhaps they were dazzled by barrister Bush’s bullshit. Regardless, it’s long since past time for people who are, what’s the word I’m looking for, capable, to replace these two nonentities. All they do is take up space.

Back tomorrow with a committee meeting preview.