General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., June 6, 2019

The big news? The marijuana legalization bill made it out of committee, to my surprise. However, the time for celebration could well be short-lived. Previous legislation was defeated. Not because of opposition from the Delaware Medical Society or AAA, which was public and principled, but because of the stealth lobbying efforts by, of course, the state cops.  Everyone knows why. They love to be able to stop people under the pretext that they ‘smell weed’. We know that leads to seizure of suspects’ property that goes right back into the coffers of police agencies. With plenty of ex-cops and cop wannabes in the General Assembly, passage of this legislation is at best problematical.  Gotta say, though, I’m thrilled that AG Jennings publicly supports the bill. Jellyfish John Carney, of course, wants to continue to ‘monitor the situation’ in other states. Yo, John, you’d have more time to do that as a private citizen.

Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report.

Whoa. Didja see that Colin Bonini voted against SB 60, which ‘clarifies that in order to be found guilty of prostitution the person must be 18 years or older’? Doubly weird b/c he was listed as a sponsor on the bill. He was the only no vote. Hey, he’s a strange guy.

One more item: The minimum wage increase bill will be considered next week in committee.

Today’s lengthy Senate Agenda is unlikely to be worked in its entirety.  However, there are some noteworthy bills on it.

Did you know that Delaware is only one of three states that does not provide some sort of adult dental care through Medicaid? Did you know that the other two are Alabama and Tennessee? SS1/SB92(Townsend) would change that. The bill ‘expands Delaware’s Public Assistance Code to provide dental care to all eligible adult Medicaid recipients. Payments for dental care treatments are subject to a $3 recipient copay and the total amount of dental care assistance provided to an eligible recipient may not exceed $1,000 per year, except that an additional $1,500 may be authorized on an emergency basis for dental care treatments through a review process…’.  I can’t imagine opposition to this bill, but that could well be due to a lack of imagination on my part.

SB 81(Townsend) also addresses this issue by permitting ‘an individual to practice dentistry for the Division of Public Health (Division) under a provisional license. Delaware law provides several routes for entering practice on an interim basis until full licensure can be obtained, however, none of these routes specifically permit hiring by the Division with the intent to practice in a state-supported dental clinic. This Act will assist the Division in recruiting dentists to serve those in need.’

HB 73 is the first leg of a constitutional amendment that would permit ‘no-excuses’ absentee voting. If this bill passes in the Senate (it’s already passed in the House), it will be considered again during the 2021-22 legislative session. If passed then, it becomes part of the state constitution.

At the very bottom of the Agenda is the plastic bag ban. I doubt that it will be worked today, but I’m prepared to be pleasantly surprised.

The House Agenda doesn’t have a single bill that interests me.  Which, of course, is not a consideration when putting together an agenda. Though perhaps it should be…