The General Assembly Is Not In Session, HOWEVER…

…these might be the two most important weeks of the entire legislative year.

Why? Because ALL of the money committees are doing final markups of their proposals.

Meaning, if there is a bill that you support that requires funding, you need to lobby to make sure that the funding is included in the bill.  The prime example? SB 15, the minimum wage increase.

You see, Speaker Pete pulled a fast one.  He reassigned the bill to the Appropriations Committee after y’all had moved heaven and earth to get that bill out of the Business Lapdog Committee.  Meaning, yet another committee with undue fealty to Speaker Pete (and, by extension, to John Carney), will get yet another bite at this bill.  Especially meaning that if (The Inexplicable) Chair of the Committee, Lumpy Carson, doesn’t want the bill released, it probably won’t be released. He could have just laid the bill on the table, awaiting the Budget Bill markup, but he didn’t.  That’s not by accident.

It is time to flood, flood, the Governor’s Office and demand that he support the version of SB 15 that passed the Senate.  He is the one holding up the passage of the legislation.  He has been allowed to float beneath the radar, as he’s been allowed to do time and time again.  Markell did the same thing.  If Carney says he wants SB 15 on his desk for his signature, it will be on his desk.  If he continues to work back-channels on behalf of the Chamber, it is unlikely that it will pass. It is up to all of us to make Carney act like a true Democrat.  Left to his insular perspective, he will either kill it, or delay it by at least a year.

Here is the body of the Fiscal Note, which was the pretext for reassigning the bill to the Appropriations Committee:

Assumptions:

1. This Act becomes effective upon signature by the Governor.

2.This Act will increase the minimum wage, presently $9.25 according to the following schedule:Not less than $10.50 per hour, effective January 1, 2022.Not less than $11.75 per hour, effective January 1, 2023.Not less than $13.25 per hour, effective January 1, 2024.Not less than $15.00 per hour, effective January 1, 2025.

3.This Act will impact Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) employees of the State making less than $20,475 annually and working 37.5 hours per week; full-time employees making less than $21,840 annually and working 40.0 hours per week; and casual/seasonal employees across multiple state agencies.

4.This Act will impact positions compensated through the State’s General Fund (GF), and state special funds to include Appropriated Special Funds (ASF), Non-Appropriated Special Funds (NSF), and the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF).

5.This Act will impact various substitute positions (Class B & C substitute teachers, clerks, aides)within the State’s public and charter schools. These costs (typically borne by local school funds)are not included in the overall cost projection.

6.Other Employment Costs (OECs) are included in this projection to include a rate of 32.11% for FTE employees and 9.31% for non-full-time employees.

7. Additional costs associated with resulting salary and wage compression issues are not included in these calculations.

Cost:General Fund   Special Fund       Total:

Fiscal Year 2022: $143,007  $107,178  $250,185

Fiscal Year 2023: $569,499  $402,924  $972,423

Fiscal Year 2024: $2,196,747  $1,497,468  $3,694,215

Of course, since fiscal notes are prohibited from considering additional revenues generated from, say, additional income taxes paid, this fiscal note, like all fiscal notes, only tells half the story.  The cost side. The side the Chamber and Concord Coalition Carney want to publicize to argue their disingenuous points.

You also should be on the lookout for the really bad shit being snuck (sneaked?) into bills.  You know, like more graft for the Underground City At Ft. DuPont.  And more taxpayer $$’s for the ‘independent’ Delaware Development Council (or whatever their name is this week) to fritter away.  Which reminds me: The ‘independent’ economic panel didn’t have to wait to get millions of dollars of taxpayer money approved to keep the extortion going.  It flew thru in days.  Why not?  I’m sure there’s a technical explanation, but it only supports my argument that the system is rigged.

Which is precisely what The Delaware Way needs: a statewide case of ‘rigger mortis’.