El Somnambulo's Latest Posts
Delaware Political Weekly: March 29-April 4, 2014
The choice in the R primary will be clear: Do you want your sheriff to be sane or insane? It’s an R primary, so the outcome could be in doubt. But Robert T. Lee has credentials and a credible message. He doesn’t dance around the Christopher issue, he takes it on. Meanwhile, Represenative Rebecca Walker gets what could be a strong challenger in the 9th RD.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs. April 3, 2014
HB 105(Viola) provides for same-day registration for presidential primary, primary, special, and general elections. Wonder how many R votes this gets? Doesn’t matter, it’s good policy. More legal registered voters are always better in a participatory democracy. The vote is this afternoon. Call your representatives.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., April 2, 2014
Not a whole lot of controversy in yesterday’s session. Only one bill engendered any opposition whatsoever. That bill is HB 246(Paradee) which, according to the not particularly instructive synopsis, “substitutes the term “payment card” for the term “credit card” for purposes of title 11 to broaden the scope of the term to include debit cards […]
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., April 1, 2014
Today’s Senate Agenda features one bill, but it’s a good one. HB 56(D. Short) “sets certain regulations for motor vehicle data-reporting devices to prohibit the use by insurance companies of such data for anything other than consideration for premium discounts, requires disclosure to the insured of others who may gain access to such data, and otherwise prohibits insurance companies from releasing such data to others.” Quite possibly the best bill sponsored by a Republican this session. Unanimously passed the House, likely to experience a similar fate in the Senate.
The House will likely work HB 265(Schwartzkopf), which would raise about $51 million through various corporate tax increases. Consideration of the bill was delayed last week due to (a) the fact that the Secretary of State, who will carry out this law, was out of state; and (b) the absence of a couple of Democratic legislators from session, calling passage of a super-majority vote into question.
Delaware Political Weekly: March 22-28, 2014
Granted, he’s a Libertarian. Scott Gesty. Unfortunately, he’s not a Steve Newton Libertarian. More like a ‘they’re taking away our freedoms’ Libertarian. He congratulates himself on predicting that ‘Obamacare is destroying the healthcare system’. Man, can’t at least one of these third party types not make you unclean when considering casting a protest vote for them? Paging the Green Party…
Looks like the Republicans are doing better in concentrating on recruiting candidates in General Assembly races…
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., March 27, 2014
Let’s talk about the $51 million dog that didn’t bark. Namely HB 265(Schwartzkopf). Was on Tuesday’s House Agenda. Would ‘increase(s) the annual tax assessed on partnerships, limited partnerships and limited liability companies on file with the Secretary of State from $250 to $300 and increases the corporation franchise tax by $100 for those corporations that file on the authorized shares method”. $51 mill, just like that. So, why didn’t it happen? I think that Gary Myers, one of our commenters, identified the reason. He asked why wasn’t this a supermajority bill since it raises revenue. Enter House Amendment 1. Adds a supermajority (3/5) enactment clause. Makes 25 the magic number of votes needed, not 21. It’s possible that Pete has the votes. However, the bill isn’t on today’s agenda. So, I’m guessing he doesn’t have the votes right now. I’m honestly not sure how he could possibly have tried to push this bill through as one requiring only a simple majority. Things are just not flowing smoothly in the House right now.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., March 25, 2014
Just a few of the items on the GA Agenda:
1. Starting with the Senate Committee meetings. More accurately, the Senate/House Joint Veterans Freebies Committee. Today’s meeting will consider HB 236(Jaques), which gives free surf fishing licenses to Delaware National Guard members. The concern is not merely, or even primarily, the freebie being handed out. The Fiscal Note for this bill is $44,000 annually. While this may not be a big amount, this money all comes out of the state parks budget. A permanent reduction on an annual basis. Since we have given similar freebies to other exalted groups, the state is taking money from parks in order to provide perks. And these are not one-shot deals, these are annual perks. Unto perpetuity, barring legislative intervention. If you support the state park system, you might just want to let your legislators know that you’re tired of these giveaways, as they have real impact.
2. Rep. Johnson’s ‘Box’ bill, which would ‘prohibit a public employer from inquiring into or considering the criminal record, criminal history or credit history or score of an applicant before it makes a conditional offer to the applicant’, comes before the Senate Labor & Industrial Relations Committee Wednesday. It’s in an hospitable committee, so the bill could be on the agenda as early as Thursday.
Blackmail Or Bribery? You Decide.
JPMorgan Chase claims it wants to create 500 new jobs in Delaware. Just one problem. They’ll only create those jobs if the State of Delaware forks over $1.5 million.
That’s right. Poor impoverished megabank wants to do the right thing, but simply can’t afford to do it on their own. So, they want Delaware taxpayers to pony up. BTW, as usual, looks like Gov. Markell is cheerleading for them.
Delaware Political Weekly: March 15-21, 2014
Ken Simpler Files as R Candidate for Treasurer. And he’s the prototypical Republican candidate–circa 1980.
St. Andrews grad. Princeton undergrad. MBA and JD from the University of Chicago. Owner and CFO of Seaboard Hotels. Previously Managing Director at Citadel Investment Group. He and his wife are restoring a 200-acre farm near Newark. Other than being born and raised in Rehoboth rather than Greenville, this is your traditional Republican candidate for office. Should Chip Flowers survive a Democratic primary, I just might vote for him. Simpler, I mean.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thursday, March 20, 2014
I was heartened to see legislators expressing skepticism on a proposal to give $20 million this year to ease financial burdens on casinos. As Rep. Dennis E. Williams pointed out, the casinos will keep coming back year after year. Which raises the question, why should taxpayers bail out a wheeler dealer like Denis McGlynn for making bad business decisions:
Denis McGlynn, president and CEO of Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment and Dover Motorsports Inc., said not receiving any money from the state would spell disaster for casinos, leading to potential layoffs, shutdowns of certain operations and a cutback on marketing.
Layoffs, loss of gaming options and a cutback in marketing ultimately would cost the state much more in lost revenue than what they would be shelling out in the current proposal, he said.
The casino’s bank loan expires on June 17, and the bank is watching the state’s decision, he said. If the bank loan is not renewed, McGlynn said they’d have to shop around with other banks, something that probably won’t work out in the casino’s favor given its finances, he said.
We gave McGlynn and his, wait for it, ilk, every break in the book. And now we’ve gotta bail his ass out because his loan is under water? Hey, Denis, how about moving some of your other assets around to cover this? The Delaware General Assembly should simply stop giving away money to these blackmailers. Which is what and who they are.
Did Rapist Skate Due to DuPont Family Ties Only to Rape Again?
Sometimes, it takes a few hours to absorb a story. Such is the case here. And here. Go ahead and read. Seriously, I’ll wait. You have only to read this excerpt from McJournal to get your blood boiling: A du Pont family heir who received no prison time after pleading guilty to raping his 3-year-old […]
UPDATED: Carney Gives Finger to LGBT Community
Update: John Carney belatedly signed on to the letter.
Seriously, what’s wrong with this guy? Rhetorical question. He’s a Republican. Anyway, from the attached article:
Forty-eight senators and 148 representatives have signed a letter calling on Obama to sign an executive order providing workplace protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.
When Obama campaigned for president, he said he’d support such an order. He has not. So, 196 D legislators signed a letter to Obama (R’s were invited, none signed) calling on him to enforce this through Executive Order since the R’s are delaying consideration of a legislative remedy in Congress. Even Carper and Coons.
Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tues., March 18, 2014
Assuming that neither snow nor St. Paddy’s Day waylaid them, the legislators return en masse to Dover today.
I expect the Governor and his staff to be meeting with legislators both to push for the infrastructure package (10 cents a gallon increase) and the clean water package ($45 on average per homeowner). This, to put it mildly, is a tough sell in an election year. I have to wonder why the governor didn’t do this at the beginning of his second term rather than throwing out a not-well-thought-through proposal late last session. It makes passage less likely. Although…a compromise on the infrastructure package could well be reached. One respected legislator suggested a phase-in, a nickel and more state borrowing the first year, and an additional nickel and less borrowing the second year. This is, after all, among other things, a jobs bill. If proponents can message this properly and emphasize this fact, reluctant D legislators could well be brought along.
I also expect caucuses to get briefings from their Joint Finance Committee members as to where things stand following the agency hearings (Oops. DEFAC says we’re down another $40 mill). Keep in mind that the budget bill likely won’t get marked up until around Memorial Day, so there will be a lot of dickering between now and then. And more DEFAC numbers.
Recent Comments