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End of the 2009 Legislative Session: Looking Back and Looking Forward

Well, for better or for worse the 2009 legislative session in Delaware has ended. It has been an interesting session. It started with a new Democratic governor, lieutenant governor and Democratic majority in the House. It ended in a bitter fight over the budget. The session was composed of the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good:

  • The passage of HB 1, the open government bill.
  • The passage of SB 121 (HB 5), the bill banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
  • Changing of the rules/changing of the guard. That was illustrated nicely by Karen Peterson’s parliamentary procedure to force a vote on HB 1. The times are changing and the old way of doing things is disappearing.

    • The bad:

  • The narrow defeat of a bill to alter the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Why is this bad? It’s bad that the bill was proposed in the first place.
  • The budget crisis
  • The death of Senator Thurman Adams.

    • The ugly:

  • The fight over casino gambling. The legislature did not cover themselves in glory there. It ended up looking like legislators were too heavily influenced by the current racinos.
  • The “booze over books” fight in the budget at the end of the session. I’m on record saying that I think John Kowalko has taken an unfair share of the blame in this fight (even though I don’t agree with his votes). Everyone came out of this fight covered with mud, IMO.

    • Looking forward, what do we want to see in the next legislative session? What priorities do you think the progressive Delaware blogosphere should fight for?

    My suggestions:

  • Fix the budget – adopt some alternative revenue sources and fix the PIT to be more progressive. Make sure everyone is sharing in fixing the budget.
  • Marriage equality – at the very least I would like to see a bill introduced to legalize civil unions in Delaware, although I would prefer full marriage equality for same sex couples.

    • Put your highlights, lowlights and suggestions in the comments section. As an added bonus, I’ve added some pictures from the SB 121 signing last week from an anonymous correspondent. Word is that the ceremony was packed and the mood joyful. That’s nice to hear after the end of such a contentious legislative session.

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