General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., April 10, 2014.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., April 10, 2014.

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Yesterday was a light day. The Senate worked and passed a series of noncontroversial measures, some of which I previously discussed here. The Gun Down the Gray Fox bill made it out of committee. The Dream Act bill didn't. Priorities, people.  BTW, projected annual cost of the Dream Act bill, according to the Fiscal Note? Just over $40K/year. Here's the entire Session Activity Report. The Governor has 51 million reasons to root for passage of HB 265(Schwartzkopf) in the Senate today. The bill raises $51 million in increased annual corporate fees. Since the bill requires a 3/5 super-majority vote, 13 yes votes are required. Don't think the bill would be on the Senate Agenda if all 13 D's were not on board, but we shall see. The over/under on how long it takes Governor Markell to sign the bill? 30 minutes. I'm taking the under.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., April 8, 2014

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., April 8, 2014

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Same day registration/voting is coming to Delaware. HB 105(Viola) passed the House, 24-15, last Thursday. Two putative D's, John Atkins and Bill 'Lumpy' Carson, voted no. No R's voted yes.  I look for a 12-9 yes vote in the Senate. Karen Weldin Stewart loses yet more of her authority if SB 178(Peterson) passes. The bill 'transfers authority for state-approved motor vehicle accident prevention (defensive driving) courses from the Department of Insurance to the Division of Motor Vehicles'.  A classic example of the state adding by subtracting. The less KWS can screw up, the better.  When you think about it, it's pretty amazing that we have two elected public officials in whom virtually nobody in state government has any confidence. KWS and Chip Flowers. Said lack of confidence is totally justified. Weird.
The Good News About Governor Markell’s Downtown Development District Initiative

The Good News About Governor Markell’s Downtown Development District Initiative

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Today, Governor Markell has visited Wilmington, Dover and Bridgeville to announce the Downtown Development Initiative. You'll remember that he discussed this in the State of the State Address and it is one of the multiple revitalization initiatives proposed by the Governor this year. The goal of this plan is to have 3 municipalities (to start, one in each county) propose and apply for a Downtown Development District, where development projects in line with the plan would be eligible for up to a 20% grant-in-aid rebate on investment. Investments could be for a single home -- or for larger, transformative projects. The pool of funds available for this is proposed at $7M, shared by those doing the development. If the pool is oversubscribed, then developers would get a smaller share, but all developers would get some rebate. In addition, the Governor proposes to reserve $1.5M in the state's Historic Tax Credits for use in the Downtown Development Districts, adding some additional incentive to help re-create the State's Downtowns.