Tag Archives: Delaware General Assembly

Delaware General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, June 28, 2011

As we move into the last week of this session, here is what absolutely must happen in the next three days:

* The Budget Bill, already passed in the House, must pass in the Senate.

*The Bond Bill must pass both houses

*The Grant-In-Aid bill must pass both houses (a grant-in-aid bill is not legally required, but there will be one, and it will pass)

*Redistricting must pass both houses (well, not really, and it’s always possible that some kind of stalemate could arise).

That’s it. Lots of other bills will pass, some desirable and some highly dubious. My axiom is: When in doubt, delay, delay, delay.

After all, this is the first session of a two-year General Assembly. Bills do not turn into pumpkins as of July 1. Bills do not have to be reintroduced in January if not passed this session. Be especially careful with bills that seem to serve no public purpose. They rarely do, but they do serve the purposes of lobbyists who out-wait even the most diligent of legislators. Memo to Patti Blevins: If ‘everyone is tired’ this June 30, don’t let your biggest benefactors take away any more of your, or your body’s credibility. And, yes, I’m talking about Blue Cross/Blue Shield, among others. Just remember who you’re supposed to represent.

OK, let’s look at what took place last Thursday:

The Senate passed this stupid bill. Delaware motorists must wear seat belts, but motorcycle riders don’t have to wear, or even carry, helmets. Uh, tell me which one is more dangerous again? Senate also passed the coyote bill, but barely. Alpacas cannot rest easy just yet.

The Senate defeated HB 100, which would “revise(s) the background checks required in public schools by broadening the requirement to include all contractors or their employees – such as construction workers or computer service workers – who will be present for any reason on school premises. It forbids access to anyone recently convicted of a violent felony or who is listed as a serious offender on the State’s Child Protection Registry or who has ever been convicted of a felony sexual offense with a child victim.”

More accurately, the bill fell one vote short of passage. It can be resurrected pretty much any time. Let me just say that this places perhaps too onerous a requirement on the schools. You can’t argue with the sentiment of the legislation, but it maybe should be more specific and circumscribed.

The House passed legislation creating a group to study lobbyist ethics. Also known as ‘moving the goal posts’. Simply delays any meaningful reform until 2013 at the earliest. Seriously, anyone who has spent even ten minutes in Leg Hall knows the unholy hold that lobbyists have on the process. No matter how well-intended, and some of the best legislators are sponsors, all this does is postpone any reform.

The House passed the bill putting the Bloom fuel cells project on the fast track. Not sure if the Governor has signed it yet, but he will soon.

Today’s Senate agenda kicks off with legislation pushed hard by Blue Cross/Blue Shield and vigorously opposed by Attorney General Beau Biden. The bill would pave the way for a merger that BX/BS has long sought, but which the AG questions based on how it would impact consumers. Sen. Blevins and Rep. B. Short are faves of the insurance industry, and they’re leading the fight on behalf of the ‘not-for-profit’ giant.  Here’s the News-Journal’s take:

Also Tuesday, Blevins expects to bring a bill to the Senate floor that is seen as crucial to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware’s merging insurance plans with Pittsburgh-based Highmark Inc. Attorney General Beau Biden has been at odds with Blevins and Blue Cross over the bill, with Biden demanding that the insurer create a foundation to fund care for needy Delawareans from some of its $170 million in reserves.Blevins hoped to hammer out a resolution with Biden over the weekend, though passage of the legislation was unclear Friday.

“I haven’t counted votes on it yet,” she said.

Read the entire article, as it provides an excellent preview of the key unresolved issues.

Other bills of interest on today’s Senate agenda include these entries, all of which have been previously discussed: HB 145 (good), SB 63 (good), HJR 3 (not just bad, but a horrible precedent), and SS1/SB 29 (good, but fell one vote short previously; maybe Sen. McDowell has remembered that he represents Wilmington, not Middletown).

The House agenda is actually three agendas today. The House Agenda includes the remainder of the unworked bills from last Thursday’s agenda. I’m sure you’ll all agree that I’ve already discussed them ad nauseum.

House Agenda II is comprised of a fairly innocuous set of Senate bills. During the last few days, there is generally much more coordination between the House and the Senate. In fact, on the last day, agendas will likely vanish altogether, to be replaced with ‘must lists’, which are lists of bills sent from one house to the other, and which are the priorities of the respective legislators. These lists are less prevalent during the first session of a General Assembly, but they are still a key part of the last days of session. Lots of bad bills often get passed through this process.

House Consent Agenda E consists entirely of bills released from the House Sunset Committee, generally modest changes to the operations of various state agencies, commissions and boards.

I find it a little intriguing that neither the House nor Senate redistricting bills are on today’s respective agendas. It’s probably nothing, but it’s at least possible that there are disagreements between House leadership and Senate leadership. It’s also possible, but not likely, that state Democratic leaders, perhaps including members of our Congressional delegation, are urging DeLuca and Blevins to put the Party’s best interests over their attempts to exact retribution.

Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?

You won’t be dreaming, but perhaps El Somnambulo will be, if you think you hear my voice on the Al Mascitti Show today. I’ll be there, as will my grappling alter-ego, beginning at 10 am. Al’s show is on every weekday from 9 am to 12 noon.

Delaware’s Budget Mess

Today’s News Journal takes a look at the state pension obligations and how it’s impacting the state budget. The news is not good:

According to Ann Visalli, director of the Office of Management and Budget, 16 percent of the state’s work force is eligible to retire today. “We have an aging work force,” she said.

Markell’s budget calls for $3.2 million to be pared from employee health and pension costs, a proposal he said will save at least $100 million over five years. However, he did not detail how those savings would be realized.

I think we’re going to have to take a hard look at the proposals that will come out regarding pensions. Despite rumors to the contrary, the pensions are good but not luxurious. The NJ spells it out:

Some pensioners receive less than $600 per month in benefits, while almost 5,000 receive benefits of less than $1,000 a month, Hassman said.

Even those who worked 30 years receive an average of just $23,000 a year, he said.

They haven’t seen an increase in their pensions for more than 5 years. The other places where the governor plans to cut is Medicaid and assistance to the indigent:

Markell also wants to cut Medicaid costs, which are consuming an ever-increasing portion of the budget, and eliminate $3 million in cash assistance for adults who are unemployable, destitute and often homeless.

Again, we haven’t seen the Medicaid proposals yet but my nose is twitching saying we’ll probably raise eligibility requirements, meaning people will lose their coverage. The rising cost of health care is taking a huge bit out of our economy.

Governor’s State of the State Address Open Thread

Governor Jack Markell will be delivering the yearly State of the State address from Leg Hall starting at 2pm today. Most of us are working at that time, but there are ways to hear and see the address from your computer if you want:

  • The State’s website provides an option for live streaming (you will need Quicktime installed) or for audio (scroll to the bottom for that link)
  • WDEL will be broadcasting this live — they also have live streaming via their website and smartphone apps

Use this thread to talk about your priorities for Delaware State Government this year and to comment on the Governor’s address.

Sad News: Rep. Hazel Plant Has Died

Just breaking now – the Governor’s office has announced that Rep. Hazel Plant has died. She and her family have served Wilmington and Delaware for many years. She will be missed. Our condolences to her friends, family and constituents. The governor has ordered the flags to fly a half-staff in honor of her many years of service to the state.

Jim Westhoff’s Opponent…In His Own Words

Never thought I’d see someone from Sussex County actually make Charlie West seem…articulate.

Then again, never saw Jim Westhoff’s opponent, Dave Wilson, before.

Check out this video of Wilson, and then come back for some astute commentary from Yours Truly:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=258zaY12XRI[/youtube]

Ah, I see you’re back. Ignore the stumbling syntax, the real meat is in what Wilson says. First and foremost, he admits that he isn’t and won’t be effective b/c, stop me if you’ve heard this before, he’s in the minority. I will try to quote as best I can:

“A lot of things you think you’ll get done, you won’t get done, I’m a little hesitant to make promises, bein’ in the minority party, I soon found out, bein’ in the minority party, you don’t have a chance to come up with a lotta great ideas, you may have some good ideas, but they don’t get implemented if they don’t get out of commitee, so that’s where a lot of these ideas ended up, in committee when you’re on the minority side.”

OK, set aside the point that nowhere in this video does he point to a single good idea that he had, much less one that got hung up in committee. He’s basically admitted that he is an ineffective legislator, at least when it comes to legislatin’. He has admitted that he can’t get anything done. Not what I’d call a ringing endorsement for reelection. I also call BS on his basic premise. Impacting legislation by ‘making it better’ is precisely the kind of impact that canny legislators of both parties can have if they’re simply engaged in the process of legislating. Wilson gives absolutely no hint that he’s been involved at all.

Now, here’s where Wilson goes really off the tracks. He argues that ‘the State’ doesn’t care about Sussex County. Again, allow me to quote from the Honorable Representative (I wish I could say that no brain cells were killed in the transcribing of this video, but sadly that’s not the case):

“If the State really cared about Sussex County and the 35th District, they would have put someone from Sussex County on the Joint Finance Committee. We have no representation on the Joint Finance Committee writing the finances for Sussex County…”

The ‘State’ doesn’t decide who is on the Joint Finance Committee, the General Assembly does. Joe Booth was on the Joint Finance Committee until he decided to run for the Adams seat. He effectively took himself off the JFC. Although the members of the JFC are officially chosen by the Speaker and the President Pro-Tem respectively, they generally defer to the minority leadership in selecting the, in this case, R members of JFC. In other words, Senate Minority Leader Gary Simpson, from Sussex County and House Minority Whip Daniel Short from Sussex County had ample input into who was chosen for JFC. In other other words, Wilson doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Oh, and here’s something Wilson failed to mention. The Bond Bill Committee, aka the Joint Committee on Capital Improvement (think roads, schools, etc.), has three, count ’em. three, Sussex County members, including the co-chair, Sen. Bob Venables (D-Mars). Sen. Gary Simpson and Rep. George Carey also serve.  I guess ‘The State’ must care about Sussex County after all. And, in voting against the Bond Bill, Wilson voted against road repair, school funding and a whole host of other important projects in HIS district. In so doing, HE voted against anyone in his district who drives the roads or has children in public schools. Please tell me again who does and doesn’t have his district’s interests at heart?

Three members of Sussex County notwithstanding, Wilson voted against the Bond Bill, the Budget Bill and, of course, ‘every tax increase’. Check out his weird explanation as to why he supported the Grant-In-Aid bill. Something about if he had voted against it, money in it might have gone ‘upstate’. A: That’s not true. And B: The Grant-In-Aid bill that Wilson admits provided funding to services in the 35th District was crafted by the self-same Joint Finance Committee that Wilson claims doesn’t care about Sussex County.

Again, forget about the stumbling syntax. Forget about the fact that the only time Wilson even appears semi-comfortable reading his remarks is when he’s reading the Rethugs’ talking points about smaller government. What’s important is that Sussex County legislators have always had a canniness to them. Even when they don’t appear to be all that sharp, they know how to deliver the goods for Sussex County. This guy has basically admitted that he can’t deliver the goods. And frankly, he really seems to be a complete and total idiot.

Jim Westhoff has demonstrated time and time again here that he can and will deliver the goods, if only he gets the chance.

By us delivering ‘the goods’ in terms of financial assistance now, we will give Jim the best chance to do so for his constituents come November.

Blogging the House: The Final Chapter

House is back in session. I’m starting this at 7:45 p.m. and will continue until I and/or the wine hold out. House is considering SB 228(McDowell). Gerald Pepper of the Insurance Commissioner’s office is testifying. D. Short is asking questions. Uh-oh, given his choice between KWS and Gene Reed, floor manager Gerald Brady has asked for Gene Reed to take the floor. Probably the better of the two choices. Answer acceptable to D. Short. Roll call: 39 Y, 1 NV, 1 Absent. Rep. Lavelle is in attendance, Rep. Hazel Plant is once again absent.

They’re now considering a Consent Agenda. Consent Agendas are comprised of multiple bills which, assuming that no member objects, can all be passed with one single roll call. They are generally either ‘housekeeping’ bills or charter changes. I have no idea what these bills were, but the roll, but Consent Agenda G has passed unanimously. I’m pretty sure that this agenda had several charter changes as a 2/3 vote was required for passage.

And here comes Consent Agenda H. All bills are from the Senate. Passed unanimously.

Lotsa personal introductions from the House earning tepid applause. Kovach jokes that his wife isn’t there tonight, so there’s no one to keep him in line. No one to laugh at his weak stab at humor either. Rep. Carey announces that he’ll leave fairly early since his wife is recovering from a broken arm. He promises that, if he returns to Leg Hall after retiring, it won’t be as a lobbyist. First time for everything.

Here comes Consent Agenda F.

Passed unanimously. Some of these bills are fairly substantive, yet no legislators have requested that items be removed. Suggests it will be a fairly drama-free session.

Discussion starts on SB 232(Marshall), which would “ensure that when a professional licensing board revokes or suspends a license at a hearing, the revocation or suspension shall be effective immediately. However, the Bill also requires that a written order must be served within 30 days after the hearing date.” The purpose is to prevent someone from practicing while the purely administrative carrying out of the written order has not yet taken place. Passes unanimously.

Next up, SB 320(Ennis), pertaining to the administering of ‘good time’ in the Corrections Department. Recommended by the Sentence Accountability Commission. Passes unanimously.

And, now, SB 300(Blevins), pertaining to childhood lead poisoning prevention. Enables high-risk children to receive an additional screening at 24 months.Passes unanimously.

Gilligan, Schwartzkopf and Chief Clerk Richard Puffer are really keeping things moving. Excellent job so far.

SB 280(Blevins) is up next. The bill “establishes health, adoption, and record keeping requirements for animal shelters operating in Delaware and updates the euthanasia provisions applying to shelters.” All of the shelters currently operating in the state support the bill. Passes unanimously. Seems to be a real meaningful bill for animal rights activists, which means I’m thrilled that it passed.

SB 289(Ennis) next. Simply brings Delaware into technical compliance with an interstate compact concerning adjudicated juveniles. Passed unanimously.

House is currently paying tribute to Richard E. Dennis, who has been legislative liaison for the Delaware State Police, who will retire in October. Hmmm, I wonder what a retiring state policeman does after retirement…

Next, SB 328(Cook). The bill will essentially reduce the number of appointive positions requiring Senate approval.  Speaker Gilligan will floor manage.  When a speaker runs a bill, he physically leaves the Speaker’s chair and runs the bill from the floor. He appoints someone to serve as Acting Speaker during the debate of the bill. In this case, Dennis P. Williams, who takes the gavel and the chair. Passes unanimously.

Gilligan’s back in the chair, and HB 399(Scott) is up next. Rep. Cathcart announces he will go ‘not voting’ due to apparent conflict-of-interest. Cathcart is employed by Delaware State University. and the bill establishes the Inspire Scholarship Program to enable students with “excellent credentials and economic need to attend Delaware State University”. SEED scholarship money is available for students seeking to attend the University of Delaware and Del-Tech. Either all three institutions should have this ability to attract motivated in-state students, or none of them should. A lot of Rethugs are absent during the initial calling of this roll. Wonder what’s going on…  32 Y, 1 Not Voting, 8 Absent. The bill passes, but 8 Rethugs ‘taking a walk’ is a bleeping disgrace.

BREAKING NEWS: Rep. J. J. Johnson announces from the floor that a Federal judge has just approved the sale of the Boxwood plant to Fisker for $20 million.

House now breaks for Party Caucus. These are generally long on June 30, so I’m not sure when they’ll, or if I’ll, be back.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., June 10, 2010

Following yesterday’s session, Big Brother will have an even tighter hold on your wallet. You’ll now pay $110 instead of $75 for a red light violation caught on camera, courtesy of HB 189(Mitchell). The bill passed the Senate and heads to the Governor. And, in the spirit of creeping Big Brotherism, don’t refer to these as fines. They are…“administrative assessment(s)”. I’m consistently surprised by public acquiescence to encroachments upon their rights to privacy. Wonder where cameras will be installed next.

Here’s the Session Activity Report. The only new info concerns the bills passed in the Senate. For some reason, no one at Leg Hall seems able to forestall having the exact same information from the House being posted for two consecutive days. For the record, no bills passed the House yesterday as the House was in committee meetings. Maybe someday the record will accurately reflect what actually went on. Today is not that day.

Today’s Senate Agenda includes several municipal charter changes, including HB 395(Hocker), which permits non-resident property owners to vote in Bethany Beach municipal elections. This new bill tries to clarify things from the previous attempt, but it still confuses me. Here’s the language from the bill’s synopsis:

“This act is a recognition of the fact that, in “second home” resort communities, many property owners place title to their resort real estate in trust for estate planning purposes. Further, in order to prevent an unduly large number of persons from qualifying to vote in Town elections as “non-resident property owners” by having multiple owners on the deed to a single parcel of real estate, this act limits the maximum number of persons who may vote as non-resident property owners in Town elections to eight natural persons per property.“

Setting aside whether there’s a difference between eight natural persons and eight unnatural persons, this still suggests that eight non-residents have more say in town affairs than the retired couple living there year ’round, and that doesn’t strike me as fair.

Also notable are SB 263(Sokola), which makes adequate student growth a prerequisite in order for teachers to “receive the highest level of notice and hearing protections”; and SB 266(McDowell), which affords the Secretary of DNREC greater flexibility in utilizing Delaware’s Green Energy Fund. Tommywonk, who supports this measure, wrote about it here yesterday (second article down, for those with ADD).

The House has a lengthy agenda, or more accurately, agendas, scheduled for today. In the last few weeks of a legislative session, the House has generally worked from multiple agendas, and it is not uncommon to switch back-and-forth between agendas several times during the course of a legislative day. At least part of this is due to the fact that members are often engaged in negotiations concerning legislation and/or the ‘money’ committees are meeting during session. The result is that the prime sponsor or floor manager of a bill may not actually be on the floor when it’s time to run a bill. The multiple agendas afford the Majority Leader options in keeping things moving in a ‘mix-‘n-match’ way.

Also, while we don’t yet officially know which bills were released from committee yesterday, we do know that some of the bills considered in yesterday’s meetings are on today’s agenda, always a dead giveaway. And I consider it progress that RSmitty appears to be making out better than Uberlobbyist David Swayze this session, as Smitty’s priorities are both on House agendas today. HB 447(Schwartzkopf) and HB 432(Viola). I’m a wine and (very occasional) microbeer guy, so Smitty’s HB 432 throwdown challenge will go unanswered. But all hail the Porcelain Pioneer for his tireless devotion to the cause.

It’ll be interesting to see if D and R party leaders put the full-court press on in opposition to HB 425(Jaques). Earlier in the legislative session, HB 245 was enacted into law, with only one of 62 legislators (Sen. Simpson) voting against it. The bill included a provision that was controversial to some ‘minor’ parties, as it increased the threshold of registered voters a party must have in order for it  to be included on the General Election ballot. HB 245 increased the threshold from 5/100 of 1% to 10/100 of 1%. HB 425 restores the 5/100 of 1% threshold for the 2010 General Election. FWIW, 1/10 of 1 percent hardly seems like an onerous imposition on a would-be political party. It costs money, manpower and logistics to add more and more parties to an unwieldy ballot. It is, after all, a ‘popular’ election, and if small parties, which often in reality aren’t ‘parties’, but vehicles for self-promotion,can’t generate even a minimal number of followers, they shouldn’t automatically be entitled to a ballot position, IMHO.

HB 237(Viola) requires all ‘newly constructed businesses and other places of public accommodation’ to be equipped with automatic doors at the main entrance for handicapped accessibility. Say-y-y-y, (he said snarkily), doesn’t this fly in the face of ‘regulatory flexibility’?

Rep. Dan Short’s legislation adding incoming revenue and project revenue into the calculation of fiscal notes is on the agenda. I consider this basic common sense, and I have no idea why this hasn’t been done already. I hope it passes the House, and then we’ll just have to see if Nancy Cook will exercise what’s left of her power to try and kill this in the Senate. I hope not.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got plans to show up on a red light camera real soon…

General Assembly Post-Game Wrapup/Pre-Game Show-Thurs., April 29, 2010

The Big News-Universal Recycling on Today’s Senate Agenda

SB 234(McBride) is first on today’s Senate Agenda. Why is this important? As always, Tommywonk explains it all for us. As he points out, the alternative of finding a replacement for the Cherry Island landfill would be difficult, at best:

Of course, we may not be able to find the required 500 to 800 acres at any cost. The footprints of DSWA’s major landfills range from 513 acres (CIL) to 835 acres (Sandtown), which comes to roughly 12 to 20 40-acre farms. If a site for a new landfill cannot be found, we would be looking at higher costs for waste disposal, including transportation costs to a downstate or out of state landfill.

Per the Wonkster:

SB 234 would establish universal curbside recycling, eliminate the current five cent bottle deposit and replace it with a four cent fee that would go away in four years.

Seriously, if you’re not reading Tommywonk, you’re just not informed on any and all issues environmental.

SB 234 appears to have near-universal support, and should sail through the Senate today.

Now back to the day-to-day mundanities. Here’s the complete Session Report from Wednesday. Except, of course, it’s not complete.

Which means it’s time for another Teaching Opportunity! The Session Day does not end when the clock strikes midnight and the calendar flips.  When the House and Senate initially reconvene today, they’ll still officially be in Wednesday’s session. The Legislative Day doesn’t change until the presiding officer adjourns and then reconvenes the body, at which point roll call is taken. so, before they ‘change the day’ today, the committee reports, including notice of which bills have been released from committee, will be read into the record.

In other words, yesterday’s Session Report excludes the meat of what went on yesterday: committee meetings. And now you know why. This knowledge will no doubt lodge itself in your gray matter somewhere near that annoying Tommy James & the Shondells song you’ve been trying to get out of your head for 35 years (Cri-i-i-imson and Clo-o-ver, overrr and overrr…). What the bleep is crimson and clover, anyway?? Some bubblegum pop stars should be kept away from drugs at all costs. Now, Hanky Panky, that was a great song.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQcjTP9RTiY&feature=related[/youtube]

But…I digress. Consumer protection legislation finally passed the Senate yesterday, and heads to the Governor for signature.

Only other real legislation of note considered yesterday, IMHO, was the beginning of the yearly procession of general corporation law legislation. Kids, this is how it’s done in a ‘business-friendly’ state. In order to keep us at the top of the corporate food chain with our ‘highly-respected’ Court of Chancery, the Corporate Law Section of the Delaware Bar annually introduces a legislative package to do so. Not a single legislator understands what’s in the legislation (well, maybe Melanie George does, but she’d be the only one), but it invariably sails through. Occasionally, someone like Sen. McDowell votes ‘no’ because the legislation is so willfully complicated, but there’s no serious opposition. Per example, here’s the synopsis for HB 341, which passed the Senate yesterday and heads to the Governor. I prefer an endless loop of Crimson and Clover to trying to decipher that.

Which brings us to today’s Pre-Game Show. More of those corporate law bills highlight today’s House Agenda.

Today’s Senate agenda, of course, features the universal recycling bill. It also features a bill allowing school buses to have LED lighting, which should improve safety.

Say, waittaminit! There’s something missing from the Activity Report (imagine shuffling of e-papers…). Remember yesterday when I raised questions about HB 166, which would allow up to eight non-residents per property to vote in Bethany Beach Municipal elections? It wasn’t voted on yesterday, and it’s not on today’s agenda. Maybe it’s possible that a staff attorney actually looked at it and realized that it had constitutional questions. I’ve got a practical one–How do actual residents of Bethany Beach feel about allowing so many non-residents to vote in municipal elections?

Which leads me to another question–Who, exactly, is pushing for this legislation? MJ? Intake Manifold? Your thoughts? Don’t make me post that Crimson and Clover youtube vid. It sucks worse than the song.

And with that–I think I’m alone now, there doesn’t seem to be anyone around…

Political Hot Stove Chatter-Delaware General Assembly Edition

Lotsa stuff percolating on the stove. Let’s try to bring ’em to a boil…

1. Democratic Primary for Oberle Seat

Two D’s have filed in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Bill Oberle in this blue-collar Newark-area district. The D registration edge is so daunting that the winner of the primary almost certainly will win the General…unless Brian McGlinchey and his ‘Working Families Party’ decide to make mischief again. The two candidates are Kay Gallogly and Edward Osienski. I’m sure I’m not alone here at DL in wishing that at least one other candidate with whom we’re familiar would jump in. Osienski contributed to Bill Oberle’s campaign–in short, the type of ‘D’ that kept this seat ‘R’ for so long. Wouldn’t be surprised if he is DeLuca’s/construction trades’ stalking horse here.

2. Cathcart’s Got an Opponent

Democrat Richard Griffiths of Townsend. Don’t know much about him, except that a Google search shows that he is a Commissioner and Head Referee for the Middletown-Odessa-Townsend Youth Soccer League. Not a bad start for a candidacy. Also found out that someone named Richard Griffiths appeared in the original stage production of Equus. Reliable sources indicate it’s not the same guy.

3. Miro’s Got an Opponent

And, on paper, he looks like a good one. David Ellis of Yorktowne has the type of profile that might prove attractive to R’s in this R-leaning district. The R’s have a plus-300 registration margin, but Sokola-like candidates have won in districts far more daunting than this one. And Miro has grown awfully comfortable and may not want to go out and knock doors any more. Worth keeping an eye on…

4. Face-Off in the 36th

D Russ McCabe vs. R Harvey Kenton is one of the most intriguing political matchups on the landscape. Despite a Democratic registration edge of about 1,000, this has been a reliably Republican district. With the retirement of long-time Rep. V. George Carey, however, both parties have landed top recruits. Kenton won the endorsement from the 36th Republican Committee. Here’s a puff piece on his candidacy from the Cape Gazette. McCabe, the long-time director of the Delaware Public Archives, also enjoyed a puff piece in the Cape Gazette. Here’s more about Russ. I have no clue who’s gonna win this one. Anyone from downstate care to hazard a guess? I know and really like Russ McCabe which, I suppose, makes his odds of winning that much longer.

5. Blevins Has an Opponent

Well, she does if Fred Cullis can be considered an opponent. A former ‘candidate’ for the US House of Representatives race, Cullis has instead endorsed Michele Rollins for the post (wonder how his fellow teabaggers feel about that) and has announced his candidacy for Patti Blevins’ state senate seat. Oh well, at least Blevins HAS an opponent, which she deserves, and there is enormous comedic potential in Cullis’ candidacy. He’s got no chance of winning in this overwhelmingly D district, however.

6. The Westhoff Candidacy

I really wish this guy lived in New Castle County. He seems to have everything but geography going for him. Hard to see how he beats good ol’ boy David Wilson, but, if there’s ever going to be a more progressive D Party in Sussex, then we need candidates like Westhoff and Ron Robinson. I intend to send a few shekels his way, hope you’ll consider doing likewise.

7. Punkin’ Chunkin’ Guy to Challenge Ruth Briggs King

Don’t know if he’ll have the D field to himself, or if Ron Robinson will run again, but Frank Shade appears to be a formidable candidate.

Here’s one final observation–while most are projecting Rethuglican gains this year, the Democrats, at least at the legislative level here in Delaware, have been far more successful to date in attracting top-tier candidates. Hard to see how the Rethugs retake the House if the current trend continues.

Bring your feedback and, of course, juicy rumors to this post. Let’s really get this stove all warmed  up.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Report-Wed., April 28, 2010

The Insurance Commissioner got her free pass and the Rethugs in the House reemerged as the ‘Daddy’ Party. Just another day in Dover.

Mike Barbieri’s common-sense bill that eliminates mandatory reporting of  school ‘incidents’ involving kids from ages 9-12 barely passed, largely on a party line vote. In other words, those voting ‘no’, or going ‘not voting’ would substitute their judgment that administrators must report every incident to the police over the professional judgment of the school administrators. Rep. Barbieri asks the logical question in J. L. Miller’s News-Journal report:

“If it is serious, the school administration will deal with it. If they’re not [serious offenses], then why bring it to the criminal level?” Barbieri asked.

“How many times have you seen two 9-year-olds pushing each other and you called the police?” he asked.

Good questions. Nobody from the Daddy Party was available for response. The fact that Monsignor Lavelle didn’t rush to the microphones suggests that this was even more political than most Rethug stunts, coming on the day that Terry Spence filed to run against Barbieri. One R, Rep. Don Blakey, who is more of a D than R anyway, voted for the bill. One D, former cop John Mitchell of Elsmere, voted against. Two D’s, John Atkins and Dennis P. Williams, were recorded as ‘absent’. Which brings me to today’s Teaching Opportunity!

Kids, it’s time to tell you what ‘Taking a Walk’ means in legislative parlance. It means being unavailable for a roll call, or ‘absent’, even though you’re actually in the building, and well aware of what’s going on. While I’m not saying that Atkins or former Wilmington cop/unofficial Wilmington mayoral candidate Williams took a walk on this vote, it’s the kind of vote that they might well have wanted to avoid, and they were present and voting during the rest of session.

In an anticlimactic vote, the House unanimously approved Karen Weldin Stewart’s captive insurance company legislation. The second House vote was required b/c a Senate amendment had been added to the bill, and the bill must pass in identical form in both houses. It now heads to the Governor’s office.

Both the 10-year extension of the Historic Preservation Tax Credit and Sen. Simpson’s bill making cats the victims of dangerous dogs passed in the Senate and now head to the House.

Here’s yesterday’s Session Activity Report.

While most of today’s activity will be in committee meetings, the Senate does have an Agenda as well. HB 166(Rep. Hocker) interests me, even though it’s ‘only’ a Bethany Beach charter change, as it really gives a lot of power in municipal elections to non-resident property owners. This is an ongoing issue that is prevalent in beach communities as you have people who own property, but do not have their official residences in the beach communities. I’ve gotta ask, though, just where do you draw the line on this? Hocker’s bill draws the line at 8 non-residents per property. 8. As in “…this act limits the maximum number of persons who may vote as non-resident property owners in Town elections to eight natural persons per property.” The limit is supposedly in place to “…prevent an unduly large number of persons from qualifying to vote in Town elections as “non-resident property owners” by having multiple owners on the deed to a single parcel of real estate.”

Eight non-residents per property strikes me as an unduly large number. Non-residents could dwarf residents when voting in municipal elections. Is that fair? Is that constitutional? I’ll defer to Sussex Countians to respond. Not to mention experts in  constitutional law. Whaddayathink, John ‘Intake’ Manifold?

Helene Keeley’s oft-amended bill giving more consumer protective powers to the AG’s office is also on the agenda. The fact that the bill has been through so many permutations once again raises questions about the performance of the Department of Justice and the Attorney General, and their ability to craft legislation.

Little of note in Senate committee meetings today. Once again, a Senate Committee is meeting with no announced public agenda, thankyouverymuch, Sen. Bethany Hall Long.

The Senate Education Committee has a substantive agenda, including HB 328 which, if memory serves, raised red flags with Joanne Christian. Am I right on that, JC?

Here’s the House Committee Meeting schedule.

The House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance/Commerce Committee will consider HB 343(Brady), which would require insurance companies/health plans to, at a minimum, provide prosthetic and orthotic devices at the Federal reimbursement rate for the aged and disabled.

The House Administration Committee is scheduled to consider (and likely table) HB 214(Ramone), which would reduce the number of New Castle County Councilmanic districts from 12 to 6. Too bad, because the bill, almost by definition, would cut the number of political hacks/unethical operators in half as well, all the while saving the County quite a few $$’s. I think the bill deserves a hearing and vote on the House floor, but I doubt that it will happen.

Rep. Brad Bennett has another bill sure to get under Nancy Cook’s skin scheduled for the House Judiciary Committee today. This would put into the Kent County merit system positions in the Court of Common Pleas that heretofore have been the personal and political dumping ground for Sen. Cook and her allies.

So, all in all, a pretty interesting day. Check out the full schedule on your own and let me know if I’ve missed something that strikes your interest.

Delaware General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tuesday, April 27, 2010

First, allow me to apologize for the lack of a ‘Post-Game/Pre-Game’ feature last Thursday. Had a surgical procedure and was out of commission. Pleased to report that I can finally see the light at the end of the carpal tunnel, so all is well.

As expected, the bill enabling the State to rope in captive insurance companies passed the Senate unanimously. A well-intentioned, but toothless, amendment by Sen. Sokola was added to the bill. It requires a finding by the IC that the company is financially stable. No penalty accrues either to the IC nor the company should that prove not to be the case. The IC gets her bill, and the alleged legislative watchdogs throw away perhaps their best chance to exercise some control over that office. Just remember that the next time the inevitable occurs regarding the IC.

The House passed HB 349(Gilligan), which “require(s) nonresident persons, corporations or pass-through entities that sell real estate owned in this State to declare and pay their estimate of the tax due on the gain recognized from the sale before the deed will be recorded.” This is already required of in-state entities. Makes sense and probably some $$’s as well.

The entire Session Activity Report from last Thursday is here.

Today’s Senate agenda features both a proposed 10-year extension on the Historic Preservation Tax Credit , and Sen. Simpson’s attempt to make dogs the guilty party in all physical confrontations with cats. Not to nitpick, but the promised fiscal note for the tax credit extension has yet to appear online. Probably for the best, as the Controller General’s staff lists the sponsors of this bill as “Henry & Henry”. Not surprising, however, as CG Russell Larsen doesn’t even take a dump w/o Nancy Cook’s permission, and we all know how she feels about open government. She ‘dumps’ on it each and every day.

The Senate Labor Committee also meets today to rework legislation creating the Job Creation Incentive Fund, which is one of this year’s more important legislative initiatives on the Governor’s agenda.

Probably most notable on the House Agenda is HB 347(Barbieri), which raises from age 9 to age 12 the student age at which school administrators must report certain incidents to the police. This common-sense recommendation by the Legislative Subcommittee of the School Discipline Task Force gives school officials discretion to determine whether a report to the police is required in what clearly are non-dangerous circumstances. In other words, this corrects the Law of Unintended Consequences that legislators should have been able to anticipate would happen when the ‘no discretion’ policy was initially enacted into law.

Word from Dover is that Pete Schwartzkopf does not currently have the votes, with or without Hazel Plant, to pass casino expansion, so it will likely remain just where it is for the time-being.

Like that bill, I’ll remain where I am for the time-being to allow the healing process to continue. Soft cast is scheduled to come off Thursday. But I just might leave it on to elicit sympathy and perhaps a free drink or two at the Drinking Liberally event that night. Come and help with my recovery!