Tag: Steve Tanzer Delaware
Delaware Political Weekly, April 5-11, 2014
Apparently there are self-appointed grown-ups amongst Sussex County Rethuglicans. Party leaders (an oxymoron, I know, but bear with me), endorsed a resolution stating that they would not “endorse or support” Phillips should he run for reelection to Sussex County Council. The News-Journal quotes Sussex Republican Chair John Rieley as telling Phillips in a letter:
“This situation has the strong potential to bring disrepute on the party if we do not take a proactive moral position and are seen as lending support to your candidacy.”
Sometimes the jokes write themselves. The Sheriff of Nuttingham. Bodie. Disrepute has, to put it mildly, not been a stranger to the Sussex County Republican Party. But, I digress. This did not stop Phillips from filing yesterday.
Meanwhile, Colin Bonini will not run for Treasurer. This, of course, was inevitable. A guy who has gotten paid for 20 years to do nothing was not about to risk that gig for another job where he’d basically do nothing. Since he would have to give up his Senate seat to run for Treasurer, Colin Bonini was never gonna run for Treasurer this year.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., April 10, 2014.
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: Weds., April 9, 2014
Lotsa action in the General Assembly Tuesday. Here’s the Session Activity Report. The Senate passed legislation moving administration of defensive driving courses from the Insurance Commissioner’s office to the Division of Motor Vehicles; and the Blue Collar package discussed yesterday. A brief aside about our vaunted IC. Didja read any of the articles about the […]
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., April 8, 2014
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.
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: 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.
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.
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