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.