The Vote Tracker: Review the New Bills Introduced Last Week

Representative John Kowalko pre-filed a couple of bills last week that are worthy of mention. First, House Bill 42 calls for the University of Delaware and Delaware State University to be fully subject to the state Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Last year, the General Assembly passed a much watered down version of this bill relating to each university’s expenditure of public money received from the state was passed. I’m told that UD and DelState will oppose this bill because it will hamper partnerships with the private sector; research and development; and academic research and innovation that do not involve public tax payer money.

Second, House Bill 43, previously recommended by the Joint Sunset Committee in the last session, adds appointed members of the Cash Management Policy Board to the definition of “public officers.” This designation would subject the appointed members of the Board to annual financial disclosure requirements. Think of this as former Treasurer Chip Flowers’ legacy.

Third, House Bill 44 seeks to phase out the use of three controversial flame retardants in children’s products or furniture sold in Delaware. The chemicals — TDCPP, TCEP, and TCPP — are collectively referred to as “TRIS.” The Natural Resources Defense Council classifies these chemicals as carcinogens. The bill would limit the sale or distribution of children’s products or furniture containing TRIS to those items with less than fifty parts per million of the substances. Then, starting a year from now, the act would further ban the sale or distribution of children’s products or furniture containing any “chemical of high concern” as identified by the Department of Health and Social Services. Although not specifically mentioned in the bill, these chemicals would presumably include the TRIS retardants.

Finally, the granddaddy of them all, the bill that will bring down an Administration’s education agenda, House Bill 50. This bill would give parents or guardians the right to opt their children out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment System.

Representative Mike Barbieri has introduced House Bill 46, which would establish a “Bill of Rights” for children in the custody of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families (DSCYF). The rights listed include the right to contact and visit with their parents, as well as siblings that are also in DSCYF custody; the right to have regular, confidential contact with their caseworker, attorney or court-appointed special advocate; and the right to participate in court hearings and to speak to the judge regarding any decision that may have an impact on their lives.

Senator Karen Peterson will be refiling the bill to repeal Delaware’s death penalty this Wednesday, March 18, at 1 pm. She, along with DE Repeal, will be holding a press conference introducing the bill at that time. Allegedly, the bill, though it has not been filed as yet, already has a committee hearing date already. The DE Repeal folks have emailed that they want to fill Legislative Hall on Wednesday, March 25, which is next week.

The Repeal of the Death Penalty bill is anticipated to be heard in committee at approximately 1:00 pm on Wednesday, March 25th. (If there are changes we will let you know.) We need to fill Legislative Hall EARLY. We ask supporters to arrive as early as 10:30 or 11:00. Opponents of Repeal will be there in force. Your presence is vital.

Contact your legislators. Go to action page at DERepeal.org so we can easily track constituent contact. The message at its core is simple: “I live in your district. I urge you to support the bill to repeal Delaware’s death penalty in all cases.” We will update the language once we have a bill number.

Below you will find the the Vote Tracker for House Bills and then Senate Bills. We keep track of how our General Assembly votes on bills of progressive or liberal interest. Now, this chart does not follow all the legislation that has been filed. We don’t report on perfunctory bills, nor do we follow the progress of judicial nominations, executive nominations, or Concurrent or Joint Resolutions unless they are a matter of controversy. So the legislation that is listed is a matter of concern and priority for those of us on the liberal / progressive side of the aisle. I review every piece of legislation as it is filed, and if I miss something, Senators and Representatives on our side of the aisle usually call me out on it, so if I miss something it won’t be missed for long. You can download the tracker in the form of a Excel spreadsheet by clicking on the menu button in the lower right corner of each box.