Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tues., June 20, 2017

First some rare good news.  The committee that tracks Delaware’s revenue (DEFAC) has upped its prediction by $27 million.  Meaning that balancing the budget just got a little bit easier.  Of course, with a projected $400 million deficit, the General Assembly’s work is hardly complete. But every $27 mill helps.

That might be the end of the good news for awhile.  Take, for example, today’s House Agenda. Please.

The Coastal Zone Act ‘Reform’ is near the top of the agenda.  Despite my respect for the prime sponsors of the bill, the fact that fixers like Dave Swayze and the entire Chamber of Commerce coterie are pushing for swift passage tells me that we need to slow down and look at what this bill would really do.  Why does this bill need to pass now?  Why not hold public hearings throughout the state?  If, as Nancy Willing, suggests, it’s merely designed to enable a whole lot of bulk transfers in the Coastal Zone, then we really need to look more closely at this before it’s rubber-stamped.  Speaking of which, there’s also a three-card-monte element to the bill.  An amendment to the bill provides that ‘…DEDO is directed to provide a comprehensive report on the economic impact of this Act’ every two years.  Now, kids, let’s trundle further down the Agenda to this bill.  That’s right, HB 226, appropriately sponsored by Chamber lackey Bryon Short, eliminates DEDO.  Meaning there would be no agency to report on the economic impact of the Coastal Zone legislation.  Gee, maybe someone should fix this.

But HB 226 sucks on its very own.  For all of its faults, DEDO at least acted as something of an intermediary on state giveaways to business interests. In its stead, HB 226 provides for the:

…establishment of a public/private partnership in Delaware to focus on investment attraction, entrepreneurship and innovation, talent development and retention, and research and analysis. Upon consideration of the Working Group report, the General Assembly intends to appropriate funding for the Public/Private Partnership, a nonprofit public/private partnership comprised of leaders in the public, business and the community to build a stronger entrepreneurial environment in the State.

To make the most efficient use of available resources, this legislation eliminates the Delaware Economic Development Office because the public/private partnership will be conducting business attraction and development functions formerly performed by that Office.

Oh, and lest there be any doubt, the bill makes clear that this new partnership is not a state agency, hence not subject to FOIA requirements.

The Chamber and the Business Roundtable have been pushing for this for the past few years. Crony capitalism with no accountability.  Pushed by your Democratic governor and the Democratic Chamber brown-nosers in the General Assembly. A horrible bill, pushed by ‘Democrats’ who need to be primaried.

As if that’s not enough, we’ve got yet another bureaucratic reorganization bill.  HB 4 (Longhurst) creates a new Department of Human Resources, transferring functions previously under the purview of the Office of Management and Budget to the new Department. The bill also establishes an ‘Office of Women’s Advancement and Advocacy’ within the new Department.  Can’t wait to see who gets that plum director’s job. In fact, in reading the bill’s synopsis, this new Department appears to be created primarily to consolidate agencies relating to women under one umbrella:

The purpose of this Office is to promote the equality of women in all areas of society. Functions of the Office include fostering and facilitating collaborations between all facets of government and private businesses to eliminate gender-based bias and discriminatory practices, study and report on the status of women in the State, compile and analyze statistics, advise executive and legislative bodies on the effect of proposed legislation, make specific legislative proposals and submit a report to the Governor, Secretary of the Department of Human Resources and the General Assembly at the beginning of every General Assembly of the Office’s activities and recommendations. The bill establishes that the governing body of the Office is the Commission for Women comprised of 9 members. This bill provides that the Office of Women’s Advancement and Advocacy oversees the Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame Committee and the Delaware Women’s Workforce Council. The Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame Committee shall have 7 members and the Delaware Women’s Workforce Council shall be comprised of 11 members. Delaware Women’s Workforce Council shall conduct a study of gender-based inequities in workplaces in Delaware, recommend policies to remove gender-based inequities in the workplace, and develop and publish best practices for employers to achieve gender equality.

Somebody, perhaps some somebodies, are gonna get lucrative jobs out of this. Probably current or former legislators. (Hey, Melanie George might need a golden parachute.) I totally support the goals of this office, but why do we need to create a new bureaucracy to implement this? Or, is there some other purpose to this reorganization? If so, it isn’t mentioned in the bill’s synopsis. Answers, pipples, I need answers.

I’m holding my breath as I turn to today’s Senate Agenda. OK, little of substance. Although, of course, as the Senate has proven, important bills could be considered under a Motion to Suspend Rules.  I do have a couple of questions about bills being considered today:

1. Does anybody know what the bleep is the National Wild Turkey Federation? OK, I can look it up. Here’s what I found: “The NWTF is dedicated to the conservation of the wild turkey and the preservation of our hunting heritage.”  I’m sorry, I don’t see why we should provide a special license plate for members of the local chapter of this organization.  They have every right to their Second Amendment beliefs. But can you imagine if someone sought a special license plate for gun control advocates?  Oh, almost forgot.  I asked the question b/c this bill is on today’s Senate agenda.

2. Just what is a healthy schools indoor environmental portal? I know that you can’t smoke in schools.  So what would this bill accomplish?

Let’s take a look back and see what happened last Thursday. As we know, Delaware’s greatest hoarders of wealth can now pass along that hoarded wealth, thanks to repeal of the Estate Tax. It’s almost pointless to name the D’s who voted for it, since a ‘leadership’ deal had been cut, quite a horrible deal I might add.

SB 113 (McDowell), which would create a new clean energy program under the auspices of the Sustainable Energy Utility, was defeated, largely due to blocks of ‘not voting’ and an inordinate (and likely not coincidental) number of absences.  As in, some senators ‘took a walk’. It could come back.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at committee meetings. To give you a head start and a heads-up, here is the Committee Schedule:

Scheduled Senate Committee meetings.

Scheduled House Committee meetings.