The General Assembly reconvenes next week, and so will our Vote Tracker (which is below). I have my list of unfinished business from the first part of the 149th General Assembly.
- Bail and Sentencing Reform
- Progressive Tax Reform with new additional percentage brackets for wealthy Delawareans
- Restoration of cuts to vital programs and services like Delaware Prescription Assistance Program (DPAP).
- Start exploring a State Medicaid Buy-In Option
- Legalization of Marijuana
- Electoral Reform, which should some combination of the following: Vote by Mail, April Primary, No Excuse Absentee Voting, Early Voting, Automatic Vote Registration and/or Same Day Voter Registration
- End of Life Options Act
- $10.25 Minimum Wage
- Regulating Payday Loans
- Keeping the Death Penalty Repealed, whether by defeating the restoration bill or passing Sean Lynn’s prevention act
- Independent Redistricting Commission
Here are the notable bills that have been filed in the House and Senate since the close of the 2017 session.
SB132 (Townsend) requires that all health insurance provide coverage for fertility care services, including in vitro fertilization (“IVF”) procedures for persons, who along with their partner, suffer from a disease or condition that results in the inability to procreate or to carry a pregnancy to viability.
HB 300 (Longhurst) bans the bump stock, a term that refers to a trigger crank or bump-fire enhancement to a semiautomatic rifle that makes it fire like a machine gun. The bill makes mere possession of the device a Class E felony.
HB 285 (Bennett) is the latest attempt to keep weapons out of the hands of the mentally ill. It has a bipartisan sponsorship, and the synopsis is very complicated and confusing and I need to read it a couple more times to figure out what is actually being done.
HB 278 (Baumbach) changes the terms of elected school board members from 5 years to 4 years.
HB 282 (Matthews) would require the State to provide $25 per student to high poverty schools to be used for the purpose of educational and enrichment field trips.
They have been added to the Vote Tracker below:
Thanks for the info!
Gee, like the entire to do list, all worthy of passage.
I think that the Bail and Sentencing Reform bill comes up in the Senate this week. Time to call in to talk your Senator to support.