The following list is a pretty much a list of unfinished business of progressive priorities that have been before the General Assembly for some years now. I post this as a starting point for a discussion both here and at an event on Saturday being held by Delaware United on the what our priorities should be for the next General Assembly. This organizing meeting is being held by Delaware United at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Newark community building, located at 420 Willa Road in Newark, Delaware 19711. The meeting will take place at 1:45 pm until 3:30 pm on Saturday.
- Pass the Second Round of the Equal Rights Amendment to the State Constitution.
- Pass some combination of either No Excuse Absentee Voting, Early Voting and/or Mail in Voting. The point is that we must give voters an extensive and convenient opportunity to vote other than on Election Day between 7 am and 8 pm.
- Pass either Same Day Voter Registration or Automatic Voter Registration.
- Amend the Delaware Constitution Article V relating to voter qualifications and empowering the General Assembly to provide for the time, manner and procedures of voting so as to allow early voting, mail in voting, no excuse absentee voting and same day or automatic registration.
- Pass the Lavelle-Simpler PAC Reform Act to prevent the clear violations of the spirit of the law that FORMER Senator Lavelle and FORMER Treasurer Simpler committed in the last campaign.
- Pass the Progressive Tax Reform Act, which would create two new tax brackets above $150k and adjust the tax rates across the brackets accordingly (which would result in tax cuts on the lower incomes and increases on incomes above 250k)
- Repeal the Youth Wage and Increase the Minimum Wage to $12 effective immediately, not in the next decade.
- Pass a Gun Purchase Age Limit (21 years old) with no exceptions
- Pass a Military Assault Weapon Ban
- Pass a Large Capacity Magazine Ban
- Re-Pass a Refundable Earned Income Tax Credit
- Pass Marijuana Legalization. No more incompetent task forces.
- Pass Cash Bail Ban on all nonviolent crimes.
- Pass Paid Family Leave for private employees
- Pass LLC Reform that will fully disclose all individuals setting up an LLC and the source of their funding.
- Pass a Death Penalty Ban
- Pass an End of Life Options Act
This list is not exhaustive or complete, so don’t yell at me for forgetting something. In fact, I encourage you to offer in the comments priorities that I missed.
Great list! I would add overriding the recent two vetos from Carney about the EITC and the school property tax credit.
I think they would have to pass the EITC bill again, which is why I included it. It’s a new session with new members of the GA, so all bills from the past session that were passed but not signed or were vetoed are now dead.
Agreed fully. Embarrassing vetoes.
We don’t always see eye-to-eye, but this is right on the money.
I think you have a false impression of me based entirely on which presidential candidate I supported in 2016.
That’s part of it. Yeah… Although I find your lingering resentment funny.
Interested in coming on a podcast? We’re banking tons of content ahead of a Jan 2019 kickoff.
Email me if you’re interested.
I’ve neglected to mention… Cassandra, you also have an open invitation. Get in touch if you want to get the details.
It’s going to be the real deal.
I will say as someone who’s had my spats with REV before, he and I sat down and a very pleasant conversation for the podcast. We also had some great cheesecake afterwards, but I don’t think that’s guaranteed with every interview.
Special occasion, that dessert.
I’d like to see Bolden’s bill to move the primary to the Spring get some discussion.
And it is well past time to do the heavy lifting to overhaul the funding formula for schools. Perhaps even review the law for school boards to provide them with more authority in running schools — shift some of the power away from the DOE.
Yeah, I moved that off the priority list because I think there is a good argument that April is too early. But we should discuss it.
Also, the GA should pass a law moving all school board referendums to the General Election.
Eh, the pols don’t want to campaign while they are working. Which I get. But they’ll just start working when the better campaigns start anyway — in the fall. One other objection is that is makes the session where the election starts more of a high visibility one. Which could be good and bad.
The problem with that is one does not need to be a registered voter to vote in school board elections and referenda.
Ma’am. That whole theory runs amok of the bylaws!
Fucking Mitch… You’re the best.
I’m not sure we’d ever see another referendum passed in districts in “red” areas. While that might teach the Repugs in that area a lesson, it simply isn’t fair to the students. How about we just fix school funding so that districts don’t have to beg the voters for what the need to treat students fairly and equitably across the state?
So I have this plan. Feel free to join in.
When then Carneycrats again fail to end cannabis prohibition in Delaware, and NJ joins the 21st century, I plan to drive to NJ, take a picture of the tax line on my receipt, then come home via the PA bridges to deny De the toll, and let Carney know, via social media, every time De loses my money to NJ. Maybe point out how many people will drive THROUGH Delaware from MD (unless they go too) to pay taxes in Jersey.
It’s clear Carney’s love of business is only outweighed by his love for ruing people’s lives and making the FOP happy.
Dumb? yes
Illegal? maybe?
effective? probably not.
fun? yes.
I never like pot, but I endorse this wholeheartedly.
Agreed, when the revenue train has left the stations the fools will discover that they love weed as well. You would think that their inherent greed would take over.
Political protest, Carney trolling and herb smoking.
Yeah, I resemble this.
It’s the classic win-win-WIN.
So, Delaware is already struggling to add jobs and new corporations here and you want to make it more difficult by FORCING private corporations to give folks paid leave? Good plan! Did you know AR 15’s and other similar semi automatic rifles are NOT used in the military? How about we leave the legislation to people who are well versed in the facts?