General Assembly’s record is mixed; an election year result

Passing the budget, a record high capital spending bill and the grants to a host of Delaware agencies without staying in session all night long on June 30 is a singular accomplishment for the General Assembly.  This absence of midnight madness is becoming a welcome habit; let’s hope it continues. 

The Legislature’s record is a mixed one.  That’s not unusual in an election year when senators and representatives put getting re-elected ahead of just about everything.  Controversy is to be avoided in favor of plain vanilla activity.

Some important issues were settled.  The most important was the adoption of a new lower threshold for determination of drunken driving.  Delaware was the last state to adopt the .08 percent standard—nothing to be proud of.  But the Senate Democrats, who have held this change up for several years, finally came to their senses.  Without the new, lower threshold, Delaware has already lost nearly $2 million in federal transportation funds.  That number would have climbed significantly this year if the state continued to go against the tide.

Drunken driving is a serious threat to everyone and the lower threshold offers ne more opportunity to get these menacing drivers off the road.  Rep. Bill Oberle, R-Newark, has championed this legislation for nearly a decade.

Some other noteworthy legislation:

• Establishment of a dam safety program in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.  The specifics of this new law direct the department to adopt standards for maintenance and inspection of state owned dams.
• Removal of the sunset provisions on Sunday sales of alcoholic beverages.  The experiment has proven that Delawareans want access to package stores on Sundays and there was no reason to keep the threat of reverting to the old blue laws. 
• Creation of a task force to determine if home inspectors should be regulated.  Home inspections have become an integral party in real estate transactions.  Those who hire inspectors should have assurances that the inspectors are qualified.  The task force no doubt will come to that conclusion.
• Senate approval of the nomination of Henry du Pont Ridgely as a justice of the Supreme Court.  There had been talk that some petty notification mishap would hold this up.  To its credit, the Senate acted wisely.

On the negative side:

• The Senate’s failure to even consider House Bill 99, a measure to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.  Hate mongering people, using religion as a camouflage for bigotry, poisoned this debate with charges that it granted special rights to gay and lesbian people and would lead to gay marriage in Delaware.  It would not have done that as the attorney general pointed out.  But Sen. James Vaughn, bowed to the bigots and kept the bill in committee.  Unfortunately, Sen. Thurman Adams, the senate leader who said a vote would be held on the bill, failed to make that happen.
• Failure to act on House Bill 517 to eliminate minimum mandatory sentences in drug convictions.  This bill has merit, but its introduction in the last week of the session made it impossible to receive the attention it deserved. 

Legislators and Gov. Minner took the middle ground this year on most things.  That’s a reasonable approach.  But there are some significant problems that will require bold initiatives in the new General Assembly the most important of which is finding a way to make Wilmington financially healthy.