Weekly Report: 5/13/2024

After a relatively light week where the Service Workers Protection Act was released from committee without issue, we have a much busier week. There are not as many enormous pieces of legislation, but there are lots of smaller bills that together could have big effects on Delaware.

The House Administration Committee is having a packed hearing on Wednesday. They will be hearing three bills from WFP Champion Eric Morrison: two bills increasing campaign finance transparency:

• HB 291, which would require donor occupation and employer to be listed on campaign finance reports like federal campaigns require

• HB 292, which would require the Dept. of Elections to review campaign finance reports for accuracy

They will also hear a Rep. Morrison bill restricting nepotism in state government. These bills could use a show of public support: sign up here to register for the Zoom meeting Wednesday at 12pm. They will also be hearing a bill establishing the framework and requirements for a competitive mobile sports wagering market in Delaware.

Another major piece of legislation is HB 280, which will be heard in the House Public Safety Committee on Tuesday. This is the new version of the civil asset forfeiture bill, which would greatly ease the burdens of this often unfair practice.

The senate will also be hearing a number of pieces of legislation that will affect housing and criminal justice:

• SB 11 and SB 12 in Senate Executive on Tuesday, the second part of a bail package that started a couple of years ago. That bill, SB 7, rolled back bail reform victories from prior years, and these bills seem to reinforce a problematic structure.

• SB 282 in Senate Judiciary on Wednesday, repealing a set of fees recommended by the Criminal Legal System Imposed Debt Study Group

• SB 293 in Senate Housing on Wednesday, banning source of income discrimination, allowing those on government assistance to seek housing without discrimination

It also is possible that the Senate will finally be voting on SS2 for SB 4, a comprehensive reform of Delaware’s broken probation reform system sponsored by WFP champion Marie Pinkney. This bill will need all the help it can get, so make sure to show your support here.

Make Your Voice Heard

See below for some of the most notable bills in committee this week and how to give public comment. For length and clarity, we are only putting bills that need the most public input below. Bills in green are bills we generally support, bills in red are bills we generally oppose, and bills in yellow are neutral or unknown. 

You can also check here for the full list of committee meetings and click “view” next to each meeting for the full agenda and additional information.

Bills coming up the week of 5/13/24:

Bill #	Sponsor	Summary/Description	Committee Meeting Info	Give Public Comment
HB 280	Williams	Makes several changes to the civil asset forfeiture proceedings of this state. Including repealing the presumption that money found near controlled substances can be seized, prohibiting forfeiture unless a criminal charge is brought, and prohibiting the forfeiting currency less than $500.	House Public Safety Tuesday, 5/14 at 11:00 AM	In person: House Majority Caucus Room 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for meeting
SB 11 and SB 12	Townsend	The second part of a bail package that started a couple of years ago. While this initially part of a well-intentioned effort to reofmr bail, these bills seem to reinforce a problematic structure set up by previous efforts to roll back bail reform.	Senate Executive Tuesday, 5/14 at 10:00 AM	In person: Senate Chamber 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for meeting
HB 319	Morrison	Requires the Department of Human Resources to develop an executive branch policy restricting nepotism in state employment and prohibiting supervision of a state employee by a relative. It further requires the legislative and judicial branches, as well as offices headed by other elected officials to develop and implement comparable policies.	House Admin Wednesday, 5/15 at 12:00 PM	In person: House Majority Caucus Room 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for meeting
HB 291 & HB 292	Morrison	HB 291 requires donor occupation and employer to be listed on campaign finance reports, like federal campaigns require. HB 292 requires the Dept. of Elections to review campaign finance reports for accuracy.	House Admin Wednesday, 5/15 at 12:00 PM	In person: House Majority Caucus Room 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for meeting
HB 356	Cooke	This legislation establishes the framework and requirements for a competitive mobile sports wagering market in Delaware under the authority of the Lottery Director. Licensing fees collected from operators are allocated to the General Fund.	House Admin Wednesday, 5/15 at 12:00 PM	In person: House Majority Caucus Room 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for meeting
SB 293	Lockman	Bans source of income discrimination, allowing those on government assistance to seek housing without discrimination.	Senate Housing Wednesday, 5/15 at 1:00 PM	In person: Senate Hearing Room 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for meeting
SB 282, SB 283, SB 284, SB 285	Brown	This package of bills is based on the recommendations of the Fines & Fees Task Force implemented following the passage of landmark fines & fees reforms that passed last year (HB 244). These bills are championed by the Campaign to End Debtors’ Prison.	Senate Judiciary Wednesday, 5/15 at 2:00 PM	In person: Senate Hearing Room 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for meeting
HB 319	Morrison	Requires the Department of Human Resources to develop an executive branch policy restricting nepotism in state employment and prohibiting supervision of a state employee by a relative. It further requires the legislative and judicial branches, as well as offices headed by other elected officials to develop and implement comparable policies.	House Admin Wednesday, 5/15 at 12:00 PM	In person: House Majority Caucus Room 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for meeting
HB 399	Carson	Create a new state-level Department of Veterans’ Affairs that will take over most of the duties currently handled by the Commission on Veterans’ Affairs and its staff. The Commission will continue in its current form, but under the Department of Veterans’ Affairs rather than the Department of State.	House Veterans Affairs Wednesday, 5/15 at 3:00 PM	In person: House Chamber 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for meeting
HB 343	Yearick	Lowers the realty transfer tax. This would reduce the State's rate of realty transfer tax by .25% per year for 4 years, for residential property conveyances having a property value less than $500,000, and for commercial property conveyances having a property value less than $1,000,000, starting January 1, 2025. This would primarily benefit the wealthy and cost the State up to $47 million/year by 2027, with loss of revenue increasing annually.	House Revenue & Finance Wednesday, 5/15 at 3:00 PM	In person: House Majority Caucus Room 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for meeting

Knock Doors for Branden and Monica

We had our first canvass this weekend where we went out for Monica Shockley-Porter in Clayton. We had dozens of conversations with local residents who are ready for a change in the 29th district.

This upcoming weekend, we are going to have two more canvases for two more great candidates:

• Canvass for Branden Fletcher - Saturday, May 18th at 1pm - Branden is running for an open seat in the 3rd Representative District in the westside of Wilmington.

• Canvass for Monica Beard - Sunday, May 19th at 1pm - Monica is running against Republican Mike Smith for the 22nd Representative District in Hockessin.

If you want to see other canvasses that we have coming up, you can check out our Mobilize.