Back to a manageable two week update, which involved six session days in Dover:

The week of the 17^th-23^rd I attended the kids caucus (on the 19^th) and the small business caucus (on the 21^st), formed as a bipartisan gathering of legislators addressing large challenges. I had lunch with a colleague across the aisle to discuss the earned income tax credit, the food bank drive, and other issues. I attended an annual conference of the disability community, a reception of the Delaware Thoroughbred Owners association, and a reception at the Governor’s Dover residence. I attended the January meeting of the Newark Interagency Council, which is focusing on providing assistance to young adults who are encountering homelessness. I had a meeting to further explore removing barriers to affordable housing encountered by ex-offenders. I also taped two segments on the Comcast Newsmakers program.

I was at Legislative Hall on the 19^th, 20^th, and 21^st. , On the 19^th I was able to get my manufactured housing cleanup bill, HB 188, approved by the House, and I was able to get House Concurrent Resolution 50 passed the House—this adds the Silent Knights Soaring Society to the Citizens Advisory Council for the White Clay Creek State Park (CACWCCSP). On the 21^st, I attended the joint session at which the Governor presented his last State of the State Address.

This past week I was in Dover on the 26^th, 27^th, and 28^th. On Tuesday before session I attended a briefing on the new federal education law (replacing NCLB and ESEA), and that evening I attended the quarterly meeting of the CACWCCSP. On Wednesday I held a Manufactured Housing Committee meeting, presented HB 188 to the Senate Community/County Affairs Committee, and my Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) bill, HB 253, was released by the House Revenue & Finance Committee. On Thursday I attended a reception hosted by the Epilepsy Foundation, I attended the Governor’s presentation of his proposed budget, and attended session. The most significant event during session was the debate on and vote on Senate Bill 40, which would repeal Delaware’s death penalty. I spoke and voted in favor of SB 40, but it failed to receive 21 votes required for passage.

Email

 

As we were in session these two weeks, there was a lot of email related to legislation, the HB 188 manufactured housing bill, HB 253 the EITC bill, and SB 40 the death penalty repeal bill. I have been working with others on a bill to revise school board member terms and perhaps tax structure, another to adjust the requirements, and a bill to clarify the rights for libraries to protect the privacy of its patron’s records.

There have been emails related to the February 11^th summit at Clayton Hall that I am helping to organize, the Greater Newark Area Resource Summit.

I have worked with residents on issues with city/county police, management of an apartment complex, Medicaid eligibility and an appeal to Medicaid of a rejection of medication coverage, a community sign for Jenney’s Run, identifying rules for hunting (in parks and private land), DMV rules for acceptable lights for volunteer fire police. During the winter storm last weekend I helped a resident better understand the rules for an employer mandating an employee accept a ride to work during a Level 2 State of Emergency. Also tied to the storm I have emailed about needed plowing, needed enforcement of parking rules on streets narrowed by snow, and the issue of ‘ice missiles,’ damage that can be caused by snow/ice flying off moving vehicles.