The Delaware House of Representatives on Thursday voted down a bill to legalize, tax and regulate the cultivation and sale of marijuana in the First State. The bill fell just one vote short. House Bill 372, sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski, D-Newark, represents the second half of a two-pronged approach to marijuana legalization. The first half of the effort, HB …
The Delaware House of Representatives on Thursday will vote on the second of two bills aimed at legalizing, regulating and taxing marijuana. House Bill 372 (Part B), sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski, D-Newark, creates the legal framework for cannabis to be grown and sold in Delaware. Another bill, HB 371 (Part A), already passed in the House and Senate and …
A bill to guarantee tenants the right to legal counsel in eviction proceedings failed in the House Appropriations Committee Thursday. Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 101, which will not advance to the House floor, would have: Created a right to legal representation for renters facing eviction whose household income is lower than 200% of federal poverty guidelines; Placed coordination …
Two Republican lawmakers stormed out of a House committee hearing Wednesday after being asked to limit their questions and public comments were restricted to one minute each. The committee met to discuss five bills with just an hour allotted for the meeting before lawmakers were due on the House floor for a short session. Two of those bills – Senate …
The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that will put Sen. Nicole Poore on the board of directors of the Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corp. Poore – who represents Delaware City, where Fort DuPont is located – also serves as co-chair of the Joint Committee on Capital Improvements, commonly referred to as the Bond Committee. The Bond …
Two lawmakers on opposite sides of the political spectrum have found common ground in their desire to increase transparency and accountability in state government. A bill filed by Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark South, and Rep. Mike Smith, R-Pike Creek, would establish an independent and nonpartisan inspector general office in Delaware. The proposed office would investigate state agencies to identify and …
A bipartisan bill to put state law enforcement officials in charge of background checks for gun purchases has been filed in the Delaware General Assembly. House Bill 423, sponsored by Rep. Larry Mitchell, D-Elsmere, would reinstitute Delaware’s Firearm Transaction Approval Program, known as FTAP. Federal law allows states to conduct background checks through a state agency instead of directly through …
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Contol on Monday began restoring beaches after a powerful nor’easter caused widespread erosion and damage. The Mother’s Day weekend storm brought tropical-storm-force winds that affected communities along Delaware’s bayshore and Atlantic coast. “Our shoreline team will be hard at [work] for the foreseeable future on beach restoration priorities that this storm handed …
The Delaware House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously passed a measure aimed at ending the tradition of extending legislative business beyond midnight on June 30 of each year. Under House Bill 411, the General Assembly would only be constitutionally mandated to stay until 5 p.m. on the last day of June. “Five o’clock becomes the new twelve o’clock, basically,” said …
Dr. Karryl Rattay will leave her post as director of the Delaware Division of Public Health on June 30. Rattay took the job in 2009 during the swine flu pandemic. She is currently the nation’s longest-serving public health director. “It has been the greatest honor of my lifetime to serve Delawareans in this role,” Rattay said Friday. “I am grateful …
