The Senate passed seven bills Thursday, but two of them – one about offshore wind energy and one about tenant protections – received some resistance. Senate Bill 170, sponsored by Sen. Stephanie Hansen, D-Middletown, requires the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to work with the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection to look into the viability of generating offshore wind …
Several members of the Joint Finance Committee asked the Department of Education officials on Wednesday when and if they would ever see a return on the state’s investment in public education. Student achievement metrics like standardized test scores have fallen off a cliff over the past decade and the state still faces a teacher shortage. Education Secretary Mark Holodick and …
Lawmakers, state employees and law enforcement officers gathered at Legislative Hall Tuesday to learn how Delaware can better address the scourge of human trafficking. Delaware is one of 39 states to receive an ‘F’ on the Shared Hope International Child and Youth Sex Trafficking Report Card, attendees learned Tuesday. Areas the state performed the worst in include identification and response …
A change to the health insurance held by retirees of Delaware’s state government is causing an uproar. The state’s requirement that retirees and pensioners switch from original Medicare to a specially-tailored Medicare Advantage plan has led to charges that retirees will lose their doctors or be denied services that are currently covered. That’s not true, said Delaware Secretary of Human …
The Delaware Senate on Monday passed a resolution to begin a process Democratic leadership hopes will result in the removal of one of their own: State Auditor Kathleen McGuiness. Every Republican voted against the measure, putting them in line with House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth, who said he has “no intention of calling the House into session to consider this …
Bills to ban semi-automatic firearms and restrict the purchase of guns by Delawareans 21 and older were released from a House committee Wednesday and will advance to the House floor for a vote. The hearing attracted a crowd of well over 100 concerned citizens on both sides of the issue, many of whom filled lawmakers’ seats in the House chamber. …
A package of bills aimed at creating specific crimes for destructive and dangerous conduct during violent riots will not move forward in the legislative process. Senate Bills 220, 221 and 223 would have created the crimes of looting, riotous burning and destruction of a public monument. Senate Bill 219 would have made it illegal to manufacture, transfer, possess or use …
Four bills aimed at increasing penalties for destructive and dangerous conduct during times of civil disorder will be heard by a Senate committee Wednesday. The first of the four bills – all sponsored by Sen. Dave Lawson, R-Harrington – would make it illegal to manufacture, transfer, possess or use Molotov cocktails or other incendiary or explosive devices during a riot. …
Two separate resolutions passed in the House and Senate requesting the Delaware Supreme Court issue an advisory opinion on the General Assembly’s authority to remove indicted State Auditor Kathy McGuiness. The auditor was indicted in October on a slew of felony and misdemeanor corruption charges alleging nepotism, fraud, theft and witness intimidation. She has pled not guilty to all charges. …
