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 stateâs 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 …
Lawmaker hosts conference aimed at ending human trafficking
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 âFâ 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 …
Change to state retireesâ health insurance prompts angst
A change to the health insurance held by retirees of Delawareâs state government is causing an uproar. The stateâs 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. Thatâs not true, said Delaware Secretary of Human …
House speaker refuses to consider McGuiness removal
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 âno intention of calling the House into session to consider this …
House committee OKs semi-automatic, under 21 purchase ban
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 lawmakersâ seats in the House chamber. …
Anti-riot bills die in committee
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 Molotov cocktails. The bills were not voted …
Lawmaker proposes specific crimes for violent riots, looting, destroying monuments
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 â all sponsored by Sen. Dave Lawson, R-Harrington â would make it illegal to manufacture, transfer, possess or use Molotov cocktails or other incendiary or explosive devices during a riot. …
House, Senate seek advice on McGuiness removal, but fail to finish job
Two separate resolutions passed in the House and Senate requesting the Delaware Supreme Court issue an advisory opinion on the General Assemblyâs 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. …