The words “love fest” and “legislative hearing” rarely appear together, but that was the tone during a Delaware Senate Housing & Land Use committee hearing this week on a five-bill affordable housing package submitted by Sen. Russell Huxtable (D-Lewes). Sen. Marie Pinkney, D-Bear, even said she’s never seen such minimal opposition to legislation like the housing package. It was promoted …
A bill that would permit scholastic track and field competitions to include the javelin event passed the Senate Tuesday – although some coaches are not happy with the idea. Senate Bill 211, sponsored by Sen. Darius Brown, D-Wilmington, forces the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association adopt javelin as an approved event for all DIAA-sponsored track and field competitions. The bill passed …
A law that would put Delaware in a class with seven other states offering a unique burial method passed the Senate Thursday. House Bill 162, sponsored by Rep. Sean Lynn, D-Dover, opens the doors for cemeteries to begin offering increasingly-popular natural organic reduction after death. Natural organic reduction is the gentle, respectful process that accelerates the decomposition of human remains …
After 26 proposed amendments and about nine hours of discussion, the permit to purchase bill has passed both the House and Senate and is on its way to Gov. John Carney for signature to become law. Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 2, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman, D-Wilmington, would require most Delawareans to obtain a permit …
A new sporting event could be adopted into track and field competitions across the state. Senate Bill 211, sponsored by Sen. Darius Brown, D-Wilmington, makes the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association adopt javelin as an approved event for all DIAA-sponsored track and field competitions. In presenting the bill to the Senate Education Committee Wednesday, Brown pointed out that javelin has historical …
Delaware’s lawmakers got their first taste Thursday of a landmark, 200-page report from the American Institutes for Research that suggested the state invest up to 50% more in public education. The report was released in December at an event that only a few legislators attended, and on Thursday, it was introduced to the General Assembly in a joint House and …
On the day Gov. John Carney preached the impact of working together in his State of the State address, the Senate watched a tense interaction divided by party lines that one legislator called “childish behavior.” The interaction between Sen. Eric Buckson, R-Dover, and Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark/Glasgow, and their similar education task force resolutions were enough to cause comment from …
Education – what one legislator called the most important investment by the state – consumed Wednesday’s Joint Finance Committee hearing for a category that makes up about one-third of the state’s $6 billion budget. Appearing in the morning before the committee that decided how and where the state’s budget will be spent was The Redding Consortium and the Wilmington Learning …
Jokes were cracked, programs were praised and millions state funding was requested from Delaware State University Thursday’s Joint Finance Committee hearing. That committee is responsible for setting the state budget and allocating funding to different programs and organizations throughout Delaware. DSU, the state’s only Historically Black College and University, is asking for about $47,000,000. It started its hearing on a …
It was higher education day in the Joint Finance Committee Thursday, in which the big three state institutions – University of Delaware, Delaware State University and Delaware Technical Community College – made their cases for millions in state funding. DelTech, which has $100,460,200 penciled in through the Governor’s Recommended Budget, is asking for additional $525,000 for salary competitiveness, which the …
