By Bradley Vasoli Liberal politics are on a steady march in the Delaware House of Representatives. The shift reached a milestone in September when progressive Kamela Smith defeated Speaker Valerie Longhurst (D-Bear) in their state House primary. The trend continued with the Democrats boosting their chamber majority by one seat in the general election earlier this month. And the leftward …
Delaware’s state legislature is not immune to the national discussions on key societal issues, such as firearms. With this year’s legislative session ending Sunday, here’s a look at the bills relating to guns that passed in 2024: House Bill 357 – definition of “firearm” Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Spiegelman, R-Clayton, the bill derives from a task force charged with updating …
Most of the bills flew through the House on the final day of Delaware’s 2024 legislative session, but one dealing with affordable housing was met with resistance before passing. Senate Bill 293, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman, D-Wilmington, revises both the Delaware Fair Housing Act and Residential Landlord-Tenant Code to repeal the exemption to discrimination based on …
Another Republican attempt to lower the costs of buying a house by reducing taxes associated with it was shot down along party lines Wednesday. Rep. Lyndon Yearick’s House Bill 343 would have dropped the real estate transfer tax from 4% now to $3% in January 2018. That was the rate it was in 2016 before being raised in 2017 …
Delaware House of Representatives Democrats on Thursday forced an end to a floor debate so they could pass their speaker’s controversial bill to create a state board to oversee hospital budgets. The move came after three hours of head-scratching gamesmanship in which Republicans essentially filibustered with multiple representatives questioning aspects of the bill and Speaker of the House Valerie Longhurst’s …
Just days after a fatal shooting of an 18-year-old woman on Delaware State University’s campus, the state General Assembly moved on with a bill creating felonies for people with guns in Safe School Zones. House Bill 311, sponsored by Rep. Cyndie Romer, D-Newark, adds post-secondary colleges and universities to the Safe School Zone criminal offense. That means any person who …
A bill that would help cannabis-related businesses with financing and accounting was passed unanimously by the state House Thursday. House Bill 355, sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski, D-Newark, provides legal protections for financial institutions and other entities that provide financial or accounting services to cannabis-related businesses that are licensed or registered under Delaware law. It clarifies that banks, credit unions, …
A bill that would allow Delawareans to have alcohol shipped directly to their home had its “part 2” Tuesday after the discussion ran long in a House committee last week. Even though legislators cited overwhelming support for the idea, the backlash from public stakeholders was too much to overcome and the bill was not released by the House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance …
A lengthy discussion in the state legislature Tuesday led to a delay in a bill allowing direct-to-consumer alcohol shipments. House Bill 259, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Spiegelman, R-Townsend-Clayton, would allow farm breweries, microbreweries and craft distilleries to conduct direct-to-consumer sales of wine, beer, spirits, mead and hard cider. Spiegelman’s bill also would allow state liquor stores to conduct home deliveries, …
The Delaware House of Representatives will be the first to take a look at a new bill that will redefine Delaware’s legal description of a firearm. The Firearm Definition Task Force, responsible for evaluating the state definition and its ramifications in lawmaking and criminal code, had a quick, 10-minute meeting Tuesday to take one last look at their work. The …
A task force charged with updating the state’s definition of “firearm” plans to take one more look next week at the new proposed language. If approved, a bill would be introduced this year proposing the change. One reason for a new definition is because Delaware has a uniquely general and large definition of a “firearm,” in which any device that …
For decades, public health officials have fretted about insurance companies having access to genetic testing and using the results to deny coverage or set higher rates for people likely to get certain diseases. That was true even before people could casually send in a swab to a company like 23andme, AncestryDNA or Family TreeDNA, to be tested. Those results end …
