Guinea Creek. Photo by Driscoll Drones ..read more

Rodney Square ..read more

House Bill 177 increases the amount of Compassionate Leave for eligible employees of the State upon the death of an immediate family member. “Immediate family” means the employee’s spouse or domestic partner; parent, stepparent or child of the employee, spouse or domestic partner; employee’s grandparent or grandchild; employee’s sibling; or any minor child for whom the employee has assumed and carried out parental responsibilities. “State employee” means any benefit-eligible full-time or part-time employee of the State hired to work 30 or more hours. “State employee” does not include casual se ..read more

Finally, JFC on Tuesday approved a $153 million operating budget for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control that includes plans to strengthen the ability of the State Energy Office to serve as the lead agency on a variety of climate and energy issues.  First created by the Delaware General Assembly in 2003, the State Energy Office is housed in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Climate, Coastal and Energy Division, where it currently acts as a central repository and clearinghouse for data and information on energy reso ..read more

Legislating against Dogs is usually not a winner for politicians. However, we have all had that one dog in the neighborhood whose owner, through ignorance or neglect, just lets it bark outside nonstop. House Bill 124 does some internal housekeeping with respect to which state agency is responsible for barking dogs, and determines that it will be the Office of Animal Welfare that will be responsible for the enforcement of all state laws relating to the protection and control of animals with, as occasion requires, the assistance of police officers. This bill prohibits the owner or person in poss ..read more

House Bill 166 was introduced last week to officially codify the practice of the Governor selecting judicial nominees that are recommended by a Judicial Nominating Commission. This practice has been established by Executive Order of the Governor. This bill will amend the constitution and write the practice into law. Under this bill and Amendment, the codified Judicial Nominating Commission shall consist of 12 members appointed by the Governor, provided that 4 members reside in New Castle County; 4 members reside in Kent County; and 4 members reside in Sussex County. No member shall hold electi ..read more

House Bill 167 will provide funding to provide school resource officers in all Delaware public schools. This bill will fund at least one school resource officer in each school, public or charter, regardless of the size of the school. This bill will provide additional school resource officers for schools that have over 1,000 students. Here is hoping that these officers possess more courage than the cowards in Uvalde, Texas or Parkland, Florida. HOUSE BILL 167 – REPUBLICAN ANSWER TO SCHOOL SHOOTINGS: SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS Currrent Status – House Education 5/18/23 House Sponsors – Shupe ..read more

Cook Political Report: “There’s already buzz that Albany Democrats, if given the chance, could opt for a ‘safer play’ than the map they pursued in 2022, targeting five or six GOP incumbents who are already at varying degrees of risk in 2024. That could mean a 20D-6R or 21D-5R map — not quite as ambitious as the 22D-4R gerrymander that backfired in court, but enough to offset North Carolina and keep Democrats in close contention to make Jeffries speaker.” “Part of Democrats’ calculus is legal: a subtler, less brazen gerrymander could give Court of Appeals judges more rationale to uphold it. For ..read more

With House Republicans unable to pass a rule to consider the bill to lift the debt ceiling, 52 Democrats voted in favor to help it across the finish line, CNN reports. It’s exceedingly rare for minority members to vote for a rule to help the majority. I finally caved and learned about the debt ceiling negotiations, but only to write this tremendous column about them https://t.co/QoCaJZe3Vr — Ben Mathis-Lilley (@BenMathisLilley) May 31, 2023 Politico: “The deal, struck over the weekend between McCarthy and President Joe Biden, will get just one hour of debate on the floor equally d ..read more

Candy Kitchen in Rehoboth. Photo by 302Life ..read more