Advocacy Corps

Advocacy Corps

 Committee members gathered around a table, working

What are the specific activities of the AC?

      • The AC monitors the activities of the Delaware Legislature as it conducts the state’s business. We also track administrative actions conducted by state agencies. 
      • We support or oppose legislative and administrative proposals in accordance with policy positions approved by the State Board and offer testimony in person at hearings, when possible, and electronically when necessary. 
      • The group meets monthly, either in person in Dover or via Zoom to discuss bills, providing participants with the opportunity to express their views pro or con so that a consensus can be reached. Between meetings, members stay abreast of legislative and administrative actions using websites and through interaction with other like-minded non-profit organizations.
      • As members become knowledgeable about the workings of the General Assembly and develop expertise in specific areas, they may be appointed to serve as official lobbyists for the League. Only such individuals are authorized to offer testimony or interact on behalf of the League with legislators and state officials. As a lobbyist, the individual must register with the Public Integrity Commission and comply with all of its reporting requirements. 

The Lobby Handbook

The LWVDE produced The Lobby Handbook as a guide on how to conduct effective advocacy. An updated version (April 2018) can be found here It was written to give you a short course on the legislative process in Delaware and to offer practical information about influencing it. We encourage you to take advantage of our state's "uniqueness" and to become knowledgeable about and involved in your government.

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The 152nd DELAWARE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Portfolio Reports, August 2024

The policy positions we focus on are clustered around topic areas which are referred to as “Portfolios.” See the newsletter link below for a review of key bills addressed during 2024. For further information, contact the Advocacy Corps Chairperson at: advocacylwvde [at] gmail.com.

Read the advocacy portfolio reports for 2024 in our newsletter: LWVDE VOTER Summer 2024 (pages 4 through 9).

Portfolio Reports, August 2023

See below for a review of key bills addressed during 2023. Unless otherwise noted, the bills described are ones that we support. To read the full text of any of them, search on the General Assembly’s website: https://legis.delaware.gov. 

Climate Change/Energy – Peggy Schultz, chairperson

There were three major wins this half of the legislative session. The first was HB 11, a bill which originated in this committee. We actually lifted it from New Castle County, where it was recently championed by Councilwoman Dee Durham. The bill requires that new buildings with a footprint of 50,000 square feet or more be made solar ready. This bill met little opposition.
 
Two other extremely important bills were HB 99, the Climate Solutions Act, which requires state agencies to look at climate change implications in their planning, with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030, and to get emissions to net zero by 2050. Because the Public Service Commission and the Public Advocate are under the direction of the State Department, a covered state agency, renewable energy purchases will in the future be based not only on rates but also on effectiveness in reducing emissions. SB 170 is another benchmark bill for us. This legislation requires DNREC to report on electrical grid transmission,

transmission cooperation among states, and the feasibility of an offshore wind project for Delaware. Reports are due December 31st, 2023. We anticipate that this bill will be the precursor to an offshore wind procurement bill. Onward and upward!

Please contact Peggy to join in the work on this issue: (schultz_peggy [at] yahoo.com)

Criminal Justice – Chris Asay, chairperson

Criminal justice reform garnered a great deal of attention during the 2023 session. However, only 2 of the bills passed - HB 205 and HB 206 – and they are only the beginning of what is needed. They provide a small amount of police reform, requiring public transparency but only for major findings—by police—of police misconduct, while continuing the current practice of police-investigating-police with no public oversight. More reform is badly needed to generate TRUST and respect between police and the public. Bills that we support, but which are not yet passed:
      • SB 4, which reforms the probation process to be less punitive and aims to facilitate the successful reintroduction of the formerly incarcerated into society. This bill has moved out of committee and is awaiting a floor vote in the Senate.
      • SB 169, which offers compensation for those wrongfully convicted. It still awaits a committee hearing in the Senate.
      • HB 70, which eliminates the death penalty in Delaware. It has not yet received a committee hearing in the House. (See the section on “Government” below for more details on this bill.) To join in the work in this important topic area, please contact Chris at ChrisAsay [at] aol.com. We meet monthly by Zoom.

Elections and Voting – Jill Itzkowitz, chairperson

More than a dozen voting bills were introduced in the General Assembly this year, but surprisingly only three passed both houses. These included SB57, which will ensure that Delaware voters will have their votes honored when the electoral college meets to determine the outcome of the Presidential election; SB82, which requires the Department of Elections to send out information to voters on key voting dates and locations, including early voting; and HB202, which limits individuals who may possess a firearm at a polling location. LWVDE testified in support of all three of these bills.

There were three bills that experienced some controversy. HB215, which moves the state primary to correspond to our presidential primary in April, overwhelmingly passed the House, but failed in the Senate.  SB3, a constitutional amendment that would remove restrictive absentee language and authorize the General Assembly to enact laws to manage the process, passed the Senate on Party
lines, but never made it to a vote in the House, presumably because it did not have the 2/3 votes needed to pass.  HB121, which would allow LLCs and other artificial entities to vote in Seaford municipal elections, initially failed in the House. However, after Republicans walked out of the session that would have prevented passage of critical bond bills, the bill passed the House. However, it never came up for a vote in the Senate. The LWVDE is against this bill.

There were 3 bills that LWVDE supports that never made it out of committee: HB93, which allows all municipalities to leverage the Department of elections voter registration rolls; HB43, which allows unaffiliated voters to vote in primaries; and HB96, which allows 16 and 17 year olds to vote in school board elections.
 
If you are interested in protecting voting rights, participating in voter registration events, or helping with Vote411, please contact Jill at jillitzkowitz [at] gmail.com. We meet the first Tuesday of every month at 11am.  If you cannot make the meeting, you can still participate - just contact her. 2024 will be an exciting year.

Government/Redistricting/Finance/Taxation- Jack Young, chairperson

Removal of the death penalty from the Delaware Code, proposed in HB 70 and introduced in January of this year, is strongly supported by the League. It was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but no hearing has yet been held. 

Our support for this proposal stems from a number of factors.It has consistently been applied in an unfair and unjust way. First, the death penalty has targeted Black defendants. Second, it has led to the execution of innocent individuals. Third, evidence demonstrates that it is not a deterrent to violent crime. Fourth, the death penalty system is more costly to the public than life imprisonment without parole due to the procedural safeguards necessary in death penalty cases.  A detailed analysis of this issue can be found in the Advocacy section of the League’s state website.

A bill addressing requirements for presidential electors (SB 57) was introduced in March and has already been signed by the Governor.  This measure, sometimes referred to as the “Faithless Electors” bill, actually requires that our presidential electors be faithful to the outcome of our state’s general election, mandating that all votes be cast for the candidate receiving a majority of the popular vote. Any attempt to violate this requirement will result in automatic resignation and replacement by an alternate elector.  A detailed analysis of this issue can also be found in the Advocacy section of the League’s state website.

To join in the work on this topic area, contact Jack:  young [at] sandlerreiff.com

Health Care – Judy Butler, chairperson

The Delaware 152nd General Assembly introduced significant healthcare bills during its first year -- among them:
        • Several bills to ease the financial burden of healthcare, including:
          • SB 8 (passed), protecting patients from unfair debt collection practices.
          • HB 80 (passed), requiring pregnancy and childbirth doula services to be covered by Medicaid.
          • HB 60 (passed), requiring all insurance policies to cover supplemental and diagnostic breast exams.
          • HB 110 (in House Appropriations Committee), requiring all insurance policies to cover the full cost of abortion.
      • A package of bills to address the mental health crisis of Delaware’s youth (HB 200, HB 5, HB 6, HB 7; each remains in the House committee to which it was assigned).
        • Miscellaneous bills relating to a variety of healthcare concerns, including:
          • HB 140 (“End-of-Life Options” bill – on the House Ready List), allowing mentally competent individuals to self-administer medication to end their suffering, in the face of a terminal illness.
          • SB 52 (passed), changing the existing needle-exchange program to a needs-based program.
          • HB 118 (passed), prohibiting smoking in vehicles when a minor is present.
This year, bills relating to firearm purchases and ownership were included in the healthcare portfolio in recognition of the devastating health consequences of misuse of firearms.  Advocacy Corps weighed in on two of these bills:
        • SB 2 (in House Appropriations Committee), creating a process (which includes a firearms training course) to obtain a ‘handgun qualified purchaser permit’, authorizing the purchase of a handgun.
        • SB 85 (in Senate Judiciary Committee), allowing a person who is 21 or older to carry concealed firearms for the purpose of defending self, family, home, and State. LWVDE Advocacy Corps opposes this bill.

The LWVDE recognizes the work and dedication of long-time member and advocate, Joann Hasse, who died in March 2023. In addition to many other LWV roles, Joann expertly chaired the Healthcare Portfolio for many years.

To join in the work on this topic area, contact Judy:  judyandhays [at] gmail.com

Land Use / Transportation- Anna Quisel, chairperson

One land use bill, HB 103, has started its path through the legislature; it is a bill that we oppose. It did not make it out of committee this session but could be successful in 2024.  This proposal would create a new development impact fee to pay for transportation infrastructure (usually widened roads and new signage and/or traffic lights) necessitated by development projects in growth areas in Delaware. The fee is designated to be payable when development is planned in high density areas. The flaw in this proposal is that no fee would be charged to developers when development is planned in low density areas. Such a proposal could have an unintended consequence of incentivizing development in the low density areas, resulting in further sprawl and increased vehicle miles travelled (which need to be reduced). We will begin lobbying in the next legislative session for an amendment to add transportation impact fees for development projects in the low density areas as well.

For several years, the League has actively supported a transition to electric transportation especially school buses, and this session saw a lot of activity -- with some success:
      • HB 10, which requires the introduction of electric school buses to the Department of Education’s school bus fleet; it passed both Houses.
      • HB 9 with HA-1, a bill to require phased-in replacement of Delaware Government’s vehicle fleet with electric cars – a measure making progress through House committees.
      • Testifying at the Bond Bill Committee Hearing: We testified for increased funding for Delaware DNREC staff to support electrification, and increased funding to support modernization of Delaware’s electric grid to allow for electrification of transportation and buildings. 
      • HB 123, a bill that would strip DNREC of oversight over vehicular fuel and emissions, which would seriously undermine our progress toward clean air in Delaware; this is one we oppose.  It passed in the House with a very close vote (21 in favor, 20 against).  We will oppose it when it comes up in the Senate in 2024.
      • SB 103 now SS 1, a bill requiring EV charging ports in new homes, which passed the House and Senate.

A particularly controversial issue arose in this category – namely the issuance of proposed regulations by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to mandate that all new cars for sale in Delaware as of 2035 have to be zero emission vehicles. Proponents, including the League, applaud this regulation, as a way to help clean Delaware’s air. Those opposed argue that such a mandate would burden lower income individuals and that mandates of any kind are unacceptable. The matter has not yet been resolved.

To join in the work on this topic area, contact Anna:  annaquisel [at] gmail.com

Natural Resources – Charlie Garlow, chairperson

Significant steps to protect the environment will take place because of the following successful initiatives:
      • SB 51 (the single-use plastics ban) passed;
      • Funding was approved for the “Tree for Every Delawarean” initiative;
      • An allocation of $31.8 million was made to improve the state’s drainage, drinking water and water resources; and
      • Our shorelines and beaches will be protected because of having $7.5 million dedicated to efforts on their behalf.

To join in the work on this topic area, contact Charlie:  charliegarlow350 [at] gmail.com

Social Policy – Linda Barnett, chairperson

A measure that achieves an important social policy goal is SB 34, already signed by the Governor. It corrects a glaring error in the DE Code, which still contained remnants of a 1953 law that allowed places of public accommodations to practice discrimination against individuals based on race, creed, color, or national origin. SB 34 mandates that all such sections of the Code are hereby repealed, serving to repudiate the State’s past involvement in racial discrimination.

To join in the work on this topic area, contact Linda: advocacylwvde [at] gmail.com