League Testimonies 2017 - 2020
League Lobbyists testify frequently at legislative hearings in Dover. Some of the statements we have made in the 149th and 150th Sessions appear below. Note, we are in the process of updating this section to include the outcome of bills listed below on which we testified. Click on any title to read the entire testimony presented.
2020
- Public input was thwarted
- Air Pollution levels must be reduced
- Support for HB 350
- Use of Chokeholds by police must be classified as a felony
- Support for SB191
- Constitutional protection without regard to race, color, or national origin
- Support for SB 250
- Clean renewable energy protects both our health and the global ecosystem
- Increased funding is essential to address childhood lead poisoning
- Research demonstrates the severity of the effects of childhood lead poisoning
- JFC Testimony 18 February 2020
- DNREC needs full funding to carry out its mission
- Testimony addressing the DHSS FY2021 Budget
- Increased funding is needed for the Student Loan Repayment Program for Primary Care Providers
- Testimony addressing the DNREC 2021 Budget Request
- Open space preservation benefits the Delaware economy and improves our citizens' quality of life
- Comments addressing the Dept. of Agriculture Hearing
- Support for $10 million for farmland preservation
- Support for SB 208
- The release of balloons leads to dire impacts on the environment
- HS 1 to HB 200 establishes a needed framework
- Funding is crucial
- Support for HB277
- Remove the threat of 'homemade' guns
- Support for HB257
- Presented to House Health & Human Development Committee
2019
Budget Request of the Auditor of Accounts (11/2019)- Ensure that funds are appropriately accounted for
- Combat fraud, waste, and abuse
- Fulfill the mandate to provide professional auditing services
Budget Request of the Department of Education (11/2019)
- supplemental funding for K-3 basic special education is endorsed
- we applaud increased funding for English learners, which needs to be made permanent
- funding of Wellness Centers in high-need elementary schools needs to continue
- natural resources should be conserved and protected
- pollution should be controlled
- budget reflects support for DIMER and DIDER, which we endorse
- student loan repayment program for Primary Care Physicians is applauded
- kudos for funding dental care for adult Medicaid recipients
- Electric vehicle charging stations on state property
- Support for an environmentally sound future
- support HB 48 (2019)
- see Education for Special Ed above
Concurrent vs. Consecutive Sentencing (2019)
- HB 5 will reduce sentences significantly
- working toward reducing our prison population
- signed by the Governor on June 25, 2019
Early Voting and Same Day Registration
- enacted in 2019
- effective in 2022
- same-day registration - out of the House Committee
- did not receive a vote in 2019
- remains pending
- SB 22 enacted in 2019
Primary Elections - Move to April (2019)- HB 41 passed the House on January 24, 2019
- failed to be released from the Senate Elections, Govt. & Community Affairs Committee
- after a hearing on 3/6/19
- the legislature took no action on property tax reassessment
- counties have opposed
2018
- signed on 5/1/18
Clean Water (Bond Bill testimony 2018)
- additional money requested
Firearms - Safe Storage (2018)
- HB366 passed by the House on 5/8/18
- not released from the Senate Judiciary Committee
- a similar bill (HB 63) was enacted in 2019
- signed 6/6/2017
LLCs (2018)
- House Substitute 1
- this bill died in the House Judiciary Committee in 2018
Look-Back Provisions in Sentencing Guidelines (2018)
- released by House Committee on 1/24/18
- failed to be considered by the full House
- House Substitute 1 for HB 22
- signed on 6/27/18
2017
- compromise bill
- signed by the Governor on August 2, 2017
- HB 204 was signed by the Governor on January 25, 2018
- on 3/6/19, court representatives presented a very positive status report on the implementation
- "It's time we deal with the technology that has brought us military-style weapons that have led to mass murder in too many cases. We urge release of SB 163 so that legislators can take a stand."
- HB 242, signed by the Governor on 7/3/17
- increased cigarette taxes by 50 cents a pack
- imposed a new tax of 5 cents per fluid millimeter on vapor products
- failed to be considered in 149th or 150th Session
- piecemeal provisions introduced in 2019
- HB 113 would make Delaware's EITC program refundable
- targets aid to some of the lowest-income workers and provide work incentives
- passed the House with 1 "no" vote and 3 absent
- passed the Senate unanimously on July 1
- Governor vetoed it on 10/26/18
- a new bill (HB 80) now pending in the House
- may be enacted in 2020
- full funding provided in the FY 2020 budget
- funding provided in 2019 based on enactment of SB 92
- HB 35 gives the state authority to regulate massage parlors
- much of the state's human trafficking occurs
- enacted on July 26, 2017
- support for funding
- Senate Substitute 1 for SB 5
- signed by the Governor on June 8, 2017
- House Substitute 1 for this bill
- signed by the Governor on 4/25/17
- no action is taken
- LWVDE opposed bill
- a similar bill introduced in 2019 (HB 165)
- failed to be released from Committee
- support HB 19
- requires school nurse in every public school
- bill was tabled in the House Education Committee
- budget for FY2019 included funds for machines
- met LWVDE criteria
- machines were tested in 2019 school board elections
- will be used in the 2020 primary and general elections
- SB 9 passed Senate on June 30, 2017
- too late for House action
- no similar bill has been introduced since then
