When state legislators return to work in Dover next week, dozens of bills introduced in the first half of the 146th General Assembly will be waiting on the procedural conveyor belt, right where they were left when the legislature adjourned six months ago. Also competing for attention when the House and Senate gravel to order Tuesday will be new measures filed this week.
State House Minority Leader Greg Lavelle (R-Sharpley) says even under ideal conditions it is often tough to anticipate the issues that will capture the legislature's attention. But he says that task will be all the more difficult this year because of the state's uncertain fiscal situation.
"With costs rising, muddled state revenue forecasts, and an unsettled economy, I think the legislature will be preoccupied with money issues throughout the session," Rep. Lavelle said. "Those issues tend to cast a shadow over much of what is done in Dover and they will not be fully resolved until the last revenue forecast in June."
Seven new bills were filed in the House of Representatives earlier this week in anticipation of the 2012 session, including the following:
House Bill 230 would establish a process for rescheduling municipal elections in cases of emergency and for resolving disputed and tied elections. This is the third attempt of this General Assembly to resolve these issues, the first two endeavors being embodied in incarnations of House Bill 33.
House Bill 232 calls for new income reporting requirements for public officials. Additionally, the bill would require that public officials disclose the identities of any relatives working for a state-funded organization. The bipartisan measure is sponsored State Rep. Helene Keeley (D-Wilmington South), who is one of nine state legislators currently working for a state agency or other organization receiving significant state funding.
House Bill 233 -- also sponsored by Rep. Keeley and receiving support from both sides of the aisle -- would require lobbyists to disclose every non-profit organization, community association and trade organization on which they serve as a council member or board member.
House Bill 235 seeks to give military personnel a 50-percent discount on annual vehicle tags used for entering state parks and recreational areas.
While new bills are introduced, many legislators have not forgotten the bills left to linger in legislative limbo since last year.
Recently, State Rep. Jack Peterman (R-Milford) appealed for action on a bill that has been bottled-up in the House Energy Committee for nearly a year. House Bill 27 seeks to allow Delaware Electric Cooperative and the nine municipal electricity utilities to "utilize conservation, energy efficiency and demand-side management programs" as part of their efforts to comply with a state green energy mandate.
Rep. Peterman also called for action on House Bill 86, which would remove Delaware from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative -- a 10-state carbon dioxide "cap and trade" program. Rep. Peterman says the four-year-old program is significantly increasing the retail cost of electricity and has outlived its usefulness because changes in the energy market have already resulted in pollution reductions far exceeding the RGGI's goals.
Rep. Lavelle said energy issues will likely continue to be hot policy topic in the New Year. "I think we'll continue to see energy bills making their way into the legislative pipeline," he said. "With Delaware's relatively high cost for electricity, and the barrier that poses to attracting new jobs to Delaware, it will be interesting to see if we can work together to change policies that have been criticized for escalating power prices."
Action mandated by the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) could also find its way into legislation debated by the Delaware General Assembly this year.
Included in the massive federal healthcare reform law is a requirement for states to create their own state-run exchanges where individuals and businesses can compare and purchase insurance plans. The exchanges are essential to the ACA.
If the states don't act, or refuse to act, the federal government will create exchanges for them. According to the National Governors Association, only about 21 states have passed legislation addressing the issue.
According to a recent analysis conducted by Governing magazine, states not enacting enabling legislation in 2012 will have a difficult time procuring the information technology necessary to run the exchanges, which are supposed to be open for business in less than two years.
"Health I-T vendors say timelines are already tightly compressed, and smaller states are worried that the federal government and big states, such as California and New York, will monopolize the most capable consultants," the report stated.
