Welcome to The Press Room, a weekly roundup of the major stories and happenings of the 2023 Delaware legislative year.
This week’s edition focuses on the latest developments in environmental legislation, the attempt to reform dementia care and a possible vote on police reform this week.
As always, send story tips, feedback, ideas or gossip to me at mnewman@delawareonline.com.
Follow me on Twitter at @MereNewman.
Delaware Senate votes to study offshore wind
The Delaware Senate, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, passed a bill for the state to study offshore wind development and the possibility of bringing it here to the First State.
“It’s an analysis of the question of where can we be, where should we be with regard to offshore wind?” sponsor Sen. Stephanie Hansen, a Democrat representing Middletown, said during the bill’s committee hearing.
“When it comes to renewables, we don’t have a lot of choices,” she said, “we don’t have a lot of cards to play in our state.”
Delaware has a long, complicated history with offshore wind. Delmarva Power became the country’s first utility in 2008 to sign a deal to buy offshore wind power. It would have consisted of building dozens of turbines that could have powered an estimated 54,000 homes. But the deal fell apart a few years later due to financing issues.
In 2017, Gov. John Carney, a supporter of offshore wind, established a working group to study this topic. The committee ultimately recommended the state not move forward with offshore wind development.
But this new legislation would declare that it’s in the public interest to look into if offshore wind is feasible in Delaware as it has been for neighboring states, as well as what its impact could be. It now heads to the House.
Advocates, who strongly supported this bill, remarked that Delaware is far behind other states in investing in this type of energy source. It was a theme that popped up several times that week in other environmental bills making their way through the General Assembly, particularly around energy planning and electric vehicle infrastructure.
House Bill 220, known as the Green Amendment, was voted out of the House Administration Committee, a big win for environmentalists who say it will hold the state accountable. A previous version of the bill failed in the committee last year.
INSIDE LEG HALL:Delaware lawmakers introduce bills to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, a Democrat representing Newark, would add the following language to the state constitution: That residents have “an inherent and inalienable right to a clean and healthy environment, including water, air, soil, flora, fauna, ecosystems and climate, and to the preservation of the natural, cultural, scenic and healthful qualities of the environment.”
The bill, which would need two-thirds support and be voted on in two consecutive sessions, has significant opposition.
The Department of Agriculture and the Delaware Farm Bureau, which represents farmers, are against this bill, citing concerns that it could open the state and local farmers up to a significant volume of litigation.
Will dementia care bills pass this year?
Of the dozens of bills circulating throughout the Legislature this year, I’ve had a close eye on those relating to long-term care.
I’ve done a lot of reporting on this issue, specifically how the state has struggled with oversight of assisted living facilities and nursing homes. A legislative task force recently released a report with 18 recommendations on how to improve long-term facilities and dementia care. To the shock of many, a number of bills were filed days after the task force came to a close.
One of the most notable bills is Senate Bill 150, which would require staff at long-term care facilities to undergo 12 hours of initial training before providing dementia care. The legislation would require nursing homes and assisted living facilities that provide dementia care to have “a sufficient number of dedicated staff to meet the individual needs of each resident,” according to the bill.
BACKGROUND:Delaware struggles to investigate nursing homes, assisted living facilities. What to know
During its committee hearing last week, it was clear the industry was adamantly against it. Nursing home administrators told lawmakers that additional education requirements would be a burden to an industry that is still facing a staffing crisis.
But advocates aren’t satisfied either. Several people I talked to felt the wording of the bill to be vague and weak. Twelve hours of dementia training, they said, is just not enough.
Another bill that has elicited feedback is Senate Bill 151: This would require facilities that market dementia care services to complete a “written notice” for the state which would, among several things, show it is certified to provide dementia care. The legislation does not provide any specific details on the “written notice” itself.
Following the committee hearing for this bill earlier this month, Health Secretary Molly Magarik said in a brief interview that the department did not at that moment understand what it would consist of or include.
Though there are two weeks left in the legislative year, bill sponsor Sen. Spiros Mantzavinos, a Democrat representing Elsmere, said he is hoping to pass some of the bills in the long-term care package. Senate Bill 152, which “ensures cultural competency” for long-term care facilities, passed the Senate on Thursday with a unanimous vote.
“Not having legislation immediately coming out of the task force would have been a disservice and sent the wrong message about the task force,” he said.
Possible Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights vote this week?
There’s a chance the state House of Representatives could vote on the bills seeking to amend the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights.
This controversial law, as of now, prevents most Delawareans from getting information about police misconduct. Lawmakers have tried for years, particularly after the death of George Floyd, to reform LEOBOR. But negotiations have gone nowhere.
READ MORE:Why all signs say this may be year lawmakers improve police transparency: The Press Room
This year, lawmakers seem to be the closest they have ever been – even though advocates are fiercely against the bills. No chamber has, in recent memory, successfully passed any bill looking to change LEOBOR.
The bills would require the publication of internal investigations into use-of-force and other substantiated claims against officers, the establishment of uniform standards for police agencies across the state, and the creation of local police accountability boards, among other things.
