Weekly Report: 3/11/2024
Prepared By: Sara, Karl Stomberg
The legislature is back in session and we are ramping up to launch our first set of endorsements in May, so there is a lot to talk about in this weekly update.
Legislative Updates
First of all, we are happy to announce that Universal Free School Meals has made it through the Education committee! This was the first of our people-powered issue campaign bills to come up, and we had over a dozen WFP members testify in favor of it.
It still needs to go through appropriations, but this is a big win for our first major committee meeting of the year!
Two bills that seek to reverse the proposed privatization of state workers’ retirement benefits (HB 281 & HB 282) were released from committee last week and are on the House floor Tuesday. They are both supported by Retirees Investing in Social Equity Delaware (RISE DE).
A bill to allow renters to pay rent into court escrow if a landlord fails to fix dangerous or defective conditions (HS1/HB 191) will be heard in the Senate Housing committee on Wednesday. This bill passed the House last year and was spurred by the Adams Street situation.
Committee Report
See below for some of the most notable bills in committee this week and how to give public comment. For length and clarity, we are only putting bills that need the most public input below. Bills in green are bills we generally support, bills in red are bills we generally oppose, and bills in yellow are neutral or unknown.
You can also check here for the full list of committee meetings and click “view” next to each meeting for the full agenda and additional information.
| Bill # | Sponsor | Summary/Description | Committee Meeting Info | Give Public Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HB 327 | Morrison, Sturgeon | Protects victims of sexual assault, discrimination, or harassment from retaliatory lawsuits that arise when a victim of sexual assault discloses information regarding an act of sexual assault, discrimination, or harassment. | House Judiciary Wednesday 3/13 at 11am |
In Person: House Majority Hearing Room (H217) 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for Meeting |
| HB 189 | Dorsey Walker, Pinkney | After Republicans tried to force through a bill allowing LLCs to vote in Seaford, this bill will ban any local government from allowing corporations to vote. | House Administration Wednesday 3/13 at 11am |
In Person: House Majority Caucus Room 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for Meeting |
| HS1/HB 191 | Dorsey Walker, Pinkney | Allows tenants to pay rent into court escrow if a landlord fails to fix dangerous or defective conditions. | Senate Housing Wednesday 3/13 at 1pm |
In Person: Senate Hearing Room 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for Meeting |
| SB 233 | Walsh, Osienski | Service Worker Protection Act. Many buildings that employ service workers often end up harming their workers when they change ownership, so this bill would create a new set of protections to make sure these workers can have some stability. | Senate Labor Wednesday 3/13 at 12pm |
In Person: Senate Hearing Room 411 Legislative Avenue Dover, DE 19901 Virtual: Register for Meeting |
Campaign Interest Forms
As we mentioned at the start, we are planning to launch our first round of public endorsements in May, but there are still ways you can get involved before then. If you are interested in getting involved directly on a campaign team, you can fill out our campaign interest form. By answering some general questions, we can get you connected with a campaign that fits your interests and capacity.
We also have two events coming up in the next couple weeks:
Team Member Coaching - Every Thursday at 6:00pm - If you are already on a campaign or looking to learn more about the nitty-gritty of campaigns, we are holding these coaching sessions every Thursday for anyone to jump on.
Welcome Gathering- Wed, 3/20 at 6:00pm - Join us for our monthly virtual welcome gathering, where we talk more about who we are at Delaware WFP, what sort of things we work on, and how you can get involved.