When the 145th General Assembly reconvenes, one of the first measures on the docket would open legislative meetings and records to public scrutiny – a proposal that has been doomed to failure in prior desk-drawer vetoes. The Progressive Democrats of Delaware also plan to meet on the steps of Legislative Hall, Tuesday, Jan. 13, to back House Bill 1, which would also open legislative correspondence to the public.

The General Assembly is now exempt from Freedom of Information Act laws.

H.B. 1 is sponsored by Rep. Bob Gilligan, D-Sherwood Park, who is expected to be confirmed speaker of the House the same day. The General Assembly should be subject to the same rules as everyone else in the state, said Rebecca Young, executive director of the Progressive Democrats of Delaware.

She said members of her group will first rally on the steps, then meet one-on-one with their legislators inside Legislative Hall.

Last week, members of the state Senate discussed introducing new rules to end desk-drawer vetoes – a legislative move that kills legislation before it even gets to the floor for a vote.

House rules require all bills to be released to committees within 10 days. To date, the Senate has no such provision.

Sen. Karen Peterson, D-Wilmington, has introduced many open government measures, but all failed. “My bill, for six years, couldn’t get out of the drawer. But, I think we’ll deal with it this year. There’s still a way to stop the bill. Even if we were to do away with the desk-drawer veto, it might get stuck in committee. We have to respect the committee system, and we will do that. But, if we change that rule, there will not be ‘a stick it in the drawer and forget about it’ anymore,” she said.

She said Senate President Pro Tem Thurman Adams, D-Bridgeville, purposely – and repeatedly – uses the desk-drawer veto. “In the last session alone, it was 31 times. It was 31 bills he stuck in the desk drawer,” Peterson said.

Adams acknowledged the Senate discussion about ending desk- drawer vetoes.

“Our rules are going to be that we will work bills in a certain time period. We’re working toward what people want,” Adams said. When asked if he plans to slide any measures into a desk drawer, he said, “There won’t be such a thing – not with the new time frames,” Adams said.

Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford, said he too thinks the open government measure will pass this year. “Sen. Adams has indicated to me that, if that’s what the caucus wants, he won’t stop it. What the bill might look like or what the rules might look like, I think, will mirror what’s on the House side,” Simpson said.

Simpson was wary of some of its details, however. Like Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, who is expected to be confirmed House majority leader, Simpson wants constituent emails to be exempted from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

“I doubt that I have a constituent that would want his or her private email to be made open to public record. It’s not necessarily anything secret about it. It could just be an email between two people, and I don’t think the public needs to see that kind of message,” Simpson said.

Gilligan said some details need to be hammered out. “Some people don’t want emails included from constituents. I don’t have a problem with the emails being included. I don’t think newspaper reporters will report that a little old lady complained because a dog is barking. But that’s a difficult fine line,” Gilligan said. He also stressed that caucus discussions will be exempt from FOIA. “It still enables us to talk privately. But, any committee appointed by the Legislature has to be open,” Gilligan said.

Peterson said she looks forward to the bill passing first in the House. “We’ll just deal with it when it comes to our side. I think we will deal with it this year. I’ve kind of changed my strategy. I didn’t want to confuse the issue by introducing the bill on both sides of the building,” she said.

Sussex County leaders named to Senate committees

Senate President Pro Tem Thurman Adams, D-Bridgeville, announced Senate committee assignments Monday, Jan. 12. Most nominations are expected to be confirmed when the 145th General Assembly meets at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 13. Adams said he plans to keep Sen. Nancy Cook, D-Kenton, in charge of the Joint Finance Committee, and Sen. Robert Venables, D-Laurel, at the helm of the Joint Bond Bill Committee. “With the financial challenges we’re facing, I think it’s important that we keep experienced, veteran leadership who have faced budget crises before,” Adams said.

The following list contains Sussex County Senate members and their assignments to the 25 Senate committees. Download pdf for a complete, statewide list.

Administrative Services/Elections
Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford

Adult & Juvenile Corrections
Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach

Agriculture
Sen. Thurman Adams, D-Bridgeville
Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach, chairman
Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford
Sen. Robert Venables, D-Laurel

Banking
Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach

Bond Bill
Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford

Education
Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach

Energy & Transit
Sen. Robert Venables, D-Laurel

Ethics
Sen. Thurman Adams, D-Bridgeville
Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford

Executive
Sen. Thurman Adams, D-Bridgeville
Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford

Judiciary
Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford

Legislative Council
Sen. Thurman Adams, D-Bridgeville
Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford

Permanent Rules
Sen. Thurman Adams, D-Bridgeville
Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford

Small Business
Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach

Veterans Affairs
Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach
Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford