CLNCC Meeting With Rep. Kowalko On DE Inspector General - 7PM November 19th In Christiana

CLNCC Monthly Meeting

7 - 9 p.m. Tuesday, November 19th

Christiana Presbyterian Church

15 N. Old Baltimore Pike, Christiana, DE 19702

AGENDA

MONTHLY MEETING

Speaker: State Rep. John Kowalko on the proposal for a Delaware Inspector General given his experiences at Legislative Hall, especially with the Paradee family conflict of interest surrounding Delaware Turf as a dedicated recipient of a Kent County lodging tax.

Delawareans need an independent Inspector General to look after the citizen’s interests. DelCOG President, Nick Wasileski gave a power point presentation on the need for an IG  at the Civic League meeting in October.
The CLNCC will be engaged in discussion and voting on a variety of state legislative initiatives for the purpose of lobbying during this coming last leg of the 150th General Assembly. 

Members are encouraged to bring bills to our attention by attending League meetings or writing to Nancy Willing at president@civicleagueforncc.org.

Rep. Kowalko's presentation is to be Livestreamed on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/events/463871071151296/

John Kowalko on the need for a Delaware State Office of Inspector General:

From Rep. John Kowalko's website ~ 

Congratulations to News Journal reporter Sarah Gamard on her insightful article, “Why the DE Turf Vote Has Some Lawmakers Second Guessing"
regarding the passage of Senate Substitute 2 for Senate Bill 178 on June 30, 2019, the final day of the legislative session.

Her reporting has exposed some of the major flaws in the workings of Delaware's General Assembly. One major concern is the fact that the legislation was presented as an economic development driver without any data to support the alleged success of the proposed venture. Secondly, the direct connection to a potential beneficiary of the bill who happens to be the brother of a sitting State Senator was never divulged to all of us legislators. Thirdly, the bill was introduced on June 26, passed by the Senate on June 27, and sent to the House, where it was considered under a "suspension of rules" and passed on the final day of the session.

This rush to judgement is notable due to the fact that it is the first year of a two-year session, and the bill could have been held over until the continuation of the 150th General Assembly session in January 2020. This would have allowed for more intense scrutiny by the public and our state legislature to question its authenticity and purpose. I'm not attempting to justify or excuse my vote on SS 2 for SB 178. Until we, as a responsible body of lawmakers, publicly and vigorously acknowledge the flaws in a system that allows for last minute consideration and votes on legislation dictated by some artificially-imposed time constraints, we will inevitably fail in adequately representing the best interests of the public.

When we have three iterations of a bill in the last week of a session, it is illogical to presume that we have looked into all aspects and agendas involved and we should not have taken a vote. We could have tabled the bill until January when we reconvene and had time to question the motives and beneficiaries of this law before casting a final vote. Often legislation is presented as bipartisan with no individual special interests benefiting and we rely on our colleagues, who propose the law, to be forthright and frank about any specifics or hidden agendas or personal interests.

This was not the case with this bill, and I can assure you that, in the future, I will be scrutinizing all of these seemingly innocuous proposals much more skeptically. I am also working with a number groups to reintroduce a bill creating an independent Office of the Inspector General to oversee government activities, and I intend to work with John Flaherty, the foremost open government champion in our state, on legislation to expand transparency and oversight of the General Assembly when ethical concerns are raised.

Until we, as responsible lawmakers, decide to reject the pressures of a flawed system and dedicate our time, efforts, and thoughts to analyzing and scrutinizing proposed bills more diligently, then we are doomed to repeat our errors.

Representative John Kowalko

Read more: https://johnkowalko.com/…/10/de-turf-exposes-dover-failures/

Also see: State Rep. John Kowalko's letter in the Delaware State News ~ The need for good, transparent government

I am challenging all of my colleagues in Dover to join me in reforming Delaware’s lawmaking process. I am asking them to join me in supporting rule changes that disallow last-minute votes on bills that have not been adequately vetted. I am asking them to support rule changes that disallow the use of “suspension of rules” to bring bills to the floor that have not been vetted by a committee or the general public. 

I ask them to pass legislation that will create an independent office of Inspector General that will be able to oversee and investigate possible corruption, ethics violations and hidden conflicts of interest.All of our constituents expect and deserve an elected government that is open and transparent. 

Delawareans expect and deserve answers as to why their elected public servants voted for or against issues and policies and they expect those decisions to be made in their best interests. 

Delaware’s government has often failed to deliver that transparency and openness in its decision making process. Delaware rules, or lack of rules, has often allowed special interests and lobbyists who represent the most powerful and richest groups in the state to dictate policies and decisions. 

One cannot have good government without open and transparent government. One cannot guarantee good government without independent oversight and scrutiny of the lawmaking process and an accounting of the agendas and interests of lawmakers’ decisions. 

Delawareans deserve to have a lawmaking body that has a common sense process that allows just and timely consideration of all legislation and guarantees that motives, intentions or agendas of every lawmaker involved in this process can be scrutinized to ensure ethical and honest decisions.