Mike in the News

Dover Post
Tuesday, January 12, 2009

With 2010 shaping up to be another tough year for Delaware’s budget, one state lawmaker has an idea that he says will keep the budget-drafting process from ending in a chaotic, middle-of-the-night scramble to strike an agreement on the state’s spending package.

Sen. Dr. Michael Katz, D-Centerville, introduced a bill Jan. 12 that would cap the budget at $2.85 billion for fiscal year 2011, a move he said would lend stability to the process from the outset.

Katz said the cap amount represents what the state’s budget should be based on an analysis of economic growth over the last decade. This year, the state budget totals nearly $3.1 billion, an amount Katz argues is overinflated and not reflective of the current economic downturn.

“This recession runs so deep that it feels like the budget is going into the red as soon as it’s approved,” he said. “We need to look at some new ways to bring stability back into the budgeting process.”

Katz also said the state should look for new ways to forecast how much money the state will need in upcoming years. The Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council is the sole authority on financial projections, but Katz said the panel is outliving its usefulness

Hockessin Community News
Monday, October 26, 2009

Now that the Old Lancaster Pike Streetscape project is under way, the Hockessin Planning Partnership has set its sights on upgrading parking along the soon-to-be-improved road. 



Improving downtown parking is part of the Hockessin Village Plan and at one time was slated for construction, before drainage problems derailed the plan, said HPP President Ken Murphy. 



Now HPP is helping to organize a regional drainage study, for the entire footprint of the village, to see if the Cockeysville aquifer beneath it can handle the extra impervious cover of improved parking, Murphy said. 



Five legislators - Sens. Liane Sorenson (R-Hockessin), Patty Blevins (D-Elsmere) and Mike Katz (D-Centreville), as well as Reps. Nick Manolakos (R-Limestone Hills) and Debbie Hudson (R-Fairthorne) - have ponied up $6,700 each to fund the study, adding to an existing $17,000 already earmarked, said Janet Kilpatrick, House of Representatives Republican Caucus aide. 



The New Castle Conservation District will use that money to hire a professional to conduct the study, Kilpatrick said, and present the findings to legislators. 



The study will take at least four months to complete, Murphy estimated. 



The News Journal
Thursday, June 4, 2009

It has been a good week for champions of the public's right to know in the General Assembly.


It has taken Democratic Sen. Karen Peterson nearly eight years to get a bill passed that puts the Delaware Legislature under the same open-government regulations required by virtually every other government in the state. 


The Legislature exempted itself nearly 20 years ago after some lawmakers were agitated over having to vet their frustrations in public.


It's been a tough battle for Sen. Peterson because several of the legislators who voted to exempt the Legislature are still serving. The Senate president pro tem alone has stifled passage of the legislation three times by refusing to schedule a committee hearing on it.


This time around, however, Sen. Peterson risked the wrath of her caucus leadership by petitioning the bill out of committee and suspending the rules to vote on House Bill 1.


But she knew what she was doing because the petition motion garnered the necessary 11 votes. While Sen. Peterson has rightfully been applauded as the leader behind this bill, we also want to recognize others without whom this legislation wouldn't have passed.


Dover Post
Friday, June 12, 2009

Drug stores that choose not to take part in the state's Medicaid program would pay higher taxes to help cover the cost of prescriptions and other medical aid for Medicaid patients under a bill introduced Thursday in the Senate.

Sen. Michael Katz, D-Centerville, said he came up with idea of adding on a special 2 percent gross receipts tax on drug stores that opt out of the federal-state low-income health insurance program after Walgreens announced last week that it would drop out of the program rather than accept a 2 percent reduction in state prescription payments for Medicaid clients.

Allowing public access to General Assembly records spurred by technology

Delaware State News
Sunday, July 5, 2009

DOVER - As the arduous 2009 legislative session came to a close on Tuesday night, or Wednesday morning, relief and exhaustion were palpable alongside notions of accomplishment and completion. With the tax bills out of the way and the budget finished, legislators had time to exhale and relish in their victories.

One of the most eminent pieces of legislation this session was House Bill 1 - the open government act that was approved after decades of history.

"This was a big victory," John Flaherty, open government lobbyist for the past 12 years, said.

HB 1 allows the public access to Delaware General Assembly meetings, records and committees, including Joint Finance, Bond Bill, Sunset committees and those created by legislative resolution. Party caucuses and e-mails written by or to legislators and legislative staff are still exempt.