Welcome to The Press Room, a weekly roundup of the major stories and happenings of the 2023 Delaware legislative year.
Many thanks for the feedback on the first edition. I’m really excited about this format and playing around with how to cover Legislative Hall. As always, send story tips, feedback, ideas or good gossip to me at mnewman@delawareonline.com.
Follow me on Twitter at @MereNewman.
What you need to know about Gov. Carney’s recommended budget
Pay increases for state workers: As we told you last week, there will be a 9% increase for teachers. The spending plan also includes a 3% to 9% increase for other state employees.
$15 minimum wage: State law requires Delaware businesses, including the state, to have a minimum wage of $15 by 2025.
Tax relief: Carney says middle-class Delawareans will pay fewer taxes by the state increasing the standard deduction to $5,700, a jump of 75%. It would be $11,400 for those filing jointly. This would go into effect in the upcoming tax year.
INSIDE LEGISLATIVE HALL:Raises, education and housing: 5 things to know about Delaware Gov. Carney’s spending plan
Investment into early education: The governor plans to increase the rate and expand the eligibility for purchase of care – which is an early childhood and after-school education subsidy. The idea here is to allow facilities to hire more people at better wages, with the hopes they can then take care of a greater number of children.
Affordable housing: The governor’s spending plan includes $101.5 million for affordable housing, the largest investment the state has ever made.
Something to keep an eye on: The day before Carney officially unveiled his budget, he held a briefing with reporters to go through it – which has been a tradition. He dropped an interesting nugget that I can’t stop thinking about.
When Delaware eventually stops being in a state of emergency for the pandemic, this will affect Medicaid funding. The state will have a much higher financial liability and some people will be rolled off Medicaid.
Carney estimated that is a “$100 million number” and described it as an issue officials are “still trying to get their arms around.” The timeline of when this will occur remains unclear.
This, of course, will affect the state budget.
Will Republicans support weed?
Unsurprisingly, both recreational marijuana bills passed through their respective committees last week. But here’s what to keep an eye on: Republican support.
For the regulation bill (House Bill 2), two New Castle County Republicans supported it in committee. Rep. Mike Smith – who voted no on similar legislation last year – is on the two respective committees that voted on the legalization and regulation bills. The Pike Creek Republican supported both.
BACKGROUND:‘Trying to play catch-up’: As Delaware opioid overdoses increase, ‘zombie drug’ grows, too
Rep. Jeffrey Speigelman of Clayton, who has previously abstained for conflict of interest last year on a similar bill, voted the regulation bill out of the revenue committee. Both Republicans voted in support of the legalization bill last year.
With some moderate Democrats still against recreational marijuana, their support could be essential, especially since the regulation bill requires three-fifths support instead of a simple majority.
But will that support last until March? That’s when Rep. Ed Osienski, bill sponsor, plans for these bills to go up for a floor vote.
What Carney didn’t say in his State of the State
After listening to Carney’s State of the State speech, I kept thinking about what the governor didn’t talk about. I thought it was notable that there was almost no mention of COVID-19.
I wasn’t alone. Advocates were frustrated by the lack of mention of the ongoing opioid epidemic in Delaware. My colleague Isabel Hughes recently reported that opioid overdose deaths remain on the rise in Delaware, with more than 80% of deadly overdoses in 2021 involving fentanyl.
I looked at all of Carney’s previous State of the State speeches, and it appears this was the first year where opioids and overdoses weren’t mentioned at all.
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Dave Humes, a board member atTAcK addiction, told me he “certainly did expect to hear something” and was disappointed when he didn’t.
“With the governor not even saying anything in the State of the State, what that does is it contributes to the stigma that we’re trying to break down,” Humes said. “It’s like: This is bad news. We won’t talk about it and it will go away.
“You have to bring it up and you have to talk about it.”
U.S. Sen. Tom Carper introduces D.C. statehood (and had a birthday)
Delaware’s senior senator renewed his push for District of Columbia statehood by reintroducing legislation in the U.S. Senate last week. He has been advocating for this for nearly a decade.
Last year, the House of Representatives passed the companion bill to Carper’s legislation.
Carper also turned 76 years old last week. I’ve learned he’s known to call former staffers on their birthday, even if they haven’t worked for him for years. I also learned that Carper isn’t that far off from middle age in the Senate.
It seems like an appropriate time to re-share my story about the death of Tom Carper’s van.
State bereavement leave for miscarriages
The House health committee released a bill last week that would provide state employees with five days of bereavement leave if they experience a miscarriage.
It has an interesting backstory: A state employee recently suffered a tragic miscarriage and learned she wasn’t afforded any bereavement to recover emotionally or physically. This bill would provide up to five days of leave to state workers who experienced a miscarriage, stillbirth or other loss.
During committee debate, both Delaware House Majority Whip Melissa Minor-Brown and Rep. DeShanna Neal revealed they had miscarriages and spoke of how they struggled in the aftermath.
What else to look for this week
This week starts the monthlong Joint Finance Committee hearings. State agencies make proposals to the very powerful General Assembly committee that writes Delaware’s budget. I expect, like last year, many department secretaries will speak of the significant staff shortages nearly every agency is experiencing.
This week the notable hearings are Department of Transportation and the “Big Three” colleges.
As a reporter, it’s also a great time to find compelling story ideas. I’ll be listening in, but let me know if there’s something I’ve missed.
