Legislative Update, Monday, May 16, 2022

Nicole Crostic

Monday, May 16, 2022

This is the busiest legislative session in years for the business community. For an update that includes all of the bills the Chamber is currently working on, contact Joe Fitzgerald at Fitzgeraldj@ncccc.com. A list with details will be posted on the Chamber’s blog.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 17, the Senate will commence session at 2:00 p.m. On Wednesday, May 18 the Senate will hold committee hearings followed by session at 4:00 p.m., on Thursday, May 19, the Senate will commence session at 2:00 p.m.

To view the Senate Agenda, visit https://legis.delaware.gov/Agenda/Senate.

To view session virtually, visit https://legis.delaware.gov/WatchAndListen?view=1&category=1.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 17, the House will commence session at 2:00 p.m. On Wednesday, May 18 the Senate will hold committee hearings followed by session at 4:00 p.m., on Thursday, May 19, the Senate will commence session at 2:00 p.m.

To view the House Agenda, visit https://legis.delaware.gov/Agenda/House
To view session virtually, visit https://legis.delaware.gov/WatchAndListen?view=1&category=1.

For a list of committee hearings, with links to watch or participate, visit: https://legis.delaware.gov/CommitteeMeetings

State budget process nearing its final stage

The next meeting of the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council is scheduled for this afternoon, Monday, May 16 at 1:30 p.m. The panel will release update state revenue forecasts.

At the Monday, March 22 meeting of the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council, revenue forecasts for FY 2023 increased by some $349 million.  The current working surplus/ “extraordinary revenue number” is more than $1 billion.

The Governor’s Recommended Budget allocates $4.991 billion for the operating budget, $1.184 billion for the capital budget, 56.9 million for the grant-in-aid budget and $215.9 million for a one-time supplemental spending bill. Governor Carney is also recommending that $15.2 million be set aside in the Budget Stabilization Fund (current balance = $302.5 million).

In the coming weeks, the Joint Finance Committee will complete the final operating budget bill and a grant-in-aid bill for consideration by the full House and Senate, and the Joint Committee on Capital Improvement (Bond Bill) Committee will craft the final capital budget for consideration by both houses. Budget-writing legislators have considerable resources at their disposal this year, so the operating, grant-in-aid and capital expenditures are likely to be considerably higher in the final packet of budget bills that reach the governor’s desk.

Governor Carney signs paid family and medical leave legislation

On May 10, Governor Carney signed Senate Substitute 2 to Senate Bill 1, creating a paid family and medical leave program in Delaware. For a summary of the legislation, contact Joe Fitzgerald at fitzgeraldj@ncccc.com.

A copy of the bill can be downloaded at https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=79186.