DOVER — House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown (D-New Castle) and Senate Pro Tempore David Sokola (D-Newark) issued a stark warning to business leaders that there would be little room for extra spending in this year’s state budget bill.
During the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce’s annual End-of-Session Conference on Wednesday, M. Davis & Sons President John Gooden asked the top Democrats about the possibility of more funding for state-run apprenticeships. Minor-Brown was candid.
“To be honest, I don’t have an answer for that right now,” she said, adding that the state has looked at ways to boost programs in high schools. “This federal uncertainty has really got us all trying to figure out how to move forward. I think it’s OK to say that as much as we’re going to [soften] the cuts of these damaging cuts in Delaware, people are going to get hit.”
“We don’t know where those hits are going to be, but it’s going to happen,” the House Speaker continued. “All we can do is our best to try and lighten that impact on folks.”
The DSCC End-of-Session Policy Conference invites hundreds of business leaders and government officials to Dover to hear about the status of high-priority legislation and grants a chance to state the case for bills.
But this year, much of the conversation was clouded by the uncertainty in the federal funding bill, despite the challenges of rising energy costs and the possibility of raising the personal income tax.
Minor-Brown, who was first elected to the House in 2018 and is in her first year as speaker, called the year “challenging” and the prospect of federal cuts “damaging.” She noted that the Democratic leadership is working with the governor’s office and other key state agencies to plan a course of action.
“As we see those cuts come down the pike, we’re looking at how important services that our constituency relies on may go away and we may have to supplement. I’m talking about nonprofits, I’m talking about Medicaid,” she said. “It’s caused us to think about shifting policies and thinking about how unpredictable the future of our funding is.”
She also alluded to the challenges with the transition to Gov. Matt Meyer’s administration during the rapid policy flip seen in Washington D.C., noting that Meyer’s team was trying to “get their footing in state government.”
“We’re definitely learning from each other. I think that’s pretty good as well – it comes with challenges and opportunities, but for the most part, opportunities,” the House Speaker said.
Minor-Brown and Sokola both pointed to the
last DEFAC report that came out earlier this week, as a sign of caution. The non-partisan board of economists added $97.6 million back to its budget estimate, granting some breathing room – for now.
“It’s important to not look at this like a Christmas holiday,” Minor-Brown said. “Because it’s not. It gives us breathing room, but it doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods. We shouldn’t be thinking about today as much as we should be thinking about tomorrow or the following year.”
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Senate Pro Tempore David Sokola talked about the need to focus on the state's growing aging population during Wendesday's End-of-Policy Conference. | DBT PHOTO BY KATIE TABELING[/caption]
Sokola pointed out that about $30 million of the increase came from personal income taxes, but was concerned that the growth may be slowing down compared to the rise in budget expenses. DEFAC also forecasts that budgetary expenses will hit
$7.9 billion by fiscal year 2027.
“If we grow the budget a little bit this year, that means we will be in a difficult time next year unless it turns around, especially in light of the kind of federal cuts they’re talking about,” Sokola said.
He warned that Delaware may be particularly hard hit by the proposed cuts to Medicaid, as seniors in nursing homes encompass Delaware’s fastest-growing group.
“We have to have a long-term strategy for that, and I think it’s something that we got to really get working on,” Sokola said, adding that Sen. Spiro Mantzavinos and Rep. Kendra Johnson are doing solid work on aging-in-place legislation.
“The Senate Democratic Caucus understands the weight of the moment, and we’re trying to balance the needs with the realities here on the ground,” Sokola said.
Among other legislation that both Democrats highlighted was a bill that would establish an Delaware Inspector General to investigate state agencies and state-funded entities for fraud and mismanagement, as well as primary health care reform as well a bill that would unlick funding streams to incentivize affordable housing.
Sokola also supported the
$130 million Legislative Hall project, which would include adding four meeting rooms and relocating entrance as well as a parking garage and underground tunnel. The project was halted earlier this year pending funding uncertainties.
He noted that the last time the Legislative Hall renovations was delayed was under Gov. Mike Castle, but got it finished years later. The project was halted earlier this year pending funding uncertanties.
“A lot has changed since then, and one of the big issues is security and another is technology. There are things that you can do in an existing structure, but it’s a lot more efficient to do them in a facility that we were trying to design,” the Senate pro tem said.
Minor-Brown spoke about the grants-in-aid process, which was drafted and filed this week, hinting that there needed to be more scrutiny to the process. Nonprofit advocates have noted that it sometimes takes nonprofit vendors weeks to months to receive payment for services.
“It’s important we bring additional scrutiny to our process when it comes to grant-in-aid, because these are taxpayer dollars. We need to make sure there’s benchmarks set and they’re reaching those benchmarks,” she said. “These are taxpayer dollars. We need to make sure that the organizations that are receiving grants from our state are doing the work that needs to be done for Delaware.”
