House lawmakers resolve a stand-off over a Seaford charter amendment enabling artificial entities like LLCs to vote in municipal elections.
After Democrats failed to deliver promised votes for it Thursday night, Republicans blocked the Bond Bill and walked out. Friday, Democratic leadership convinced a dozen additional lawmakers to back the amendment to prevent a budget stalemate. In return, Republicans voted to pass both the Bond Bill and the $72 million Grant-in-Aid bill.
One lawmaker that switched their vote was state Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, who says that while she objects to the charter amendment, she chose to prioritize infrastructure funding and support for services like volunteer fire companies.
“I also think it’s really important for us to fund critical services for vulnerable communities across the state, and I’m not willing to put that on the line for a political statement," she said. "It stinks, but honestly, it felt like a hostage situation.”
House Republicans also demanded another GOP priority get a vote: a bill requiring the General Assembly to approve any new regulations restricting the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles proposed by DNREC – an effort to thwart the agency’s plans to phase out the sale of new internal combustion engine cars by 2035.
That bill passed the House by a narrow majority, after which House Republicans voted to release the Bond Bill and Grant-in-Aid bill.
Neither the charter amendment nor the DNREC bill were considered by the Senate, but House Minority Leader Michael Ramone says he’s satisfied that the bill — a priority for Republicans — will at least get consideration.
“I’m not even sure they thought I could get it passed," he said. "And I didn’t have it as part of the deal that it had to pass. I just wanted it to get on the floor, where it got exactly 21 [votes].”
With the g=Grant-in-Aid bill released from the House, Senate lawmakers were able to finalize the 2024 budget without obstruction.
While the Grant-in-Aid bill exceeded Gov. John Carney's original proposal by more than $10 million, he says he defers to the General Assembly to issue grants responsibly.
As for concerns that the significant price tag attached to the Bond Bill — among the largest in state history — may overextend Delaware's resources, Carney contends that his administration has taken precautions to avoid cutting project funding short when revenue growth slows in the coming years by imposing limits on spending increases and placing revenues in reserve.
Carney signed all three budget items — the operating budget, capital budget and grants-in-aid budget — on Friday night.
