State Senate overrides a pair of vetoes by Gov.Matt Meyer
On Wednesday, Senate lawmakers cleared the two-thirds majority required to override Meyer’s veto on two measures - one addressing wage theft for subcontractors.
Senate Bill 63 increases penalties for a contractor who misclassifies an employee – or subcontractor– as an independent worker. House lawmakers also voted to override Meyer’s veto, enacting it over the Governor's objections.
Senator John Walsh (D-Stanton) said misclassification hurts workers.
“By misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor, employers avoid paying social security contributions, unemployment compensation, payroll taxes, and workers compensation premiums,” Walsh said.
Meyer said he stands by his veto. Wage theft for subcontractors is an issue, but he said the new law could harm immigrant business owners and workers as ICE seeks information from the state Dept. of Labor.
“We heard from many Latino contractors and organizations representing Latino contractors that while this may be a good piece of legislation, this is not the time to empower our Department of Labor with enforcement capabilities against more Latino businesses,” he said.
Senate Bill 63’s veto override passed along party lines, except for Rep. Josué Ortega (D-Wilmington).
The Senate also voted to override Meyer’s veto of Senate Bill 75, limiting zoning restrictions that county governments can place on cannabis retailers.
The House has yet to vote on an overridefor SB 75, leaving it in limbo until session resumes in March.
House Chamber signs Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board Revision, draws GOP criticism
Lawmakers signed off on legislation that walks back portions of a law passed two years ago to regulate hospital budgets.
The General Assembly had to pass Senate Bill 213, which reduces the financial oversight powers of the new Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board. Otherwise, the state risked continued legal action from ChristianaCare.
The hospital challenged the law, claiming it threatened the healthcare provider’s operations and independence.
Republican State Rep. Lyndon Yearick( R-Magnolia) said his GOP colleagues warned lawmakers two years ago that asking hospitals to offer their budgets for prior approval was unconstitutional and invited legal challenge.
“It’s why we're here today with this new bill, to address something that we kind of told you,” he said.
The bill leaves the state’s review board with the ability to retrospectively look at hospital finances, rather than sign off on budget proposals for the upcoming year.
If a hospital falls short of state benchmarks, the bill gives the board more authority to interfere.Hospitals that miss benchmarks are required to create and submit corrective plans for board approval.
The bill exempts hospitals participating in Meaningful Cost Containment Arrangements from this step. MCCAs involve a health provider moving away from fee-for-
service payment and agreement to standardize costs for care like knee replacement or childbirth.
The bill’s exemption for MCCAs encourages this payment model, according to Meredith Stewart Tweedie, Vice President of Government Affairs for ChristianaCare.
But Rep. Valerie Jones Giltner (R-Georgetown) criticized the parameters in the bill for potential patient groups and treatments that could qualify for an MCCA, calling the language ambiguous.
Giltner also said the bill’s focus on hospitals doesn’t address rising outpatient costs.
“I think that (SB 213) is a sheer placebo,” Jones said. “It will not remedy the cost increases thatwe'reseeing with healthcare. And you should not tell your constituents that it will.”
House lawmakers passed it Thursday. Gov Meyer signed it Friday.
House Chamber signs one property reassessment bill, tables another until March
The House Chamber passed a Senate Bill that gives New Castle County’s Office of Finance power to re-examine assessed value for nonresidential property.
After inconsistent outcomes from its 2024 property re-assessment, New Castle County officials want to do a quality control review this year.
Rep. Cyndie Romer (D-Newark), a co-sponsor for Senate Bill 228, said the bill sets standards for the county to find outlier properties and make corrections.
A member of the House Special Property Tax Hearing committee, Romer noted that its legal counsel said the county already has authority to conduct quality control review.
“It also became clear that New Castle County believes it lacks the clear authority to make certain corrections without a change to Delaware law,” she said. “...The county has indicated an un-comfortability to act without statutory clarification.”
SB 228 in the House with 35 yes votes, 3 no, and 3 not voting. It goes to Governor Matt Meyer’s desk for approval. It will expire in 2027, after the county completes its quality control review.
State Rep.Brian Shupe (R-Milford), one of the no’s, said he voted against the policy because the General Assembly’s legal advisors say the county already has the authority to run quality control for the property reassessment.
Gov. Matt Meyer agreed and said he hasn’t decided if he’ll sign the bill.
The house did not vote on another measure aimed at property reassessment, Senator Spiros Mantzavinos’s SB 230. The measure won’t be addressed by the house until it reconvenes in March, after budget hearings.
Senate resolution demands accountability for federal immigration agents killing civilians in Minneapolis
The State Senate spent some two hours debating a resolution to “express outrage” over high-profile civilian deaths caused by federal immigration agents this month.
Senate President Pro Tem Dave Sokola (D-Newark) said the resolution, co-sponsored by the entire Senate Democratic Caucus, is a response to the two Minneapolis residents, Alex Pretti and Renne Nicole Good, shot and killed by federal immigration agents. The resolution calls the Department of Homeland Security’s use of deadly force “increasingly egregious,” and demands transparency in investigations of Good and Pretti’s deaths.
The resolution prompted a lengthy back-and-forth between Senate Democrats and Republicans. Senate Minority Whip Brian Pettyjohn said the loss of life is tragic, but he’s not ready to condemn the killings.
The federal agents involved had to react and make quick judgements, he said.
“Others have had time to analyze things and say, ‘Well, maybe that wasn't the best thing,’” Pettyjohn said.“...I'm not defending the actions or saying that what was done was right–or it was wrong.”
Sokola said local police should be allowed to participate in investigations of the killings. He also referenced comments made by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, where she said that federal agents’ actions were justified.
“There also were pretty strong statements from federal officials before an investigation,” Sokola said.“... What was said by some federal officials, was clearly not what happened from any angle, and so I just feel that this is a reasonable request under these circumstances.”
The resolution passed 15 to 6 along party lines.
The General Assembly is in recess until March, as the Joint Finance Committee considers the state's budget for fiscal year 2027.
