Lawmakers pass the state’s Grant-in-Aid bill, The record $69.4 million grants package is the last piece to Delaware’s 2023 spending plan.
More than $14 million will be spent to support county paramedic services and the bill sets aside millions for local volunteer fire departments.
But much of the total goes to nonprofit organizations, ranging from a faith-based addiction recovery program in Seaford to the Lenape Tribe.
In the Senate, some Republicans balked at a $37,000 grant to Planned Parenthood of Delaware.
Senator Colin Bonini, who voted for the bill, says he has reservations about some of the grant recipients. “There have been some grantees who are basically political in nature," he said. "They’re advocacy groups - they could be advocacy groups on both sides. I would hope that we could get to where this bill is going to organizations that are actually providing services.”
Bonini did not specify which organizations he considers advocacy groups.
Grant-in-Aid has grown significantly in recent years. The 2023 allocation is nearly $6 million more than a year ago and about 15 million dollars higher than 2021. This year’s bill also funds 24 nonprofits and community groups not in last year’s bill.
The Grant-in-Aid bill passed unanimously in both chambers.
Disclosure: Delaware First Media, the parent company of Delaware Public Media, will receive $225,000 from the Grants-in-Aid budget in 2023
