Gov. Matt Meyer delivers his first State of the State address, pushing for the swift passage of new tax brackets and education funding reform among continued focus on affordable healthcare and housing efforts.
As first announced in his recommended budget presentation two weeks ago, Gov. Meyer is looking to create three new personal income tax brackets for earners at the $125,000, $250,000 and $500,000 threshold.
“At a time when the federal government is doubling down on tax cuts from 2017, where the majority of the benefits go to the wealthiest, we’re readjusting the scales to ensure the richest pay their share and working-class Delawareans get a fair shake," Meyer said.
His plan would also slightly reduce income taxes for the remaining 92% of Delawareans.
Last week, State Rep. Sean Lynn (D-Dover) introduced a bill outlining Meyer’s proposal that has yet to receive a vote in the State House — any tax bills voted on by the General Assembly need a 3/5 vote to pass, meaning they only need Democratic support in both chambers.
House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown (D-New Castle) says while she feels her caucus is aligned on the fact that changes to the personal income tax brackets need to be made, whether or not Rep. Lynn's bill is the final solution is still up in the air.
Although any legislative changes to the tax brackets can pass without Republican support in either chamber due to the Democrat's three-fifths majority, Republican leadership expressed their opposition to the proposed changes, arguing they would hurt small businesses and disincentivize high earners from moving to Delaware.
Gov. Meyer’s speech also placed education reform at the forefront of his policy goals, including continued educator salary increases, investing in literacy supports and urging passage of the framework for a new equitable education funding formula this legislative session, which ends on June 30.
“Public education must be the great equalizer in American society, an opportunity for every family to dream big about their future, but only if we direct resources equitably to address the real needs of kids and families. And we must do so with urgency. We cannot continue to simply identify problems. It’s time to act."
The Public Education Funding Commission is currently working on recommendations for a new funding formula, although their first draft deadline is not until October of this year.
Stakeholders have already expressed concern with a summer deadline, but if the commission were to commit to Meyer’s timeline, it only has four meetings scheduled before the end of the legislative session to deliver.
Their next meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 14.
As far as affordable housing, Gov. Meyer continued to stress the desire to streamline regulation and create more efficient systems to approve new and renovated workforce housing.
He also announced that next week he will be signing an executive order to reconstitute the Delaware Interagency Council on Homelessness in an effort to provide more comprehensive support to vulnerable populations.
Meyer announced his support for several pieces of legislation, including State Rep. Eric Morrison's (D-Glasgow) bill to create an Office of Suicide Prevention, State Rep. Ed Osienski's (D-Newark) bill to resume federal background checks to get the recreational marijuana market back on track, energy bill saving measures from various lawmakers, an amendment that would enshrine abortion rights in Delaware's Constitution, and new legislation that would ensure medical debt does not hurt someone's credit score.
That announcement was in addition to his proposal to provide $50 million in medical debt relief to those struggling to cover the costs of basic care.
Gov. Meyer also voiced his support for a substituted version of House Bill 1, which no longer requires a fiscal note to create a cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs in Delaware.
The governor also noted his support for bringing a medical school to the First State, something the new chair of the Delaware Health Care Commission Dr. Neil Hockstein is tasked with looking into.
"Delaware is one of only four states that does not have a medical school. We have a shortage of qualified medical professionals, particularly in Sussex and Kent Counties. We must make Delaware a great place to train doctors, nurses, and medical support staff, recruiting and retaining the best and brightest," he said.
He's backing efforts from the General Assembly to create an Office of the Inspector General, a bill that has previously stalled in prior sessions, updating the state's "unauditable" unemployment insurance system and modernizing permitting processes that have been characterized as restricting the growth of Delaware's housing supply.
In addition to supporting efforts to bring the recreational marijuana industry online, Gov. Meyer reinforced his vision to bring the Port of Wilmington expansion project to fruition after a dispute with the State Senate over the leadership of the project earlier this year.
Gov. Meyer's recommended budget is currently under consideration by the Joint Finance Committee. The committee will start their markup process in late May and bring a final version of the proposed state budget to the General Assembly for approval in June.
