This story has been updated to reflect comments from House Speaker Melissa-Minor Brown and House Minority Leader Tim Dukes.
Senate Republicans announce they will not vote in favor of Delaware's Bond Bill — an allocation of $977 million for capital projects across the state — unless the House votes against a bill that would override a Sussex County Council decision that is holding up an offshore wind project.
Delaware’s capital improvement bill, which allocates money for infrastructure projects across the state, requires a three-fourths approval in both chambers — in the Senate, that means Democrats need at least one Republican to vote yes on the act.
Republicans don’t oppose the $977 million allocation directly, but it’s one of the only times the minority party has some sway when it comes to advancing their policy agenda.
This year’s bargaining chip: a bill that would override a Sussex County Council decision to deny a permit needed by US Wind to proceed with a 114-turbine offshore Maryland wind project — the bill already passed in the Senate.
“That bill right now is our highest priority to make sure that it doesn't advance this year. You know, again, we're expecting a decision by the Superior Court, probably in the August time frame," Senate Minority Whip Brian Pettyjohn (R-Georgetown) said.
Sen. Pettyjohn is referring to US Wind’s decision to sue Sussex County Council over the permit denial.
Sussex County Council voted four to one to deny US Wind the permit in December, despite Sussex County’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommending the application's approval.
The permit would allow US Wind to build an electrical substation on a parcel of land next to the decommissioned Indian River Power Plant to serve as the onshore power connection point for the proposed offshore wind farm.
Pettyjohn argues the legislature is exercising unnecessary governmental overreach with Senate Bill 159, which would effectively reverse County Council’s decision.
"Right now, we've got a total of I think four bills throughout the General Assembly that are looking to override the decisions that are made by counties and municipalities and our towns and cities here in Delaware, and it's a dangerous road to go down, and I think we need to take a pause, consider the long-term effects of making those types of zoning decisions here in this building, rather than those zoning decisions being made in Georgetown or Dover or Wilmington or any of the other towns throughout Delaware," Sen. Pettyjohn said.
Senate Bill 159 was not on the House agenda for Thursday, meaning its last chance to pass before the end of session is Monday. If it passes in the House, the bill will head to Gov. Matt Meyer for signature.
Sen. Pettyjohn says if the House does not pass the offshore wind bill, his caucus would be comfortable voting in favor of the Bond Bill.
When asked if there is appetite from the House to agree to the compromise, Sen. Pettyjohn said: “We'll see, you know— coming into the end of June, a lot of times there's discussions on a lot of the issues and this is something that is very important to our caucus and many people in Sussex County."
Speaker of the House Melissa Minor-Brown (D-New Castle) says as of Thursday, the offshore wind bill is on the House's agenda for Monday. She says its up to the Senate to negotiate in order to get the Bond Bill to the finish line.
"I hope that they can work it out in the Senate, and send the Bond Bill over here by Monday so that we can get it passed and deliver for our constituents," Speaker Minor-Brown said. "I'm not going to be part of those conversations."
If the speaker opts not to pull the bill from Monday's agenda, it would be up to State Sen. Stephanie Hansen (D-Middletown), the sponsor of Senate Bill 159, to kill her own bill to appease Senate Republicans.
House Republican Leader Tim Dukes (R-Laurel) says his caucus is not planning to make their own deals regarding bills they'd like to see passed in order to vote yes on the Bond Bill, but he does plan to stand in solidarity with the Senate Republicans' request.
The office of the governor did not respond to a request for comment — Gov. Matt Meyer must sign off on the Bond Bill as its last step.
If the Bond Bill does not pass on Monday, a special session will have to be called to continue debate on the legislation.
What Bond Committee approved vs. what Gov. Meyer recommended
The final bill the Bond Committee sent to the legislature for approval included several funding boosts from what Gov. Meyer initially recommended.
"I'd first like to thank [Joint Finance Committee Vice Chair Trey Paradee] and the chair of the committee [State Rep. Kim Williams] for sending over an additional $80 million in cash that was rescinded under the Gov. Meyer budget. So, we really appreciate that. We would not been able to get where we got without that, so we got a lot of good stuff in this budget," Bond Committee Chair Jack Walsh (D-Stanton) said.
Gov. Meyer’s “budget reset” did not include $2.9 million requested by the Veterans Home for minor capital improvements, a new roof for the facility and the construction of a courtyard.
During the Delaware Department of State’s (DOS) budget hearing in April, Sec. Patibanada-Sanchez said ultimately “very difficult decisions had to be made,” and noted the Veterans Home roof does not have any present defects and the department would make emergency repairs if needed.
But lawmakers opted to include the $2.9 million in their final allocations. The Bond Committee also approved $23.9 million for the Subdivision Street Pavement Management Fund, despite Gov. Meyer recommending only $10 million for the program.
At the DOS budget hearing, Sen. Walsh noted the initial goal was to bump the program up to $30 million by fiscal year 26 to pave roads across the state identified as in “very poor” or “poor” condition.
Additionally, Gov. Meyer did not recommend any funding for the City of Wilmington Land Bank, which aids in affordable housing efforts, or the Delaware Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund, which provides financial support to new and existing sports facilities across the state.
The Bond Bill allocates $5 million and $10 million to each fund, respectively.
Other highlights include $20 million for the Community Reinvestment Fund, which is used for community redevelopment, revitalization and investment capital projects to improve the economic, culture, historical and recreational health of Delaware communities.
The Delaware State Housing Authority is poised to receive $5 million for the Delaware Workforce Housing Program — a $2 million bump from Gov. Meyer’s ask, $19 million for the Affordable Rental Housing Program, $4 million for the Strong Neighborhoods Housing Fund — double the governor’s request — and $10 million for Urban Redevelopment.
The bill allocates $5 million to the Downtown Dover Partnership, which is working to make Downtown Dover a “cultural, tourist and retail” destination – this is $3 million more than what Gov. Meyer recommended. The Riverfront Development Corporation, which does similar work for the Riverfront neighborhood in Wilmington, is looking at a $9.75 million allocation.
The Delaware Prosperity Partnership, an economic development agency that works to attract, grow and retain businesses in Delaware, is set to receive $2.35 million.
The Delaware Strategic Fund nests within Wilmington’s Office of Economic Development and is the primary funding source to support business retention and expansion through grants and low-interest loans – the Bond Committee allocated $5 million for the fund.
All in all, the bill approved by the Senate recommends $977 million in capital spending, which is $40 million more than Gov. Meyer’s fiscal year 2026 recommendation.
Senate approves state operating budget, heads to Gov. Meyer for signature
While the Bond Bill sits in limbo, the state's $6.58 billion operating budget cleared the Senate 18-3 on Thursday.
The multi-billion dollar budget includes at least a 2% raise for all education employees — furthering the goal to raise teacher starting salaries to $60,000 — and a 2% raise for state merit employees.
Other highlights include $3.2 million for universal free school breakfast in public schools, $8 million to create an Early Literacy Emergency Fund for young learners and $40 million in authorization to receive additional federal Medicaid funding to address statewide health needs.
Large chunks of change head to state employee benefits, including $61.2 million for Other Post-Employment Benefits Investments, which funds healthcare for state retirees and will reduce long-term liability, as well as $28 million to cover the state share of state employee and state retiree health insurance premiums.
Similar to opposition expressed by Republicans in the House, some GOP senators made comments condemning the state's increase in spending while revenue growth is projected to slow substantially in next few years.
"We have got to look at the add-ons, the fiscal note add-ons, the 'want to's' that we all want — I'm guilty of — that we can't afford," Joint Finance Committee member State Sen. Eric Buckson (R-Dover) said. "That no matter how important they are that we can't afford. That we've got to pause, stop, catch up, because if not, then we're going to have to answer the question, 'What are you cutting?'"
Sen. Buckson ultimately voted in favor of the bill.
The state operating budget now awaits final approval from Gov. Meyer.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
