Gov. Matt Meyer vetoes two bills related to marijuana dispensary zoning and labor laws, deepening the rift between himself and state lawmakers.
The two vetoes announced Thursday evening are the governor's first formal rejections of legislation as Delaware’s chief executive.
Senate Bill 75, which has been long anticipated within the marijuana business community, would have limited countywide zoning restrictions on marijuana dispensaries.
The bill was largely a response to Sussex County’s de facto ban on marijuana retail stores when County Council implemented a 3-mile buffer zone between marijuana retail stores and sensitive locations like schools, child care facilities, drug treatment facilities, libraries and parks.
New Castle County opted for a lesser, but still restrictive, 1,000-foot radius between sensitive locations and dispensaries.
SB 75 would have limited countywide buffer zones to no more than 500 feet, prohibited dispensaries from operating only within a half mile of another retail marijuana store, as well as implement other regulations relating to operation hours.
“I support building a well-regulated, adult-use cannabis market that works statewide. The way to do that is to work with our counties as partners, not by stripping communities of their voice in where these stores belong,” Gov. Meyer said in a statement. “SB 75 would override local judgment on the location and operation of cannabis establishments. Let’s move forward together—respecting local zoning and exploring revenue-sharing to offset local costs—so this market succeeds and earns public trust in all three counties.”
Gov. Meyer sent the General Assembly his own draft legislation that would allow for each county to receive "an amount equal to that of 4.5% of the total marijuana tax money from the stores located within its jurisdiction from the prior month" — the state currently collects a 15% tax on marijuana products.
SB 75's sponsor State Sen. Trey Paradee (D-Dover) says the veto ultimately proves the governor to be "untrustworthy," explaining he and Gov. Meyer had struck a deal over getting the legislation across the finish line in late June.
"I agreed that I would support the county's sharing revenue from retail marijuana sales, and in return, he agreed that he would take possession of the bill, and then he would allow it to pass into law after 10 days without his signature," Sen. Paradee said. "In my book, he lied to me. And not only did he lie to me, but he lied to the public."
Sen. Paradee further explains initial talks around implementing a tax revenue share with the county were around 2 or 3%, not 4.5% as the governor is proposing.
"The governor needs to start thinking and acting like a governor, and stop thinking and acting like a county administrator. And maybe if he hadn't put New Castle County in such a fiscal hole, as he walked out the door, maybe he wouldn't be trying to get them [the counties] nearly a third of the revenue. The counties and the municipalities do not share in alcohol taxes. They don't share in cigarette taxes. But I guess this is the governor's way of trying to fill the fiscal hole that he left New Castle County in on his way out the door," Sen. Paradee said.
Georgetown and Seaford are the only two municipalities in Sussex County allowing recreational marijuana business, leaving real estate options for the ten retail dispensary license holders scarce.
Sen. Paradee says even the small amount of land zoned in Georgetown for marijuana dispensaries is not "really amenable to retail locations," noting they are heavy industry parcels in business parks.
Seaford has yet to settle on its zoning regulations for dispensaries.
"This is going to set [dispensaries] back another year, and they've already been delayed over a year, and it's just so wrong. But beyond that, this is just an incredible handout to gangs and cartels. This just helps the illegal market, but it also helps the the multi-state operators who currently operate in Delaware, who were able to convert their medical dispensaries into recreational, they now have an oligopoly," Sen. Paradee said. "Delaware consumers are going to pay a higher price because of this, but it's just incredibly frustrating. I come from a place where a deal is a deal, and your word is your word, and obviously the governor is not a person like that, and that's unfortunate that that's who we have as our governor right now."
When asked for a response to Sen. Paradee's remarks, a spokesperson for Gov. Meyer said: "The Delaware Way is in the past, and Governor Meyer is focused on the future."
SB 75 passed with 25 yes votes in the House and 13 yes votes in the Senate — the exact margins that would be needed to constitute a three-fifths majority, which would override the veto.
"I think we could easily override the veto in the Senate — House might be a little bit more of a chore, but we had 25 votes in the House, and that would do it. So we'll see what happens in January," Sen. Paradee said.
The governor also rejected Senate Bill 63, which would prohibit an employer from improperly classifying an individual who is an employee as an independent contractor.
The bill summary calls these types of improper classification "unfair to employees" because it violates state and federal laws related to income tax withholding, unemployment insurance, wage laws and workers’ compensation.
But Gov. Meyer believes SB 63 could produce unintended consequences for small, new and minority-owned businesses and nonprofits, "without addressing the root cause of wage theft."
“Every Delawarean deserves a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. I support strong enforcement against wage theft, and we have tools under current law to do it,” the governor said in a statement. “SB 63 risks making good actors responsible for the wrongs of others and could raise costs and reduce opportunity for small and minority-owned contractors and nonprofits that build affordable homes in our state. We’ll take a better path: strengthen enforcement, resource the Department of Labor, and bring workers, employers, and advocates together to deliver real, lasting results. I’ve asked [the Delaware Department of Labor] to bring me recommendations by December 31.”
The Delaware Hispanic Commission (DHC) also raised formal concerns over the bill in June, stating in a letter to Gov. Meyer: "While we support the goals of SB 63 in curbing worker misclassification and ensuring compliance with labor laws, the bill’s current structure creates real risks for our immigrant and limited-English-speaking communities. Many Hispanic and Latino individuals especially those in construction and landscaping operate as independent contractors out of necessity. This bill could significantly limit their opportunities by discouraging general contractors from working with them due to the risk of joint liability."
DHC also expressed concerns over the bill's proposed registration system that could be "misused to identify undocumented workers," which it says raises "deep concerns within our community, where fear of enforcement often prevents hardworking residents from seeking opportunities or engaging with public agencies."
The bill's sponsors, Sen. Jack Walsh (D-Stanton) and House Majority Whip Ed Osienski (D-Newark) issued a joint statement over the veto, calling the rejection "disheartening" and a choice "to side with powerful contractor lobbies instead of the thousands of honest workers."
"This legislation, which Governor Meyer has chosen to veto just days before Labor Day, simply prohibits employers from incorrectly classifying employees as independent contractors. This legislation is designed to ensure fairness for those workers around the issues of income tax withholding, unemployment insurance, wage laws, and workers’ compensation," the statement reads. "Now more than ever, Delawareans deserve pro-worker leadership. Workers in our state — union and non-union alike — cannot afford to have their elected leaders show any hesitation on their commitment to expanding worker protections in the face of attacks from the Trump Administration."
The two lawmakers also called out the Meyer administration for maintaining a history of "opposing collective bargaining and chipping away at other central workers’ protections."
Sen. Walsh and Rep. Osienski are calling for an override of the veto — similar to SB 75, the bill passed with almost exactly a three-fifths majority in both chambers, which would be needed again to reverse the governor's decision.
Frustration from state lawmakers with the Meyer administration has become a pattern within the last year, including continuing controversy over the proposed Port of Wilmington Edgemoor expansion project — which included the need for an opinion from the Delaware Supreme Court to settle a dispute between lawmakers and the governor — questions from legislators over the governor's involvement in recent property reassessment turmoil and the inability to get proposed tax bracket increases across the finish line during the latest legislative session.
"The governor's not making many friends these days. And you know, in order to be an effective leader, especially in Legislative Hall, it's really important to be able to build consensus. And to build consensus, you've got to have friends, and he just seems to continually make misstep after misstep after misstep, and certainly being dishonest and backtracking on deals is not a good way to ingratiate himself to key members of of the Delaware Senate," Sen. Paradee said. "I mean, especially, you look at Jack Walsh, he's the chair of Bond, I’m the chair of the Joint Finance Committee. We have a lot of important work to do, and we'd like to be team players with this governor, but he's obviously somebody that we cannot trust."
The Bond Committee and the Joint Finance Committee are two of the state's three budget-writing committees, in charge of allocating close to $1 billion for state capital improvements and $6.58 billion for Delaware's operating budget, respectively.
Unless a special session is called, an attempt to override the two vetoes won't be taken up until January 2026.
