Gov. Matt Meyer says he did not make a deal to allow a marijuana zoning bill to become law, but the Senate Democrats chief of staff argues otherwise.
Thursday evening, Gov. Meyer announced his vetoes of Senate Bill 75 and Senate Bill 63, one to limit counties' zoning capabilities in relation to marijuana businesses and another to prohibit an employer from improperly classifying an individual who is an employee as an independent contractor.
SB 75 would have limited countywide buffer zones between marijuana dispensaries and sensitive locations, like schools and drug treatment facilities, to no more than 500 feet.
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.
The zoning decision has left virtually no viable real estate space for the 10 Sussex County retail license holders — five social equity retail license holders and five open retail license holders — to set up shop in the southern part of the state.
Gov. Meyer cited concerns with overriding local judgement as the main driver behind his decision to veto the legislation.
He also attached his own draft legislation to his veto statement 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.
The announcement of SB 75's veto prompted the bill's sponsor, State Sen. Trey Paradee (D-Dover) to say the "governor lied to [him] and proved himself to be untrustworthy."
Sen. Paradee explained that a deal was cut in late June between himself and the governor's Director of Policy and Federal Affairs Liaison John Kane that SB 75 would go into law after 10 days without the governor's signature, and in return, Sen. Paradee would support a bill allowing counties to share some of the revenue from retail marijuana sales.
When asked Friday morning if he agreed to such a deal, Gov. Meyer Responded: "I had no agreement with Sen. Paradee. If selling marijuana 501 feet from your local elementary school is such a big priority for people, then they can override the veto."
When further asked if he was aware of a deal made with Kane, the governor said: "I'm not going to comment. I have no idea what that's about, so I'm not going to comment on it."
Delaware Public Media spoke with Senate Democrats Chief of Staff Jesse Chadderdon for clarity on the deal, which he says was discussed repeatedly prior to the governor's veto.
“It was a deal that ended in a handshake and a hug between the two of them [Sen. Paradee and John Kane]. It was a deal that was discussed at the [communications] level. It was a deal that was discussed between me and John and other members of senior staff, and it was discussed repeatedly when June 30 came and went," Chadderdon said. "I touched base with the governor’s office almost weekly about where things stood with certain bills, and I asked about SB 75, and it was reiterated to me that, yes, that was still the plan. They were just kind of working through operations on their side, that maybe they had to have another conversation with the governor. But there was no indication, frankly, until they picked up the bill last Thursday and suggested they were going to veto it, that there was a problem here.”
“I think we’re either dealing with a situation where the governor is being unfortunately dishonest with the public about what happened or he is throwing staff under the bus in a way that I think is really unfortunate," Chadderdon said. "Communication is a big deal, and there’s an assumption that when you’re saying something, particularly in the context of negotiation, that you’re speaking for your principal, and that the things that are being said at that meeting are getting back to the principal. And I think in this context, John has sort of been thrust into the spotlight here, but there were conversations that I had as chief of staff with other members of the team beyond John that suggested other people were aware of this deal."
The other bill Gov. Meyer formally rejected, SB 63, is sponsored by State Sen. Jack Walsh (D-Stanton).
Sen. Walsh issued a joint statement with the bill's co-sponsor, House Majority Whip Ed Osienski (D-Newark), saying, "it is so disheartening to see a Democratic governor stand in blatant opposition to local laborers and Delawareans."
The bill would have prohibited employers from incorrectly classifying employees as independent contractors, which the sponsors argue is a way "to ensure fairness for those workers around the issues of income tax withholding, unemployment insurance, wage laws, and workers’ compensation."
In his veto statement, Gov. Meyer expressed concern that SB 63 could produce unintended consequences for small, new, and minority-owned businesses and nonprofits, without addressing the root cause of wage theft.
When asked about Sen. Walsh and Rep. Osienski's remarks that the veto represents a lack of solidarity with Delaware workers, the governor responded: "That's just false. If undermining small minority contractors is a priority for you, then go ahead and override the veto. The bill makes very clear that wage theft is a big problem in our state and actually across the country. We need to make sure we're equipping our Department of Labor with the appropriate resources to enforce it. If the statement is we're not doing a good job enforcing it against subcontractors, so now we'd have to enforce it against subcontractors and contractors, that doesn't make sense to us. We got to make sure we equip our Department of Labor with the tools to do it. Signing a bill that's simply going to undermine minority contractors is not the way forward."
When asked about his thoughts on his relationship with Democratic lawmakers right now, the governor said, "I think it's good."
"No one's getting elected to Legislative Hall, no one's getting elected to governor to just nod and agree with every other elected official. We're going to have disagreements. That's healthy. It's called democracy. It's okay. And ultimately, what happens is, we produce the best result for Delaware, whether with regard to recreational marijuana or our contracting rules in the state, and that's something we should be proud of," Gov. Meyer added.
But Chadderdon argues the Senate Democrats don't feel the same way about their current working relationship with the governor.
“When Sen. Paradee says the governor is untrustworthy, he’s speaking for a number of his colleagues. And when the next day comes, and the governor’s response to that is to essentially double-down and say he has no idea about any deal, I think it enhances the feeling that we’re not always dealing with an honest broker in the governor’s office, and that’s something that we’ve got to figure out how to navigate," Chadderdon said.
“Our job as the legislature going forward is figuring out how we can work with this administration. How we can, if we need to, work around this administration, but still be productive. And I hope that when the smoke clears of this incident and there’s some reflection that happens, this can be a learning experience for how not to handle relations with the legislature, for how not to handle negotiations over a piece of legislation," Chadderdon said, further arguing the governor attaching draft legislation to a veto statement is "not productive," and that talks should have been had during the legislative session when dialogs could have ensued over reaching a compromise.
“Right now, I would say things are definitely not in a great place. There’s not a ton of trust. And I do think it’s on the governor to be part of that solution, a big part of that solution," Chadderdon said.
The governor's office declined a request for comment on Chadderdon's remarks.
