A possible restructure to a group that has significant sway over state employee and retiree healthcare will keep the treasurer as a member.
The SEBC has 14 members. It’s chaired by the Office of Management and Budget director, Brian Maxwell.
The bill proposes the two SEBC committee retiree representatives be allowed to have designees attend meetings for them, something other members can already do.
It also suggests demoting the Office of management and budget director from its position as SEBC chair and placing Delaware’s Healthcare Commissioner at the helm.
Additionally, it proposed removing the treasurer, too. But state treasurer Colleen Davis said at the SEBC’s meeting on May 11 that she didn’t OK that change and she didn’t get outreach about SB 289.
Maxwell, who worked with the bill sponsor, responded that he spoke with her on “multiple occasions” about the bill.
“You did not talk to me about the fact that I would be removed as treasurer,” she said.
“You recall the conversation differently than I did,” Maxwell said.
The treasurer is up for election this year. And Davis said she’s concerned about the seat’s removal from SEBC before a new treasurer is in place.
“This won't be my role very soon,” she said.“So, I think it's odd that you would advocate to remove an elected official who represents other people as part of a broader population.”
“I don't know why you don't call this conversation,” Maxwell said.
The two agreed to discuss the topic further offline.
Later that week, Senator Brian Townsend, the billsponsor, presented a substitute that keeps the treasurer on the SEBC.
He said since working with Maxwell earlier, “There had been additional conversations, perhaps slightly different sentiments arose. So, we put in a substitute with regard to how the membership changes would come about.”
The bill passed in theSenatewithout debate andheadsto the house.
The measure’s original intent, to allow SEBC’s two retiree representatives to have designees attend meetings in their place, remains intact.
Townsend spoke to this on the senate floor. He received a request from SEBC memberKaren Peterson, who’s a former state senator. She represents interests of state retirees on the committee and asked that her role be allowed to have an approved designee attend meetings.
“(Peterson) many months ago brought to our attention that those appointees, unlike the other members, do not have designee rights,” he said. “And that this is particularly important to correct with regard to upcoming very lengthy multi-day meetings of the group. So, we wanted to make sure they had those designee rights.”
