HB 150, HB 94, HB 368: Immigration protections poised to become law
One of these – HB 150–received Democratic and Republican support. It blocks civil arrests outside of courthouses or Department of Labor Offices.
State Senator Laura Sturgeon said it protects immigrants and undocumented people, who might fear being detained if they attend legal or labor hearings.
Sturgeon said "injured workers come to make their case" at industrial accident board proceedings and "they deserve to be able to walk into that hearing without fear."
Delaware hasn’t seen ICE agents make civil arrests outside court and labor proceedings, according to Sturgeon. But it’s happened in other states.
Two other immigration protection measures passed the Senate along party lines.
One restricts local law enforcement from cooperating with federal agencies conducting immigration enforcement activities at schools or churches without permission from the state's Attorney General.
Another directs law enforcement not to comply with unofficial or nonjudicial detainer requests from ICE. All three bills head to Gov. Meyer.
SB 322: school funding reform
An overhaul of how school districts collect property taxes moves to Governor Matt Meyer’s desk.
The referendum reform legislation does away with the 10% school property tax increase districts are currently allowed to implement following property reassessment.
Instead, districts can now increase tax rates by 2% annually as long as a district’s revenue is not more than 10 times what it has in operational reserves.
The measure passed the State Senate with bipartisan support, but House Republicans met the measure with skepticism. State Rep. Bryan Shupe said the bill’s guardrail based on a district’s cash reserves doesn’t account for income.
He sees this as an issue in areas of high growth, like Sussex County. He said if growth is high enough that it "outpaces the cost" then districts shouldn't be able to still implement the 2% rate increase.
But Nick Johnson with the Delaware Association of School Administrators said the 2% raise is associated with inflating costs. And new taxpayers and properties "need to pay their burden of the taxation."
And if the rate didn't account for growth, "there's an inequitable share that would be passed to your already existing constituents, your already existing taxpayers within your districts."
It passes the house with 29 yes votes, 8 no votes, 2 not voting and 2 absent. SOC
SB 300: Gun vendor rules head back to senate
A bill adding new requirements and a new state license for Delaware’s gun vendors passes the House, but amendments send it back to the State Senate.
The legislation directs Delaware State Police to create a Delaware-specific license to sell deadly weapons, adding to one overseen by the ATF. It also adds requirements for state background checks, security measures, and record keeping.
But two amendments were added. One came from House sponsor State Rep. Mara Gorman, who said part of it specifies how the Delaware State Police will create state license requirements.
The Delaware State Police will administer the licensure and oversight, she said, "to develop regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, which includes a public engagement requirement."
The other amendment from GOP Jeff Spiegelman exempts people with Delaware Concealed Carry Permits from obtaining an initial background check.
Spiegelman voted against bill but thanked Gorman for working with him to add amendments.
He said 'no' votes from the house republicans, "do not reflect a desire to make sure that every yahoo has a firearm."
The bill's meant to guard against straw purchases by holding vendors accountable.
"We're just not sure that this is the way of doing it," Spiegelman said.
The bill moves back to the senate with only Democratic support.
