Gov. Matt Meyer said he’ll finish a review of the Grant in Aid budget bill within the next week.
It's the last of the state’s three money bills awaiting Meyer's approval, the other two being the operating budget and bond bill.
Usually, all three budget bills are signed quickly at the end of session or shortly after. At three weeks after session, Meyer is taking a different approach.
Last week he signed the bond bill with a line-item veto on funding for Legislative Hall renovations after a review of the capital spending measure.
He assured that his signature on Grants-in-Aid is coming, but offered no insight on if more line-item vetoes are coming. The bill was filed five days before session ended, but Meyer takes issue with it passing the House on the last day of session at 5:32 am.
"Passing legislation in the middle of the night where Delawareans have no idea what's going on," he said. "You have a governor who's going to review every word of every line of actions taken like that."
Meyer has taken his time this year with Grant-in-Aid funding, which goes to volunteer fire companies, senior centers and various nonprofits in Delaware.
While Meyer reviews it, millions of dollars in funding for senior centers, fire companies is on hold, including nearly a million dollars for veterans organizations. Meyer says he’s sensitive to that.
"It's critical funding," Meyer said. "We will make sure that those institutions that need the funding get the funding."
The funds allocated this year total more than $99 million– nearly $14 million more than Meyer recommended in January.
