Carney signs slate of bills
Gov. John Carney wasted no time signing a slate of spending bills for his last time June 30, to the total tune of more than $7 billion.
The state’s operating budget for fiscal year 2025 came in at $6.1 billion. It includes teacher raises and Opportunity Funding to help students.
The capital budget for construction and other improvements is $1.1 billion, and the grants-in-aid bill for community groups and organizations is $98.4 million. A one-time supplemental appropriation bill is $168 million.
Carney also signed Senate Bill 270, which codifies the Budget Stabilization Fund – a hallmark of Carney’s administration designed to set limits to government spending. The fund – to be used in times of economic downturn – is expected to grow from $410.1 million to $469 million for the upcoming budget year.
Carney also signed the contentious hospital bill passed by the General Assembly to create a Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board. Proponents say the new board is necessary to rein in healthcare costs, while opponents said they were uncomfortable with essentially a government takeover of a private company’s budget.
Along the lines of gun safety, Carney made it law to have a permit to purchase a handgun, improve storage of guns, and improve ammunition storage to prevent theft.
On the environment, Carney signed into law an offshore wind procurement bill and one to electrify the state fleet of vehicles.
Awaiting governor action
• HS 1 for HB 293 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and passed the House with 34 votes and seven absent April 18. It would require that the Department of Elections ensure that polling places are accessible to voters with disabilities and elderly voters. It allows exceptions for states of emergency as determined by the election commissioner, or for circumstances in which no accessible polling place in a particular polling area is available and the election commissioner ensures that those voters impacted are provided with an alternative accessible polling place or alternative means for casting a ballot upon advance request.
• HB 279 with HA 1 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 and passed the House March 12 39-1 with one absent requiring when a new school is constructed or a major renovation is undertaken, the construction or renovation must include certain safety features, including a secured vestibule and the installation of “ballistic resistant glass or other ballistic resistant materials” in certain areas of the school.
• HB 355 passed the Senate 16-5 June 25 and the House March 28 with 38 votes and three absent to provide legal protections for financial institutions and other entities that provide financial or accounting services to cannabis-related businesses that are licensed or registered under Delaware law. Specifically, it clarifies that banks, credit unions, armored car services, and providers of accounting services are not subject to prosecution under Delaware law merely by providing lawful services to licensed businesses engaged in the production, distribution and sale of cannabis in Delaware. This act aims to facilitate the operation of cannabis-related businesses by helping to ensure that such businesses have access to necessary financial and accounting services.
• HB 382 unanimously passed the Senate June 25 and passed the House May 23 with 38 votes and three absent to require that public school students receive a vision screening, including a test for color blindness, in kindergarten. Students must also receive screenings at appropriate intervals in grades 1-12, to be determined by the Department of Education.
• SB 194 passed the House 39-1 with one absent to allow pharmacists, under protocol approved by the Division of Public Health, to provide HIV pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis treatments. The bill passed the Senate March 28 by a 16-5 vote.
• HB 401 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and the House June 13 to require the Division of Public Health provide the results of lead screenings or tests to school nurses and require contracts or computer upgrades to include lead results.
• SA 1 for SB 197 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 to require state agencies purchase only native plants, including cultivars and hybrids of native plants, in the development of new landscaped areas and in the rehabilitation of existing landscaped areas beginning Jan. 1, 2026. The bill uanimously passed the Senate Jan. 25.
• SB 251 with SA 1 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 and unanimously passed the Senate April 24 to revamp and rename the Delaware Institute of Veterinary Medical Education to the Delaware Veterinary Medicine Education Advisory Council, and provides the council work with both the Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture to establish a robust program that assists Delaware students interested in practicing veterinary medicine, encourages the students to return to Delaware to practice, and develops programs of education and training in veterinary medicine-related fields and research.
• SB 297 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 and unanimously passed the Senate May 21 to acknowledge the importance of diversity and inclusivity in education by requiring the Department of Education to update content standards and regulations using a nonexhaustive list of racial, ethnic and cultural groups.
• SB 302 passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 and unanimously passed the Senate June 11 to allow a licensed brewery-pub located within the premises of a public golf course to apply to the commissioner for a license to sell alcoholic beverages to patrons of the golf course if the brewery-pub and public golf course share common ownership.
• SB 320, sponsored by Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, passed the House with 40 votes and one absent June 26 and unanimously passed the Senate June 12 to create a new license category of speech/language pathology assistant that is licensed and regulated by the Board of Speech/Language Pathologists, Audiologists and Hearing Aid Dispensers.
• HB 190 with HA 1 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and passed the House with 39 votes and two absent April 16 to update the current law relating to the Spay Neuter Fund and the administration of that fund to make it easier to administer the fund and animal population control programs.
• HS 2 for HB 252 unanimously passed the Senate June 26 and passed the House March 19 with 37 votes and four absent to grant graduates of the Delaware Institute of Higher Education teacher residency program one year of experience credit in addition to any other experience. The goal is to incentivize a new graduate who has completed the yearlong Delaware residency program to stay and teach in Delaware by elevating their starting pay grade level by giving them one year of experience credit.
