Delaware lawmakers give final approval to budget bills for new fiscal year starting Saturday
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Delaware lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to budget bills for the new fiscal year starting Saturday.
House members voted unanimously for a $1.4 billion capital budget for construction, maintenance and transportation projects. The spending plan received unanimous approval in the Senate earlier this week.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in both chambers voted for a $72 million package of grants to community organizations, nonprofit groups and volunteer fire companies. Carney proposed a grants package of $59.8 million, but the fiscal 2024 grants bill exceeds the record $69.4 million package for fiscal 2023.
Friday’s votes follow earlier passage of an operating budget of more than $5.6 billion, an increase of roughly 10% over the previous year’s. That does not include a separate budget supplement totaling $194.5 million in one-time funds.
Democratic Gov. John Carney was expected to sign all four spending bills later in the day.
The operating budget is $124.5 million higher than what Carney proposed in January, while the one-time supplement is $130 million less than what he recommended.
The change in the supplemental bill represents a decision to address a deficit in the state’s group health insurance plan with recurring operating funds over several years, rather than a one-time lump sum. As a result, lawmakers added $48.6 million to the operating budget for group health insurance premiums.
The second major change to Carney’s recommended operating budget is an increase of $48.7 million to address expected growth in Medicaid expenditures. That’s in addition to $69.1 million in one-time funds for Medicaid in the supplemental bill, which also includes $51 million for state retiree health benefits.
The budget bill includes wage hikes for state employees depending on their pay grades. Workers making less than $50,000 a year will see increases between 7% and 9%, while those making roughly $100,000 or more will get a 3% hike. Teachers, school counselors and school librarians will get salary increases of 9%.
Government workers previously received wage hikes of 2% to 9% this year.
The 2024 budget also includes more than $100 million in additional funding for Medicaid, $29 million to meet projected school enrollment growth and $10 million to increase subsidies for child care providers. It establishes a $15 minimum wage for full-time state employees.
Lawmakers also approved more than $4 million in initial funding to reflect passage of bills legalizing recreational marijuana use and authorizing a state-licensed, regulated marijuana industry. Carney allowed the legislation to become law without his signature after vetoing a legalization bill last year.
The capital budget includes $354 million for transportation projects, which is $32 million more than Carney recommended. Lawmakers also added $45 million for the state’s “community reinvestment fund,” half of the $90 million that was allocated for this year. Carney’s proposal included no money for the fund, which provides grants to county and local governments, and nonprofit organizations for capital projects.