Why Should Delaware Care?
Government works best when its citizens are knowledgeable and engaged. Delaware’s government has scores of commissions, working groups, agencies and legislative committees. All must hold meetings that are open to the public. Below we highlight a few of those meetings that are happening this week.
Below are some of the most important or interesting public meetings happening around the state this week.
- Legislative session resumes for final stretch
- Sussex County to vote on housing rules
- Dover Hope Center to be discussed
Legislature returns for final sprint
The Delaware General Assembly will reconvene on Tuesday, following a two week scheduled break for budget hearings. This week begins what is likely to be an eventful final push for lawmakers ahead of the end of this year’s legislative session on June 30.
Legislators have just 10 working days left to consider several substantive bills, the most important being a nearly $7 billion state budget for the 2027 fiscal year that begins July 1.
Any bills that do not pass through both the House and Senate before the legislature gavels out at the end of the month will effectively be dead in the water. They would need to be formally reintroduced next January, after the start of a new General Assembly, in order to be considered again.
Aside from the state’s budget, other key bills that will likely be considered over the next three weeks include a slate of property tax and assessment regulations, primary healthcare reforms and more.
On Tuesday afternoon, the House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill that would bolster mental health and addiction treatment by requiring insurers to improve the number of providers in their networks. If passed on Tuesday, that bill – Senate Bill 22 – would go to Gov. Matt Meyer’s desk to be signed into law.
Aside from SB 22, lawmakers are set to debate more than 130 pieces of legislation both in various committee hearings and on the House and Senate floors this week.
📍 The Delaware General Assembly is set to reconvene at 2 p.m. Tuesday inside Legislative Hall, located at 411 Legislative Ave. in Dover. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, scroll through the “What’s Happening” tab here.
Sussex to vote on affordable housing rules
Sussex County Council will vote Tuesday on whether to allow higher rents and more density in the county’s affordable housing program.
The ordinance would raise limits on rent, and lower the required number of affordable units for a housing development to qualify for a county program that incentivizes developers to build affordable rental units, specifically in areas near the Delaware beaches.
The county is facing pressure from the state to address the growing affordable housing shortage around the county’s popular beaches. This vote could be the first major action the county has taken on the issue in years.
📍 The Sussex County Council is scheduled to meet at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday inside the Sussex County Administrative Office Building, located at 2 The Circle in Georgetown. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here. To submit comments about the proposal before the meeting, click here.
Dover Hope Center to be discussed
The plan to turn a Delaware State University dorm off U.S. Route 13 into the state’s second Hope Center has the potential to make an impact on central Delaware’s homeless population.
The project, which would sit at the front of a busy commercial plaza, has raised some questions from the public though.
During Dover’s Tuesday night Council of the Whole meeting, city leaders will hear from Matt Heckles, the director of the Delaware State Housing Authority, regarding the project.
📍 The Dover Council of the Whole is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday inside City Hall, located at 15 Loockerman Plaza. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here.
