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.
- Legislature to tackle energy prices, more
- Wilmington to discuss next moves on homelessness
- Final state budget numbers released
- Juneteenth closes offices
Lawmakers to tackle electricity costs, continue end-of-session sprint
Beginning on Tuesday, lawmakers will have just seven working days – about two full weeks – left in the 2026 legislative session to consider a bevy of bills with potentially wide-ranging impacts, including electricity costs for Delawareans.
The Senate will consider a bill on Tuesday that could further regulate the state’s largest electricity provider, Delmarva Power, while giving more oversight power to the state’s energy regulator.
Senate Bill 326, sponsored by Sen. Stephanie Hansen (D-Middletown), aims to rein in electricity costs by limiting how much money Delmarva can recoup from ratepayers based on its non-essential infrastructure upgrades. The electric provider often uses the cost of infrastructure as its reason for raising rates on customers.
Hansen’s bill also places more oversight on the utility by the state’s Public Service Commission, including transparency and audit requirements.
📍 The Senate is set convene at 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, inside Legislative Hall, located at 411 Legislative Ave. in Dover. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here.
The General Assembly will also consider more than 100 bills across nearly two dozen different committees this week. Some of those bills will then be voted on by the full House and Senate, but those agendas have yet to be released.
Some of the most interesting bills set to be considered this week include controversial housing regulations, a proposal to change how Delaware amends its constitution, reforms to the state’s free and discounted healthcare programs, and a bill that would limit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ability to conduct arrests at certain locations.
📍 The General Assembly is set convene beginning at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday inside Legislative Hall, located at 411 Legislative Ave. in Dover. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here and scroll through the “What’s Happening” tab.
Wilmington anxiously watches homelessness developments
The City of Wilmington is scheduled to evict any remaining homeless residents of the Christina Park encampment by sundown Monday, June 15, which has already led some advocates to organize a protest.
Meanwhile, the City Council will discuss how to move forward in addressing the issues during a subcommittee meeting Tuesday night.
Mayor John Carney has been pushing the local legislators to make a choice in whether to pursue a tiny home project in the city, which could provide better shelter while utilizing federal funding, but has drawn local pushback.
The legislators will also discuss the future of a contract with Friendship House, a nonprofit that has worked with the Christina Park encampment to provide services and connect residents to transitional housing.
📍 The Wilmington Homelessness Subcommittee will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, at the first floor conference room of the Louis L. Redding City/County Building, located at 800 N. French St. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here.
Final state budget numbers to be released
The Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council, an independent group of financial analysts, advisors and business executives who set the state’s official budget forecast, will finalize the Fiscal Year 2027 numbers during a Monday meeting.
DEFAC’s May meeting already gave good news to state legislators who craft Delaware’s annual budgets, adding nearly $200 million to the latest revenue tally with just a few weeks left. Historically, the June update is a comparatively minor adjustment up or down in revenue expectations.
The figures will allow the General Assembly to approve a final budget ahead of their annual June 30 deadline though.
DEFAC has also become the site of controversy in recent months over data related to Delaware’s corporate franchise industry and whether the so-called “DExit” movement is actually harming financial returns.
📍 DEFAC will meet from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, June 15, at the Buena Vista Conference Center, located at 661 S. DuPont Highway near New Castle For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here.
Juneteenth leads to closures
A reminder that most state, county and municipal offices across Delaware will be closed on Friday, June 19, in recognition of Juneteenth.
After President Joe Biden made the day – which commemorates when the last slaves in Galveston, Texas learned of their emancipation – a federal holiday in 2021, federal offices will also be closed and there will be no mail service.
