Why Should Delaware Care?
The annual State of the State address, the local equivalent to a president’s State of the Union, is arguably a governor’s most consequential speech of the year, providing a roadmap for where the state government will go next. In his address, Gov. Matt Meyer leaned into themes of affordability and public education reform.
In a shout-out-filled “State of the State” address, Gov. Matt Meyer touted key policy wins from his first year in office and began laying the foundation of a second-year agenda that puts affordability at the forefront.
Topics like reforming education funding, improving health care access and addressing the state’s ongoing housing crisis took center stage during Meyer’s nearly hour-long speech on Thursday.
But the state’s first-in-a-generation property reassessment, an issue that sparked resident and business outcry, special legislative sessions and investigative committee hearings, was not mentioned at all. And neither was the topic of immigration.
Though Meyer alluded to the issue, and to protecting the most vulnerable Delawareans, he did not expressly discuss the impacts that the national uptick in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity has had on Delawareans.
But Meyer did call out the work of lawmakers and state leaders across both political parties frequently throughout the speech, striking a conciliatory and collaborative tone after a thorny relationship with the General Assembly during his first year in office.
Here are some of the biggest moments from Meyer’s second State of the State address:
Tackling the affordability crisis
In a moment that received a standing ovation, Meyer called for the Public Service Commission, which regulates state utilities to ensure fair market prices in an industry with no competition, not to approve any more electricity rate increases proposed by Delmarva Power.
The comment was just one example of Meyer’s drilling down on rising costs across multiple sectors, and how they are impacting Delawareans.
He also discussed the state’s lack of affordable housing – a 20,000-unit shortage, Meyer said.
To address this shortage, Meyer outlined plans to remove “red tape” that he said makes up nearly a third of construction costs today by streamlining the state’s permitting processes.
To accomplish this goal, Meyer said he plans to digitize the approval process and collaborate with counties and municipalities.
“Delaware will have the most streamlined, efficient and transparent permitting systems in the country when it comes to addressing our housing crisis,” the governor said.
Addressing health care woes
Tying into his calls for addressing the growing lack of affordability in the state, Meyer touted his work in expanding health care access, especially for Delaware’s rural communities.
Over the next five years, Meyer said, the state will receive more federal grant funding from the Rural Health Transformation Program than ever before in Delaware’s history.
That money ultimately will fund the creation of Delaware’s first medical school, along with a slew of other already earmarked programs that Meyer announced late last year.
When discussing the need to bolster Delawareans’ access to quality health care, Meyer also took aim at the federal government. He called out congressional Republicans for cutting Affordable Care Act subsidies, which he said will only cause health care costs to rise.
It was one of several moments during Meyer’s address where he took jabs at the federal government, though he never expressly mentioned President Donald Trump by name.
Senate Minority Whip Brian Pettyjohn (R-Georgetown) homed in on what he called Meyer’s “partisan attacks,” in a statement released after the speech.
“Civility cannot be something we preach behind closed doors while publicly attacking Republicans in Congress, especially when Delaware’s rural health care expansion is being made possible by federal funding authorized under H.R. 1,” Pettyjohn said of the legislation better known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. “Delaware families deserve solutions, not political finger-pointing.”
Education reforms
Meyer kicked off his speech by reaffirming his support for education reforms in the First State.
He expressly called on the legislature to finalize an updated public education funding formula based on the needs of Delaware’s students, a direct nod to the work of the Public Education Funding Commission (PEFC).
“Let’s finish the job,” Meyer said. “Let’s pass a fair funding formula.”
Delaware’s public education funding currently follows what officials call a unit-count system, which distributes money to districts based on the number of students enrolled.
The PEFC recently approved a hybrid system that would supplement the unit-count with new categories that direct additional dollars to schools with large numbers of low-income students or those who don’t speak English as a first language.
Along with finalizing an updated education funding formula, Meyer also discussed the proposal recently advanced by the Redding Consortium to combine four school districts in northern New Castle County into one.
“Combining districts alone will not deliver more equitable educational opportunities,” Meyer said. “But done right, this could be a major leap forward for equal opportunity in our communities.”
Meyer also touted a recently secured “competitive national grant” that he said will help the state contribute nearly $50 million to early childhood education initiatives over the next year.
Other key moments; looking toward the budget
When discussing rising energy costs, Meyer did not only take aim at Delmarva Power’s proposed rate increases.
The governor also reaffirmed his support for the controversial offshore wind farm proposed off the coast of Ocean City, Md., saying the project by developer US Wind can be part of the solution to Delaware’s energy cost crisis. Meyer also said the state should continue working toward building its capacity for nuclear energy.
During his speech, Meyer also teased that his first proposed budget – which he will formally unveil next week – would not exceed 5% growth from last year. That would be a significant decrease after years of ballooning spending that have reached a high of more than 9%. He also said it includes nearly $65 million in cost savings.
He called the budget proposal a return to manageable growth.
Meyer did not provide many more details when speaking to reporters after his address, instead pointing to next week’s unveiling and saying he worked to ensure that every penny was “spent as efficiently as possible.”