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DE House of Rep. Newsletter – #650 – December 19, 2025

These are the latest articles from the DE House of Representatives:

ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION

• NEWS-OPINION: House Republicans Urge Prudence After State Revenue Estimates Rise
• NEWS: Lawmakers Seek to Coerce Airline for Cooperating with Feds on Deportations
• NEWS: Electricity Prices Rise as Supply Lags Behind Demand
• NEWS: New Bills Introduced Dealing with Public Notification, Marijuana Violations, and Stopping State Pensions for Sex Offenders

NEWS – OPINION

At its meeting earlier this week, the Delaware Economic Financial Advisory Council (DEFAC) issued its latest state revenue estimate for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1st.

According to the non-partisan group, the amount of money flowing into the state’s coffers during FY 2027 that can be appropriated is $7.098 billion—an increase of $365 million from the estimate made two months ago.

About $215 million of the revenue increase was attributed to expected higher corporate income tax collections following the enactment of a new law last month that “decouples” state tax law from federal law, preventing Delaware-based businesses from fully taking advantage of tax breaks for investments to improve production and foster research & development.

House and Senate Republicans opposed eliminating the tax break (House Bill 255), noting that it would divert funds from creating more quality jobs and would increase state spending, which has been on an unsustainable growth trajectory in recent years.

The latest revenue estimates play a huge role in state spending. By law, Delaware budget writers can spend no more than 98% of expected state revenue.

The estimates are made six times each fiscal year. This week’s estimate is the second in the series, but one of the most influential.

The governor’s suggested state operating and capital budgets, which will be unveiled late next month, will be based on this projection. Legislative budget writers will use these spending plans as a starting point when they begin their work in February to craft the final budgets.

The denial of the business tax credits, signed into law last month by the governor after he called legislators into an extraordinary session to pass the bill, significantly increased the amount the governor can spend. Additional factors—projected revenue increases from the franchise tax, business entity fees, and the lottery— further increased the total.

In all, the latest forecast furnishes the governor with $7.098 billion in spendable revenue, a figure that is 7.87% higher than the current state operating budget. Those calculations do not account for the cash required for the state’s other major annual appropriations bills: the capital budget (also known as the Bond Bill) and Grants-in-Aid (providing assistance to nonprofit agencies serving Delawareans).

Despite the one-time revenue bump from the decoupling bill, forecasters predict meager revenue growth in the near term, projecting just 1.3% for the upcoming FY 2027 and 2.7% in FY 2028.

STATEMENT FROM THE HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAUCUS:

“While the latest forecast was welcome news, we continue to urge the governor and our Democratic colleagues who control the budget-writing Joint Finance and Bond Bill committees to take a cautious approach.

“State spending has recently been growing at an unsustainable rate. In FY 2022, we enacted an operating budget of $4.771 billion. Our current FY 2026 budget is $6.580 billion—an increase of more than $1.8 billion, or about 38%, over the four-year period.

“The latest estimate leaves the $366 million Rainy Day Fund and the $469 million Budget Stabilization Fund intact. We advocate for leaving this money untouched and in reserve.

“Our state, nation, and world are facing uncertain economic conditions. While we’re still optimistic for the future, hope is not a successful fiscal strategy.

“We still have four more state revenue estimates this spring, with the last and deciding forecast not being issued until June. As we head into the New Year, let us resolve to adopt prudence as we allocate the taxpayers’ money.”

NEWS:

Lawmakers Seek to Coerce Airline for Cooperating with Feds on Deportations

Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Ray Seigfried and Rep. Mara Gorman, filed legislation this week to discourage the Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA) from engaging in business relationships with companies contracting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport foreign nationals not complying with immigration laws.

In recent months, Avelo Airlines, a commercial airline that serves Wilmington Airport, has contracted with ICE to operate charter flights to transport detainees.

“While it’s true that much of immigration policy is a federal matter, there are levers we can pull here at the state level,” Sen. Seigfried said. “Withholding the fuel tax exemption from companies that are knowingly deporting people without due process is one way that we can make these corporations pay for their complicity.”

The DRBA was established through a compact more than 60 years ago as an independent authority to maintain transportation links between Delaware and New Jersey, operate regional airports, and engage in economic development. In addition to Wilmington Airport, the DRBA manages, finances, and operates the Cape May-Lewes Ferry and the Delaware Memorial Bridge. It does not answer to the Delaware state government.

The first of the two proposals filed this week, Senate Concurrent Resolution 123, urges the DRBA to prohibit the granting of any incentives to businesses in contractual relationships with ICE that facilitate the deportation of individuals who have not been afforded sufficient due process protections.

The two lawmakers have also introduced Senate Bill 207, which seeks to amend two sections of the Delaware Code:

• One provision of the bill would prohibit the Department of Transportation from contracting with airlines or transportation providers for the use of state-owned airport facilities if they knowingly transport individuals detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation without a valid judicial warrant or demonstration of due process.

• The second provision would disqualify commercial airlines from receiving an exemption from the state’s five-cent-per-gallon tax on aviation fuel (granted as an economic development incentive) if the airline transports ICE detainees for deportation without meeting the same standards for judicial warrants and due process.

Critics of SB 207 note that it places Avelo officials in the nearly impossible situation of policing a federal government agency. They also observe that Wilmington Airport has had difficulty attracting and retaining commercial airline service. Frontier Airlines operated there from 2013 to 2015, and again from 2021 to 2022. Several other carriers have also failed over the last 20 years in their attempts to provide continuing service.

Avelo Airlines operates in the ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) segment of the industry, with very thin profit margins. The value of the ICE contracts and the state fuel tax exclusion are economic considerations its executives cannot easily disregard. Should SB 207 become law, the airline may be forced to choose between maintaining its federal contracts or abandoning its service to Wilmington.

House and Senate Democrats controlling the 153rd Delaware General Assembly have actively sought to deter cooperation between state and local governments and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Earlier this year, a law was enacted to ban Delaware law enforcement agencies from entering into agreements with ICE to aid in the arrest or detainment of illegal immigrants. Another pending bill seeks to restrict Delaware police agencies from cooperating with federal agencies conducting immigration enforcement at churches, schools, or healthcare facilities without permission from the Attorney General. 

Electricity Prices Rise as Supply Lags Behind Demand

Earlier this week, the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association released an updated winter outlook showing that U.S. home heating costs are projected to rise 9.2% this winter. Surging electricity prices and colder-than-average weather were two of the main factors cited by the group that represents the state directors of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

According to the forecast, families that rely on electricity for heating will see average costs rise 12.2%, from $1,090 to $1,233. Adjusted for inflation, residential electricity prices in 2025 are at their highest level in a decade. Since 2021, the average cost per kilowatt-hour has risen 27.9%, while the average monthly electric bill has climbed 29.2%.

In related news, PJM Interconnection continued to sound a cautionary note regarding the challenges of maintaining the regional power grid serving 13 states, including Delaware.

PJM manages electricity demand to maintain constant service, coordinates maintenance and upgrades to the power grid, integrates power producers on and off the grid as they enter service or retire, and runs auctions to secure power production commitments at predictable costs.

In announcing the organization’s latest power auction, Stu Bresler, who is set to become PJM’s chief operating officer on January 7, said: “This auction leaves no doubt that data centers’ demand for electricity continues to far outstrip new supply, and the solution will require concerted action involving PJM, its stakeholders, state and federal partners, and the data center industry itself.”

PJM maintains that the supply-and-demand imbalance will require action on multiple fronts, including accelerating the entry of new generation into the system.

State Rep. Kevin Hensley (R-Townsend, Odessa, Port Penn) is one of the prime sponsors of a bipartisan bill to increase power generation in Delaware. House Bill 186 would incentivize the construction and operation of up to three high-efficiency Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine electrical generation facilities, with outputs between 100 MW and 500 MW, by creating an Electricity Production Tax Credit (EPTC) and bonus credits.

A single 500 MW plant could serve approximately 210,000 homes. 

Rep. Hensley says the proposal would increase the availability of cost-effective, high-efficiency energy production within the state. At present, Delaware imports most of its electricity via the grid.

The bill’s sponsors maintain that Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine power plants are a proven, available technology that can provide significant dispatchable power to meet Delaware’s growing energy needs.

The measure is pending action in the House Revenue & Finance Committee. The 153rd General Assembly returns to work on January 13 to begin its 2026 session.

New Bills Introduced to:

• Make it More Difficult for Lawmakers to Suspend Protections
• Reduce Marijuana Violation Penalties
• Stop State Pensions for Sex Offenders

In advance of lawmakers returning to the State Capitol Building next month, new bills were filed in the House this week:

RAISING THE STANDARD

House Bill 239 — Sponsor: State Rep. Jeff Spiegelman, et.al. — The House of Representatives and Senate have rules that require public notification before a bill is debated and voted on in their respective chambers. The rules also mandate that before legislation reaches the floor, it must be vetted by a committee with public notice prior to the hearing.

However, these public participation protections can be disregarded if lawmakers choose to “suspend the rules.”

Currently, such suspensions can be accomplished with a simple majority vote. Additionally, motions to suspend the rules can be approved by voice vote, which does not record how each lawmaker voted.

This bill is a proposed constitutional amendment that would require at least 60% of a chamber’s members to agree to suspend the rules and that every lawmaker’s vote be recorded and made available for public review.

The sponsors–including Sen. Eric Buckson and State Reps. Lyndon Yearick and Mike Smith–maintain that suspending fundamental protocols designed to safeguard the integrity of the legislative process should only be done under extraordinary circumstances and require a higher threshold of approval.

LOWERING THE BAR

House Bill 252 — Sponsor: State Rep. Eric Morrison, et. al. — This bill seeks to make several changes, reducing the penalties that could be imposed by someone using marijuana in a public place or in a moving vehicle.

Currently, individuals found guilty of either crime are classified as having committed an unclassified misdemeanor and may face a fine of up to $200 and/or up to five days in jail. Under this proposal, these offenses would be civil violations, carrying a fine of up to $50 for a first violation and up to $100 for subsequent violations.

NEW BILL COMPETES WITH PREVIOUS PROPOSAL ON SEX OFFENDER PENSIONS

House Bill 257 — Sponsor: State Rep. Kerri Evelyn Harris, et. al. — This proposal would allow for the forfeiture of the state’s contribution to the pension of a state, judicial, county, or municipal employee’s pension if that employee is convicted of a sex crime against a child and the offense was connected to the employee’s position.

The measure would allow judges to garnish 25% or 50% of the convicted employee’s pension to pay restitution to the victim. The percentage selected would depend on the offense.

This bill directly competes with an existing proposal, House Substitute 1 for House Bill 113, introduced by State Rep. Bryan Shupe last spring. Currently pending action on the House Ready List, the measure would deny the state’s contribution to an individual’s pension if they were employed by the Department of Education, a school district, or the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, or Delaware Technical and Community College, and were convicted of certain sexual crimes against children where the assailant’s employment helped facilitate the acts.

In statements issued this week, Rep. Shupe characterized the new bill as a half-measure designed to undermine support for his legislation.