Delaware Legislature: bills to watch when session returns

DOVER, Del.- With the Delaware Legislative Session on hiatus, lawmakers say there are still major pieces of legislation coming down that pipeline that will be heard the session reconvenes.

Marijuana legislation and the system to create a legal, taxable marketplace in the form of Rep. Ed Osienki’s HB1 and HB2 are out of committee, and according to a statement released by house democrats largely unchanged from the measure that passed both House and Senate last year only to be vetoed by Governor Carney.

Speaker of the House Pete Schwartzkopf says he is still a no-vote on the measure to legalize it but says since he believes it has the vote to pass he will vote to create the marketplace and allow for the sale to generate revenue for the state.

“I think it passed I’m still a no on the Marijuana side of it but if it passes with a simple 21 count which they have the votes in my mind I can vote for the mechanism that will tax it and put a mechanism in place on how it will be done I can vote for that,” he said.

Schwartzkopf says he has no conversation with Governor Carney on whether or not he will veto the legislation if it is passed again by both chambers.

Also on the Agenda in Dover, is a move that would make developers pay a building fee to the school district in which their properties reside, in a fund that would be used to help fund capital improvement projects in the event the schools see more students than their capacity can handle.

The measure known as a Voluntary School Assessment is already in place in New Castle County but requires specific legislation to be enacted.

Delaware State Senator Russ Huxtable tells 47ABC he is co-sponsoring legislation to allow for the problem state-wide, but he says it is particularly needed in Sussex County, where the population is rapidly growing.

“This would allow Sussex County and other counties to charge fees to balance that growth and impact that it has on schools, new castle has this enabling legislation it doesn’t exist elsewhere in the state so we are working to allow that to happen,” Huxtable said.

He says the money would help to improve things like class sizes, and fund capital improvements for larger buildings.

The legislature is set to return from recess on Tuesday, March 7th, 2023.