Delaware lawmakers react to $184M revenue drop for FY2025
DELAWARE – The state of Delaware is projecting a revenue decrease of $184 million for the fiscal year 2025, with a final revenue estimate for FY 2024 expected to be released Friday.
While the previous estimates put the revenue decline at $23 million, Democrats in the legislature say the bills currently in the budget are secure, while Republicans say they are worried about what has been passed and funded.
Both sides agree on the need to cut spending on any new programs in the session’s final days.
“I’m just trying to keep my colleagues from creating too much spending,” said Joint Finance Co-Chair Senator Trey Paradee.
Senator Paradee says many lawmakers were disappointed when their bills weren’t budgeted, but it means what was put in is likely to stay.
“We have already done budget markup, and the budget at this point is closed,” he said adding “We are not going to be adding any new programs or any new pieces of legislation that have large fiscal news, unless, of course, the leadership tells me that that’s what they really want to do.”
Sen. Paradee says this includes measures like the tenant rights bill which passed the House Tuesday afternoon, but not probation reform, a measure with a 34 million dollar note that’s expected to go up.
“We do need to be careful about creating new programs or expanding existing programs because in the closing weeks of the legislative session that we’re dealing with now,” he said adding ” if we have folks who are trying to put things into the budget or trying to create programs that have recurring expenses, it could make things even more difficult next year or the year or two years down the road when we’re working on those budgets.”
But Republicans say even the spending that is part of that budget has them worried.
“I did not support a lot of things in the proposed budget that increases new expenses because I think we have commitments to take care of current expenses, there’s a lot of legislation coming through right now, it’s coming to appropriations because it’s new money in a new spend and it’s millions,” Representative Briggs King said.
Representative Briggs King sits on both the finance and appropriations committees says she sees rising costs firsthand.
She tells us she wants to be sure that new spending in the budget doesn’t impact commitments to teachers’ pay or affordable housing.
“The problem is it’s not just this year, it increases next year and so if you have declining revenues, you certainly can’t pass legislation that’s going to increase in 2025 and 2026 projected increases; you have to look very closely at the future impact as well,” she said.
The final revenue estimate for FY 2024 is expected to be released on Friday, June 16th.
