Legislative Priority: Working Together Matters

BY TYLER MICIK

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY returns to session this month after a five-week break for Joint Finance Committee (JFC) hearings. Prior to the break, several business-related bills were introduced or passed, and many others are awaiting introduction.

Of the bills that have seen movement thus far, several are noteworthy. First, House Bills 1 and 2 were introduced to legalize recreation marijuana. HB1 removes all penalties for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana and HB2 is the “regulation and tax” piece. The State Chamber testified in opposition to HB2 as written when the bill was heard in the House Revenue and Finance Committee. We requested the agreed upon language relating to the impact of legalization and regulation on employers and employees from last year be added back into the bill. The amendment gives employers the flexibility to keep and maintain their policies regarding drugs and alcohol. Representative Osienski—the bill sponsor—agreed to add the language back into the bill after the hearing. HB1 now moves to the House for a full vote and HB2 has been assigned to House Appropriations.

Senate Bill 35, Mini-Bond, was signed by the Governor in late January. Unlike years past, controversy over the bill ensued because the bill’s epilogue language called for the creation of a pilot program under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), who mandates project labor agreements (PLAs) on state funded construction projects. The bill targets six projects: Hodgson school; DNREC Lab; Hospital for the Chronically Ill; OMB Food Building; and two DelDOT projects which have not been identified yet. All four OMB projects contain PLAs, while only one project (Hodgson) included a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) requirement.

The State Chamber worked with the Associated Builders and Contractors Delaware and the Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce to push for several amendments such as removing the PLA requirements, placing DBE requirements on all projects, and requiring that all projects be completed by bona fide legal residents of the State to ensure Delawareans were the ones benefiting from the projects, but all amendments were defeated.

Other bills that were introduced that the State Chamber continues to monitor include HB 41, Digital Right to Repair; HB 36, Realty Transfer Tax; and House Bill 55, Homeless Bill of Rights. Additionally, the State Chamber is engaged in conversations at both the State and County levels around the Delaware Climate Change Solutions Act—referred to last session as Senate Bill 305, New Castle County’s 2050 Economic Development Plan, and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) plans to adopt regulations that all new passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs sold in Delaware will be required to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.

The decisions made between now and June 30th could change the way you run your business, interact with your customers, manage your employees, and more. As the General Assembly reconvenes in March, it’s important for businesses to pay attention and engage with policy makers in Dover.

Testify at a committee hearing, meet with members of the General Assembly, join a State Chamber committee, and attend a State Chamber event. Events like our Spring Manufacturing and Policy Conference on March 28 and Small Business Day in Dover on May 4 provide opportunities to connect, learn, and share ideas. Working together matters because more dialogue means more solutions.