a busy week for policy in delaware

THIS WEEK IN DOVER
By James DeChene, Armitage DeChene & Associates

This week saw a number of bills heard in committees important to the business community:

• HB16, expanding Delaware’s Earned Income Tax Credit passed the House and now goes to Senate committee.  This is a bill the Chamber supported.
• HB64, a bill to create higher personal income brackets was defeated in committee
• HB88, which removes the youth and training wage was released from committee, and now goes the House for a full vote. 
• HB150, legalizing recreational marijuana was released from the House Health and Human Development committee, and will be heard in House Appropriations committee before reaching the House for a full vote. The State Chamber, and others, have offered amendment language we feel would better protect employer’s rights to maintain a zero tolerance policy for employees. We will continue to provide updates as the bill moves.
• SB65, which creates a $9,000 credit towards skills training for recent high school graduates, was released from Senate Labor Committee. It now heads to the Senate for a full vote.

The General Assembly meets next week, and then will be on Easter Break.

STATE CHAMBER HOSTS SPRING MANUFACTURING & POLICY CONFERENCE
By Tyler Micik, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce

The State Chamber and its Delaware Manufacturing Association (DMA) held their Spring Manufacturing and Policy Conference earlier this week. The event featured a roundtable discussion on recreational marijuana legalization from experts in states (California and Oregon) where marijuana is already legalized and its impact on manufacturers. The discussion was held just before the bill was heard in the House Health and Human Development committee.

Governor John Carney provided updates to attendees on Delaware's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, plans to invest more in Delaware’s economic infrastructure, and continued support towards workforce development and training initiatives like Forward Delaware. Manufacturing keynote, Carolyn Lee, executive director of The Manufacturing Institute commended Governor Carney for supporting and investing in workforce development/training. Yet she pointed out that manufacturers face many challenges when it comes to filling manufacturing jobs, including changing perceptions about what modern manufacturing really looks likes. You can watch her presentation here.