On Wednesday night, the House of Representatives approved a $6.996 billion General Fund operating budget (Senate Bill 335) for the new fiscal year that begins July 1.
The new spending plan pays for the day-to-day operations of state government and is $416 million higher than the budget it replaces, an increase of 6.32%.
The proposed budget Governor Matt Meyer presented to the General Assembly in January had proposed keeping spending growth just below 5%.
Since then, the 12 budget-writing lawmakers of the Joint Finance Committee (JFC), consisting of 8 Democrats and 4 Republicans, have held weeks of budget hearings, incorporated the costs of new legislation they have passed, and modified the budget according to their own priorities.
In crafting the final state budget, the JFC made needed adjustments to align with state revenue forecasts. By law, the state may appropriate no more than 98% of the revenue that is expected to be generated from taxes, fees, and other sources.
State revenues have been rising, with the last four forecasts—issued in December, March, May, and June—all showing increases. Since last October, the amount of money available to state budget-writers has increased by more than $745 million.
The state’s two contingency funds remain intact. The Budget Reserve Account will grow to $386.4 million in FY 2027. The Stabilization Fund is expected to remain at the $469.3 million. These accounts do not include the unappropriated 2% state revenue buffer, which is currently about $140 million.
The top category for FY 2027 expenditures was public education. The state pays for about 70% of school operating expenses. Collectively, that will cost state taxpayers $2.518 billion, constituting 36% of the budget.
The second largest budget expenditure was the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), accounting for $1.948 billion, or 27.8% of the total. Medicaid and other medical assistance programs, which fall under the agency’s administration, were the lion’s share of that total, coming in $1.23 billion, or about 18 cents of every dollar spent. About a quarter of all Delawareans are enrolled in Medicaid.
