The House of Representatives approved a $6.996 billion General Fund operating budget (Senate Bill 335) on Wednesday evening, but the decision to send the FY 2027 spending plan to the governor was not unanimous.
As he has done for several years, State Rep. Bryan Shupe (Milford South, Ellendale), in photo, voted against the omnibus measure, citing the continued rise in spending.
According to the Office of the Controller General, actual General Fund expenditures have risen from $4.519 billion in Fiscal Year 2021 to $7.117 billion (projected) for the current fiscal year (FY 2026), an increase of $2.594 billion, or more than 57%, over that period.
The new budget (FY 2027), starting on July 1, is 6.32% higher than the budget approved a year ago.
“This is a continuance of what we have seen in the State of Delaware in the past five years,” Rep. Shupe told the chamber, adding that the growth in spending has outpaced the revenue growth. “This is what leads to increased taxes, this is what leads to DELDOT and DNREC fees going up, this is what leads to…looking for more ways to take taxpayer money.”
State Rep. Charles Postles (R-Milford North, Frederica), a minority member of the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, also addressed the chamber before the budget passed, saying that he could not, in good conscience, approve the measure.
Rep. Postles said he was deeply concerned about the lack of transparency involving revenue for corporate taxes and fees, which account for more than a third of the state’s annual proceeds. He cited rulings made in the Court of Chancery, legislation passed by the General Assembly, and the Meyer administration’s failure to provide data on the impact of large companies leaving Delaware to incorporate elsewhere — a trend sometimes referred to as “DExit.”
“I feel like I am the canary in the coalmine,” he said. “All three branches of government, legislative, judicial, and executive, have taken actions unfavorable to business and will likely result in a loss of revenue…Understand this, capital, business investment, and entrepreneurship do not go where they are not welcomed and do not stay where they are not rewarded. In an unfavorable environment, investment in Delaware will collapse.”
Rep. Postles, who is leaving office in November, urged his returning colleagues to get answers on corporate revenue in the new 154th General Assembly. “We don’t know the implications of (corporate departure) because we don’t know the true, complete picture. That should not be acceptable to anybody in this room.”
State Rep. Rich Collins (R-Millsboro) joined Reps. Shupe and Postles in opposing the budget.
