On Tuesday, Governor Matt Meyer exercised his line-item veto authority to remove a $35 million appropriation for the proposed Legislative Hall expansion project from the FY 2027 Capital Budget (Bond Bill). The action sparked renewed debate over the need for the proposed expansion and renovation.
“Whether it is building and improving our schools, investing in our communities, or finding additional ways to support working families, there are far more important priorities than renovating and expanding Legislative Hall.” Gov. Meyer noted in his veto statement.
He added that the vetoed appropriation was the first installment of a multi-year expenditure totaling an estimated $116 million.
Some lawmakers had also previously expressed reservations about the Legislative Hall proposal. As reported by the State News late last month, Joint Capital Improvement Committee member State Rep. Mike Smith (R-Pike Creek) opposed earmarking funds for the work at a time when many Delawareans were seeking financial relief. “I understand that the people that come into the building … but (these people) are Legislative Hall insiders, for the most part, that we see all the time. It’s very rare that we get the general public showing up on a frequent basis.”
Earlier this year, State Rep. Bryan Shupe (R-Milford South, Ellendale, Lincoln) also criticized the initiative. “In 2025, this plan did not move forward because of public disapproval,” he said. “A year later, we’re appropriating money for it, still without public support. Our spending growth has been outpacing our revenue growth for most of this decade. We need to rein in spending, and this is a good start.”
Supporters of the project have noted that the expansion and renovations were intended to create larger public meeting spaces, improve accessibility, and fix glaring security issues.
A statement issued early this evening by Joint Capital Improvement Committee Co-Chairs, State Rep. Debra Heffernan (D-Bellefonte, Edgemoor) and State Sen. Jack Walsh (D-Stanton), said the governor’s decision was disappointing and perplexing.
“These are not frivolous or cosmetic upgrades – this is a carefully planned and well-thought-out project that would address problems that legislators, members of the public, the press, and staff have experienced for several years,” they said. “Years of bipartisan planning have gone into the expansion, with a special focus on public safety recommendations made by Capitol Police.”
They added that public complaints about the State Capitol are commonplace. “They’ve seen committee rooms filled beyond capacity, with people standing in hallways.
because there’s nowhere left to sit, and those who have physical disabilities know how challenging it can be to simply navigate the building, which hasn’t had the updates necessary to keep pace with how our legislature, and the public it serves, has changed over the years.”
Originally constructed during the Great Depression, Legislative Hall has undergone an expansion roughly every three decades. The last major capital project involving the building was completed in the early 1990s. Since then, the state’s population has grown by approximately 50%.
State House Republican Leader Tim Dukes (R-Laurel) said he is surprised by the governor’s exercise of his line-item veto power. “There should have been better communication between the legislature and the chief executive on this issue,” he said. “In open public meetings early this year, it was made clear that this project would move forward before it became even more expensive. If the governor had objections, he should have begun a dialogue then.”
Even with the vetoed $35 million expenditure removed from the Bond Bill, the remaining $1.221 billion in the FY 2027 capital budget (House Bill 500) is still the fourth-largest in state history, falling just below the FY 2022, 23 & 24 budgets and a significant increase over the $977 million capital spending plan it replaced.
Critics of the veto note that the Legislative Hall project constituted less than 2.8% of the Bond Bill, which still includes ample funding for executive branch priorities, including the following:
- $60 million for renovating the former Emily P. Bissell Hospital to serve as the new headquarters for the Division of Forensic Science.
- More than $18 million for maintenance, capital improvements, and restoration at DHSS, DSHS, and DNREC facilities.
- $110 million for the new container terminal project at the Port of Wilmington.
- $34.5 million for Delaware State Housing Authority programs to create workforce housing, affordable housing, and conduct urban redevelopment.
The $35 million in vetoed funding will reportedly remain unappropriated authority under the Bond Bill. It could be reallocated to other state capital projects when lawmakers meet for the start of the 154th General Assembly in January.
