The Committee of 100 | FYI Archives

Improving Public Education is the top priority for Governor Ruth Ann Minner's 2006 Legislative Agenda. Three initiatives top her education agenda: full-day kindergarten, expanding funding for school construction, and protecting students in all schools. To implement full-day kindergarten throughout the State by school year 2008-09, the Governor's Fiscal Year 2007 proposed budget provides for $6.7 million in new operating funds. In addition, the Governor supports Senate Bill (SB) No. 251, which would require that full-day kindergarten be offered by the 2008-09 school year. To provide additional funding for school construction, the Governor supports expanding the school impact fee which New Castle County imposes on new residential construction to Kent and Sussex. To help protect students, the Governor supports SB 99, which extends to private schools the requirement that any applicant for employment in public schools submit to a criminal background check.

Consumer Protection legislative agenda items include addressing energy costs, promoting energy conservation and efficiency, and protecting the public against price gouging. To help address energy costs, the Governor has already signed House Bills (HB) 5 & 6, meant to ameliorate the impact of increased energy costs on both residents and State government. In addition, she signed SB 280, which added $2 million to the Delaware Energy Assistance Program to help families affected by high energy rates. To promote energy conservation and efficiency, the Governor supports SB 282, which would expand the uses of the Green Energy Fund to promote energy efficiency projects. Noting that Delaware ranks last in the nation for per capita spending on energy efficiency, the Governor supports increasing the “system benefit charge that supports the Fund” from $3/year to $6/year for residential customers. Governor Minner signed SB 281, which will add $8 million to the Fund. To protect the public against price-gouging during a state of emergency, the Governor supports HB 101, which would prevent price increases of more than ten percent during a state of emergency unless necessary to meet supplier costs.

Health legislative initiatives include curbing youth smoking, expanding protection for the uninsured and under-insured, stopping the spread of HIV, preventing infant mortality, and broadening availability of health care information. To help curb youth smoking, Governor Minner continues to support the recommendation of the Governor's Cancer Task Force to raise the State's cigarette tax an additional 19 cents per pack to 74 cents. New Jersey's cigarette tax is $2.40 per pack, Pennsylvania $1.35, and Maryland $1.00. To expand protection for the uninsured and under-insured, the Governor will review the actuarial study, now underway, to try to determine the most cost-effective way to increase healthcare coverage for uninsured and under-insured Delawareans. To help stop the spread of HIV, the Governor supports passage of SB 60 to provide a needle exchange program in Wilmington. To help prevent infant mortality, Governor Minner supports passage of SB 157 to adopt a Fetal and Infant Mortality Review process modeled on national standards. To broaden availability of health care information, the Governor wants Delaware to build an infrastructure of health care information to better inform citizens comparable to initiatives adopted in other states.

The Governor's Economic Development legislative initiative (once the bank franchise tax bill was signed) is workers' compensation reform. Governor Minner recognizes that Delaware's workers' compensation costs have meant high insurance premiums, which put Delaware businesses at a competitive disadvantage. The Governor is relying on Secretary of Labor Tom Sharp's Workers' Compensation Advisory Council to produce "meaningful reform of Delaware's system" via a "workable bill" for the General Assembly.

Environment initiatives include strengthening industrial responsibility, biodiesel fuel, and curbside recycling. To strengthen industrial responsibility, the Governor supports HB 294, which requires that facilities which process hazardous materials or products provide assurance that “all significant environmental hazards have been or will be addressed” before transfer of such facility. To encourage the use of biodiesel fuel, the Governor supports SB 132, which would require that all diesel fuel sold in Delaware be a two-percent biodiesel blend. To encourage curbside recycling, Governor Minner supports SB 225, which would ban yard trimmings from all landfills statewide and impose a $3 per ton surcharge to help local governments establish curbside recycling programs and educate the public.

Livable Delaware legislative initiatives include transfer of development rights and preserving the future of Delaware agriculture. In support of transfer of development rights, the Governor supports legislation which would make it easier for the State and local governments to protect land from development at no cost to taxpayers while also providing a mechanism for funding infrastructure and services in designated growth areas. To preserve the future of Delaware agriculture, Governor Minner supports HB 280, the Sprawl Prevention Act, which would prohibit community, private, or public wastewater disposal systems in non-growth areas and requires 4-acre lot minimums in non-growth areas.

Safety initiatives include open container legislation, ensuring safety for teen drivers, and improving in-building coverage for emergency communications. To help protect the public from the hazards of drinking and driving and to ensure that the State continues to receive up to $2.7 million in federal highway funds annually, Governor Minner supports open container legislation, HB 37, which would ban the carrying of open alcohol containers in vehicles. To ensure safety for teen drivers, the Governor supports strengthening licensing requirements for young drivers and urges passage of a compromise between the administration's SB 117 and various other bills introduced to address the issue of teen-driver safety. To improve in-building coverage for emergency communications, Governor Minner supports HB 297, which would require that large buildings and structures be designed and built in a manner to better ensure in-building coverage for the State's emergency radio system.

The Governor's Civil Rights initiative continues to be providing for fair and equal treatment regardless of sexual orientation through passage of House Substitute 1 for HB 36, which would prohibit discrimination based upon sexual orientation.

Good Government initiatives include fairness in State contracting and campaign finance reform. To ensure fairness in State contracting, Governor Minner supports legislation requiring that those applying for State contracts be afforded a level playing field. Such legislation would provide for reciprocal treatment for out-of-state contractors so that where in-state and out-of-state firms compete for State business, Delaware firms would enjoy whatever preference or advantage in Delaware that an out-of-state contractor would have in its home state. Governor Minner supports campaign finance reform which will close loopholes in Delaware's election laws that permit anonymous political attack ads to avoid current campaign finance standards.