House Democratic Caucus Leadership Reflects on Year’s Accomplishments at the Close of the 153rd General Assembly

DOVER – Following the final day of legislative session, House Democratic Leadership – including Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown, Majority Leader Kerri Evelyn Harris, and Majority Whip Ed Osienski – issued the following statement reflecting on the work accomplished during the 153rd General Assembly:

“Before we even gaveled in for the 153rd General Assembly, Delaware was facing significant challenges. Families were dealing with increasingly unaffordable energy costs and higher prices on everyday necessities. Rights and protections that generations fought to secure were being completely eroded. And decisions being made by the new federal administration were creating instability for state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and the Delawareans who rely on them.

“While we knew we couldn’t solve every problem overnight, we also knew that Delawareans expected us to get to work. And that’s exactly what we did.

“House Democrats made energy affordability a top priority by creating the Delaware Energy Fund to provide energy bill assistance to families struggling with rising costs, expanding tools to provide lower rates for low-income households, strengthening utility shutoff protections, and passing legislation which will ensure that future large energy users don’t pass their costs onto Delaware ratepayers.

“We also passed legislation to better hold polluters accountable by making sure that those responsible for environmental harm are paying closer to the true costs of their actions and that that money flows back into the communities most impacted.

“Building on our years-long effort to make everyday life more affordable for Delawareans, we passed legislation to prevent medical debt from blocking housing or job opportunities, sped up insurance approvals so patients can get the care they need faster, and passed legislation to increase the share of affordable housing in communities across the state.

“This year, we also passed legislation to begin modernizing Delaware’s school funding system after years of discussion and study. 

“And even as the federal government worked overtime to turn back the clock on hard won civil rights, we passed legislation to codify voting rights once protected under the federal Voting Rights Act, passed the first leg of a constitutional amendment that would enshrine marriage equality in our state constitution, and took steps to ensure that only people – and not corporations – are participating in Delaware’s elections. 

“In July, when residents received their first tax bills since the reassessment and saw their assessed home values and property taxes skyrocket, we took immediate action – not just to provide relief, but to make necessary changes to our reassessment process. 

“In August, we convened a special session to pass 7 pieces of legislation aimed at addressing the immediate concerns that arose from the statewide reassessment. Later that month, we worked with Senate Democratic leadership to form a bipartisan Special Committee to investigate the reassessment process and consider additional legislative action to improve the process and offer targeted tax relief. In the past 6 months, we used what we learned from that investigation to pass 8 more pieces of legislation aimed at improving and standardizing the statewide reassessment process.

“And finally, to help ensure that the state is better equipped to meet the needs of all Delawareans and that targeted support is delivered where it’s needed most, we created three new state offices.

“That includes the creation of the Office of Veterans Affairs, so that Delaware’s veterans have a dedicated advocate working on their behalf and helping them access the benefits and services they’ve earned. We also established the Office of the Inspector General to strengthen oversight and accountability within state government, and the Office of Suicide Prevention to coordinate efforts across agencies and help save lives.

These initiatives are just a few examples of the progress we made this year. 

Of course there is always more work to do, but as we look back on this session, we can say with confidence that House Democrats moved Delaware forward.

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