Ruth Briggs King

A woman’s place? For Ruth Briggs King, it’s the legislature

Charlie MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

It’s not uncommon for state Rep. Ruth Briggs King to be the only woman in a room full of men.  The Georgetown lawmaker is the only female legislator in Delaware’s General Assembly who belongs to the Republican Party. She doesn’t let that get in the way of representing her constituents.  In fact, she sees it as an opportunity. “There have …

The state's equalization formula has been frozen since 2009.

State grapples over freeze on equalization formula

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Education

Delaware’s Equalization Committee has agreed to not make any decisions on whether to freeze or change the state’s equalization formula, which affects school funding, until next year. The purpose of the equalization formula is to allocate state resources to districts inversely based on their ability to raise revenues through their local property tax base.  “It’s to try to help those …

Take exam

State to unveil new math program to combat low scores

Jarek RutzEducation, Headlines

Delaware will announce a new statewide math plan in December to counter COVID learning loss and boost the state’s horrific test scores, which are among the worst in the nation. The state has been working on the plan since January but is not yet prepared to release details because the plan hasn’t been finalized. Underscoring the need for help, especially …

Medicare

Change to state retirees’ health insurance prompts angst

Charlie MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

A change to the health insurance held by retirees of Delaware’s state government is causing an uproar. The state’s requirement that retirees and pensioners switch from original Medicare to a specially-tailored Medicare Advantage plan has led to charges that retirees will lose their doctors or be denied services that are currently covered. That’s not true, said Delaware Secretary of Human …

Realty transfer tax

Delaware’s realty transfer tax to remain highest in nation

Charlie MegginsonHeadlines, Government

Delaware will remain the state with the highest realty transfer tax in the nation after a bill to decrease the tax died in the General Assembly.  Introduced by Rep. Bill Bush, D-Dover, House Bill 358 would have cut the tax from 4% of a property’s sale price to 3% — the level it was at prior to 2017 when the …

Delaware considering mileage-based user fee

Drivers, get ready for a mileage-based user fee

Ken MammarellaGovernment, Headlines

As state and federal leaders push to get more electric vehicles on the road and lower the consumption of fossil fuels, a reckoning will come about how to pay for roads if nobody is buying gasoline at the pump. Taxes on the sale of gasoline fund a huge portion of roadwork, including repaving and safety concerns, and the push is …

Jobs and right to repair 2024 budget grant

Pettyjohn, Briggs King secure exception to magazine ban, save jobs

Charlie MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

When Georgetown’s state senator and representative learned a bill to ban high-capacity firearm magazines could impact close to 100 jobs in their district, they knew something had to be done.  Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 6, sponsored by Sen. Dave Sokola, D-Newark, banned the possession, sale, purchase, receipt or transfer of magazines that hold more than 17 rounds of …

High-capacity magazine

High-capacity magazine ban heads to Carney

Charlie MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

A bill aimed at restricting the capacity of firearm magazines passed in the House of Representatives Thursday by a vote of 23 to 18. The bill now heads to Gov. John Carney, who is expected to sign it into law. Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 6, sponsored by Rep. Larry Mitchell, D-Elsmere, bans the possession, sale, purchase, receipt or …

Thursday, June 9, 2022

Delaware House votes to ban semi-automatic firearms

Charlie MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

A controversial bill to ban the purchase of semi-automatic firearms in Delaware narrowly passed in the House of Representatives Thursday against the objections of every Republican lawmaker as well as some Democrats. The bill passed 22 to 19 and will advance to the Senate for consideration.  “The intention of this legislation is simple and clear: to make sure that the …

a view of a house with Delaware Legislative Hall in the background

General Assembly mulls proposal to create Grant-In-Aid committee

Charlie MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

A bill released from the House Administration Committee Wednesday would create a committee to review grants for nonprofit organizations and make recommendations to the Joint Finance Committee. Grant-In-Aid is an annual appropriation made by the General Assembly to support the activities of non-profit organizations in the state. The funds are intended to provide supplemental resources to service agencies. Applications for …