House Democrats OK Seaford LLC voting charter, leading GOP to pass spending bills

Democrats in the Delaware House of Representatives passed a GOP-backed bill that would allow LLCs and other artificial entities to vote in Seaford elections, leading Republicans to approve major spending bills on the last day of the legislative year.

Just the night before, when this Seaford charter first failed, House Republicans threatened to block the bond and grants-in-aid bills. Both spending bills require a three-fourths majority, allowing the minority party to have some leverage in the final hours of the session.

Yet on June 30, there was no fight. Instead, compliments and hugs were exchanged among lawmakers. The House, in quick succession Friday afternoon, passed House Bill 121 − the Seaford bill − and then passed the bond and grants-in-aid bills.

But the Senate did not vote on the Seaford charter Friday.

INSIDE LEGISLATIVE HALL: House GOP kills $1.4 billion bond bill after effort to allow LLCs in Seaford to vote fails

House Democrats agreed to pass the Seaford charter in order to avoid a stalemate on hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for infrastructure projects, police departments and fire stations – since those spending bills are most important for lawmakers to pass each year.

“Unfortunately, House Republicans held up this critical funding bill, jeopardizing thousands of projects across the state,” newly elected House Speaker Valerie Longhurst said in a statement.

“We as the majority party don’t feel it’s appropriate making statements in the press about not caring about preventing Delaware’s infrastructure from crumbling. We don’t get to take the capital budget hostage over a controversial bill rather than listening to the opposition. We have the responsibility and burden of governing.”

‘The responsible thing to do’

On Thursday night, the Republicans walked out of the House chamber in protest.

The Seaford charter, sponsored by Rep. Danny Short, a Republican representing Seaford, failed to reach its required two-thirds vote. GOP House lawmakers, shortly after, refused to vote on most of the remaining bills on Thursday’s agenda.

House Minority Leader Mike Ramone said Thursday night that his caucus would not vote on any bill until Democrats pass HB 121. Republicans, he said, would also continue to up their demands the longer it takes to pass the Seaford bill.

The Seaford charter is not the only one of its kind: A number of municipalities allow LLCs and artificial entities to vote in certain elections. Even more towns and cities allow nonresident property owners to vote in elections.

Proponents of this charter say business owners have a right to have a say in local issues, and it could incentivize businesses to invest in Seaford, the largest Sussex County city. Supporters also point to how the General Assembly regularly approves local charters, since it originated from the local governments.

Yet many have come out against the charter, fearing it prioritizes corporations over the will of Delawareans. Forty voting rights organizations and advocacy groups urged lawmakers in a June 20 letter to vote no on the bill. It includes the ACLU of Delaware, YWCA Delaware and Delaware Center for Justice.

Claire Snyder-Hall, executive director of Common Cause Delaware, said she is “horrified and disappointed that this bill passed.”

Democratic leadership had previously expressed uneasiness about the legislation, but ultimately supported it on Friday. It was the first bill the House voted on.

BACKGROUND: If Seaford gets its way, these corporations and LLCs could be voting in the next election

“One thing we do in the state of Delaware is we try to collaborate and work across the aisle. When you caucus, you try to have those conversations,” said Longhurst, House speaker.

“The first round, sometimes it doesn't work,” she said in an interview. “People have to digest what the bill did, go back to their constituents and that's what they did.”

Longhurst said the budget, bond and grants-in-aids bills will always be the top concern.

“Those are always our priorities; they will always be our priorities,” she said. “Legislation comes after that, but that's why we're here.”

Only six lawmakers voted against the bill on Friday: Reps. Paul Baumbach, Nnamdi Chukwuocha, Sherry Dorsey Walker, Larry Lambert, Sophie Phillips and Sherae'a Moore.

Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, one of the Democrats who changed her vote to yes, said she left Legislative Hall on Thursday night resigned to the fact that she will vote for the charter – a bill she said she hates.

But she did not want the bond bill or grants-in-aid funding to be in jeopardy for “everyday Delawareans.” Wilson-Anton said she was told the bill would not be voted on in the Senate, which is why she felt comfortable voting for it Friday.

“That's the responsible thing to do in this situation,” she said of prioritizing the spending bills. “And it stinks. Honestly, it felt like a hostage situation.”

Gov. John Carney, in a brief interview Friday morning, said the idea of the legislation makes him a “little bit uncomfortable.”

“But the Seaford people, they want that for their community,” the governor said. “I kind of give some deference to them in that respect.”

In addition to the Seaford charter, the House Republicans also notched another win Thursday afternoon: The chamber narrowly passed House Bill 123, which would require the General Assembly to give approval to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to implement any regulations restricting the sale of gasoline and diesel-powered cars, trucks and SUVs.

Ramone, the minority leader, said Thursday night that the passage of this bill would be another condition for Republicans to support the bond bill.

Just after the Seaford charter vote, Ramone briefly spoke on the floor.

“We're very grateful,” he said, “that our colleague was able to rerun the bill despite some of the antics that went on in the last 24 hours.”

What’s in the bond bill and grants-in-aid?

The $1.4 billion bond bill, one of the largest in state history, will fund construction and infrastructure projects throughout the state.

The largest portion of $354 million will go to road projects, with a focus on those that are in the poorest condition.

Here are other items the bill will fund:

• $200 million for school construction projects in the following districts: Appoquinimink, Brandywine, Colonial, Milford, New Castle County Vo-Tech and Sussex Tech school districts

• $177 million for maintenance, roof replacement and other improvement at various state facilities

• $60 million for improvements at the University of Delaware, Delaware State University and Delaware Technical Community College

• $44 million for maintenance at correctional facilities

• $34 million for the Kent and Sussex Family Courthouses

• $24 million for the Riverfront Development Corp., Frawley Stadium and park and neighborhood improvements

• $20 million for improvements at these parks: Bellevue State Park, White Clay Creek Nature Center, Killens Pond Water Park, the Fort Miles Museum, Lums Pond, Fort Delaware, a Cape Henlopen boardwalk project and Trap Pond dock repairs

The grants-in-aid legislation makes up a total of $72 million in funding. It includes:

• $22.7 million for organizations in the following areas: substance use disorder treatment, the arts, tourism and community services

• $16 million for ongoing paramedic operations in all three counties, with an additional $1 million for each county.

• $10 million for fire and ambulance companies for maintenance of their trucks, ambulances and rescue boats

• $9.9 million for senior centers

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware spending bills pass after House Democrats OK LLC voting bill