TOP PRIORITIES
FOR DELAWARE
A coordinated list of 2021 priorities compiled by the Association of Chambers of Commerce of Delaware, of which the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce proudly participates
WORKFORCE & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• Invest in Delaware workers and families
- Provide relief to individuals who lost their job as a result of the pandemic by not requiring those individuals to pay state taxes on any unemployment benefits they received in 2020 - Provide support for Forward Delaware, the rapid workforce training and redeployment initiative - Create incentives for employers who hire Forward Delaware graduates - Encourage federal funding to be directed towards assisting with stabilizing childcare providers to solve a long-standing child care challenge that has been heightened as a resut of the pandemic
• Attract and maintain jobs for Delawareans
- Strengthen the state’s ability to compete for jobs with other states by not increasing taxes on individuals and businesses
• No increases or changes to minimum wage, training wage or youth wage until the unemployment rate reaches 4.0% • Legalization of recreational mariujana should not be passed without a test for impairment, employer internal policies protections, and protections from outside lawsuits are in place • The Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or stimilar state laws should closely mirror the federal FMLA
REGULATIONS & PERMITTING
• Protect natural spaces and create jobs by redeveloping abandoned sites - Support Governor Carney and the General Assembly’s efforts to create a Clean Water Trust Fund to ensure the availability of clean water for future generations - Initiate and support state programs that will increase funding for strategic economic development funds, establish site readiness funding, and focus these efforts on abandoned sites as a mean of creating clean, new jobs
• Implement the Ready in 6 initiative’s recommendations - Establish a clear and precise timeframe state agencies must respond to permit applicant requests - Hire an economic development “project concierge” to ensure projects move swiftly through the approval process - Eliminate the Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS)
COVID-19
• Open businesses back up to 100% occupancy as quickly and safely as possible • Prioritize Delawareans and all Delaware workers during the vaccination rollout
EDUCATION
• Take bold steps to establish education equity and opportunity
- Establish a new funding formula to replace Delaware’s current unit funding formula to provide more accountability for taxpayers on the $1.4 billion the State spends each year on public education - Grow, scale and sustain Delaware Pathways, work-based learning and employer engagement - Support for early learning is essential, and Delaware must make significant progress toward creating universal, highquality pre-kindergarten to be offered across public schools, private providers and Head Start
DELAWARE STATE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
1201 N. Orange St. | Ste. 200 | P.O. Box 671 | Wilmington, DE 19899-0671 | Phone: (302) 655-7221 | www.DSCC.com DELAWARE BUSINESS | Ja nu a r y / Fe br u a r y 2022
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