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Legislative Priority: Reflecting on 2023
BY TYLER MICIK
IN MY LAST ARTICLE, I highlighted the State Chamber’s Member-to-Member program and explained the importance of scheduling site visits with members of the General Assembly. By the end of September, we completed several of these meetings with more scheduled before year end.
Meetings held thus far include:
Zip Code Wilmington hosted Senator Bryan Townsend
Waste Management welcomed Representative Sophie Phillips
Walmart met with Representatives DeShanna Neal and Kendra Johnson
The State Chamber would like to extend a sincere thank you to our members for hosting these meetings and to members of the General Assembly for taking the time to visit, meet employees, and learn how the company operates.
I had the pleasure of participating in these meetings, and I’m confident that all parties walked away with a greater understanding and appreciation for the work each other is doing. While we may not always agree on a particular issue, a lot can be learned by sitting down at the table together, having a conversation, and listening to each other.
For example, after visiting Zip Code Wilmington and talking with Executive Director Desa Burton and students in the program, Senator Townsend expressed:
“I applaud Zip Code Wilmington’s tremendous efforts and success in providing critical training to Delawareans and helping them open doors to rewarding careers. Zip Code’s focus on developing hard and soft skills across an expanding range of content areas and age groups will promote dynamism and preparedness in the Delaware workforce, strengthen the Delaware economy, and uplift individual families for generations.”
As the end of 2023 draws near, I think it’s important to reflect on the past year and talk about some of the key things that happened. The General Assembly saw significant changes this session, such as the addition of nine new legislators—three seats in the Senate and six in the House. It also brought changes to the House with the selection of an all-female leadership team, the first in Delaware history. Lastly, the General Assembly passed a $5.6B operating budget, the largest in state history, for Fiscal Year 2024 and a 194.5M supplemental budget in one-time measures and contingency funds.
Add that to the list of people who’ve announced candidacy for office in the state’s federal and local delegations, gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial races, and there’s a lot of changes and uncertainty looming in the air.
Times will continue to change and despite uncertainty, businesses never cease being creative to be successful. The State Chamber remains committed to bringing parties on both sides together to help support businesses and their employees.
As we approach a new year, the State Chamber is in the process of drafting its 2024 policy priorities and is looking for recommendations and feedback from our members. Priorities focus around six key areas: workforce development, training, and education; environment, energy, and sustainability; health care; economic development; technology; and fiscal policy. If you have thoughts or recommendations on any of these areas, please reach out to me at tmicik@ dscc.com.
Tyler Micik is the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce’s director of public policy and government relations.
