DOVER, Del. - The Delaware Senate unanimously passed a $6.99 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2027 on Thursday evening.
Senate Bill 335 includes a 6.3 percent increase in spending and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.
The budget includes $146.9 million for state employee pay increases. Merit employees would receive a 3 percent raise for the sixth year in a row. Education employees would receive at least a 3 percent raise, with additional increases for teachers, nurses and non-administrator classroom staff, following recommendations from the Public Education Compensation Commission.
The spending plan also adds more than $16.2 million to cover the state share of health insurance premiums for state employees and retirees.
The budget includes $65.8 million for retiree health care investments and $72 million to fully fund a post-retirement increase for state pensioners. Retirees who left service between 2006 and June 2021 would receive a 1 percent increase, while those who retired before June 30, 2006, would receive a 2 percent increase.
Health care funding includes $128.5 million to cover statewide Medicaid service needs, $34.1 million for health services increases in the Department of Correction and $10.5 million for direct support professional rate increases.
The budget also includes more than $2.5 billion for pre-K-12 public education, supporting just over 140,000 students. That includes $26 million to restore a fiscal year 2018 reduction to Division II funding for districts and charter schools, as well as $8 million in continued early literacy funding.
Higher education and workforce funding includes $5 million for Delaware State University operations, $1.5 million for adult education and workforce training at vocational school districts and $1.2 million for Delaware Technical Community College compensation stabilization.
The budget also includes $2.8 million for Delaware State Police body-worn camera contract increases, $2.2 million for additional security staffing at transit facilities and DMV locations, and $2.4 million for preventative detention and bail reform implementation.
Lawmakers also passed Senate Bill 336, a one-time supplemental budget totaling $146.2 million. That bill includes $100 million toward future education formula changes as the state moves toward a weighted funding formula model recommended by the Public Education Funding Commission.
The supplemental budget also includes $8.3 million for upcoming primary and general elections, $8 million for the Delaware Early Childhood Care and Education Alliance, $3.4 million for SAT reform efforts and $3 million for teacher-driven classroom projects.
Senate Joint Resolution 16 and Senate Joint Resolution 17, which affirm official revenue projections for the current and upcoming fiscal years, also passed unanimously.
The bills now head to the House for consideration.
