DELAWARE - The Delaware Working Families Party is calling on state lawmakers to give equal consideration to all proposals during the General Assembly’s special session Tuesday, saying that current leadership’s agenda fails to root causes.
In a statement released Tuesday, Shyanne Miller, the party’s Progressive Governance Director, said the session is "shaping up to be an exercise in the appearance of democracy" and criticized leadership for not including measures that would, in her view, offer long-term solutions.
Miller pointed to concerns over the recent property reassessment process, claiming inaccuracies have shifted the tax burden from corporations to homeowners. She noted that while plans to protect homeowners from late fees and allow payment plans are necessary, they do not address the underlying problem.
However, in a release from the Delaware House of Representatives Majority Caucus Leadership, says the three House bills, three Senate bills and one Senate resolution were developed in close consultation with all three counties.
"With federal funding cuts ahead, every step must be sustainable and designed to provide real assistance and not empty gestures. Delawareans deserve solutions that work, not political theater." said the release.
The director also said counties lack the experience to handle property reassessments after a 40-year gap and need additional state support and guardrails. Proposed resolutions to form working groups on the matter were not placed on the agenda, she added.
“Our current state tax structure is upside down,” Miller said. “Working families are subsidizing corporations while our public schools go underfunded. If corporations were paying their full share of property taxes, we wouldn’t have to choose between funding our schools and protecting our homeowners.”
Democratic House leadership continued to say that while not all resolutions were put on the agenda, those proposals that were vetted will be considered in the new year. Members were also informed that the Senate would lead a statewide review process to evaluate reassessment improvements and proposals needing more study, said the release.
The statement from Delaware Working Families Party concluded with a call for lawmakers to “fairly consider all the proposals, rather than this pre-determined staging of doing the people’s business.”
The Delaware Working Families Party identifies as a progressive grassroots political party.
The special session will be held at Legislative Hall in Dover at 2 p.m. following the swearing in of Alonna Berry for District 20. The three bills selected for consideration include HB240, HB241 and HB242.