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Budget Bills Work Their Way Through Delaware Legislature

Don Rush

Grant In-Aid Bill

DOVER, Del. (AP) - Legislative budget writers are beginning work on a bill to provide millions of dollars in grants to nonprofit organizations, community groups and volunteer fire companies.

Gov. Jack Markell has proposed $43 million in grants to nonprofit groups and community agencies for the fiscal year starting Monday.

The legislature's Joint Finance Committee was to meet Wednesday to begin marking up Markell's proposal.

The so-called grant-in-aid bill is the third and smallest budget bill that lawmakers pass each year, along with the operating budget and a capital budget for roads and construction projects.

The state House approved a $3.7 billion operating budget for fiscal 2014 on Tuesday, and the Senate was to vote Wednesday on a proposed $477.8 million capital budget.

Operating Budget

DOVER, Del. (AP) - The state House has approved a $3.7 billion operating budget for the fiscal year that starts Monday.

House members voted 40-to-1 Tuesday to approve the budget, which now goes to the Senate.

Rep. Ruth Briggs King, a Georgetown Republican, cast the only dissenting House vote, expressing concerns about budget growth.

The budget bill is about 3.6 percent, or $131 million, higher than the current year's budget. It's also about $6 million higher than the budget proposed by Democratic Gov. Jack Markell in January.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.