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Delaware Budget Writing Panel Gets Back to Work

Don Rush

DOVER, Del. (AP) - The General Assembly's budget-writing committee is resuming work on a spending plan for the fast-approaching new fiscal year.

The Joint Finance Committee was to reconvene Monday to continue marking up Gov. Jack Markell's proposed $3.9 billion budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.

The committee's work got a little easier last week when revenue estimates for the current and upcoming fiscal years increased by about $33 million.

But available revenue is still about $15 million lower than when Markell unveiled his budget proposal in January.

The gap that lawmakers are left with is actually closer to $30 million, because they have balked at some of Markell's proposals to balance his spending plan, including reducing tax breaks for senior citizens and eliminating transportation stipends for students in private schools.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs 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.