By Matt Bittle

DOVER — A House committee rejected Wednesday a bill that would have raised taxes on the state’s highest earners.

Delaware currently has six personal income tax brackets, with the top one imposing a rate of 6.6% on all income of more than $60,000. The legislation heard last week would tax income from $125,001 to $250,000 at 7.1%, $250,001 to $500,000 at 7.85% and above $500,000 at 8.6%. The state’s top bracket has remained at $60,001 and up for more than 20 years.

Under the measure, a taxpayer who earns $250,000 annually would pay an additional $625.

Two Democrats joined with the five Republicans on the committee to vote against releasing the bill from the House Revenue & Finance Committee, meaning it is essentially dead.

The administration of Gov. John Carney, which opposed the measure, said the changes would impact about 10% of Delaware taxpayers, including 29% of nonresident taxpayers. Those 10% of taxpayers currently account for 48% of Delaware personal income tax revenue.

The new tax rates would result in an estimated $85 to $90 million in additional revenue — assuming no behavioral changes among affected individuals, which Secretary of Finance Rick Geisenberger suggested may not be the case.

The bill could lead to high-income individuals, including tens of thousands of people who pay nonresident taxes, opting to leave Delaware, work from home in neighboring states or change how and when they record capital gains and other non-wage income, Mr. Geisenberger said.

“Most of all, the bill makes us less competitive with our neighbors, particularly our neighbors in Pennsylvania,” said the secretary, who described Delaware’s tax scheme as one of the most progressive in the nation.

Mr. Geisenberger noted Delaware currently has a revenue surplus.

Free feminine hygiene products in schools

The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation requiring schools throughout the state to provide students with tampons, pads and other feminine hygiene products free of charge starting in the upcoming school year.

House Bill 20 would require all Delaware public and charter schools with students in sixth through 12th grade to provide the products in half of their bathrooms at no cost to students. Schools would be required to publish on their websites and post in common areas the locations where the products could be found.

Based on the Delaware Department of Education’s 2019 enrollment count, more than 37,000 students could benefit from the products provided by HB 20.

“This legislation will directly impact the lives of menstruating students throughout our state by providing them with a basic level of dignity as they attend Delaware schools,” said Sen. Kyle Evans Gay, a Talleyville Democrat and the prime Senate sponsor, said in a statement.

“By openly addressing this issue, we are demonstrating our commitment to remove the stigma of menstruation. Thank you to my Senate colleagues for voting to support the students who today are missing classes because they lack access to period products.”

Low-income women and families are particularly impacted by lack of access.

Introduced in December and passed unanimously by the House earlier this month, the bill now heads to Gov. John Carney’s desk.

Capitol study committee

Legislative leaders from all four caucuses announced plans Wednesday to thoroughly study and assess the space, technological and security needs for Legislative Hall. Built in 1933, the building has not undergone a major renovation since the 1990s.

House Joint Resolution 3 would establish a working group to assess the future space needs for lawmakers, staff and the public, as well as to examine the technological capabilities needed to promote openness and transparency and determine what security upgrades might be necessary to protect the safety of all who visit the building.

“When Legislative Hall was built nearly 90 years ago, the General Assembly didn’t have a full-time staff. They didn’t even have individual offices — they sat at their desks on the floor and conducted business,” House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, a Rehoboth Beach Democrat, said in a statement. “The legislature itself and our roles have evolved. Technological advancements have made it possible to bring government from Dover to every corner of Delaware, and beyond. And the world in which we now live, unfortunately, requires additional security considerations we never contemplated even 20 years ago.

“Legislative Hall, as it exists today, is not equipped to efficiently and effectively handle the day-to-day challenges of being the seat of government in the 21st century. Rather than taking an ad-hoc or piecemeal approach to addressing individual issues, this committee will assess all our building needs comprehensively and make recommendations to make Leg Hall more accessible, transparent, functional and safe for all who use or visit it.”

Legislative Hall lacks many dedicated meeting rooms that can adequately accommodate public committee hearings. Rooms are not equipped for live-streaming or multimedia presentations, and on busy days, dozens of people can cram into small rooms, some of which are not ADA-compliant.

Between lawmakers, staffers, lobbyists, reporters and concerned citizens, roughly 600 people visit the state capitol on an average session day, per the General Assembly.

The Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in January raised safety concerns, which lawmakers hope to address through the resolution.

The building committee would be compromised of three state representatives and three senators, including members of both parties, along with three residents (one each appointed by the governor, House speaker and Senate president pro tempore), the House chief clerk, the secretary of the Senate, the controller general, the Capitol Police chief and the director of the Division of Research.

The measure calls for the committee to deliver its final report by Oct. 1, 2022.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.