ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION

• NEWS: Giving Farmers the "Right to Repair"
• NEWS: New Agency Would Seek Out Fraud, Waste, and Corruption
• OPINION: Democratic State Lawmakers Don’t Trust Local Communities
• NEWS: Joint Finance Committee Sets FY 2026 Operating Budget at $6.58 Billion

NEWS:

Giving Farmers the

"Right to Repair"

Newly introduced legislation would give farmers the legal right to repair their agricultural equipment.

Traditionally, many farmers have also been their own mechanics, performing routine maintenance and making essential repairs to keep their machinery running. 

However, as farm equipment has evolved to include complex software and digital systems, manufacturers have increasingly imposed legal and technical restrictions that prevent owners from fixing their machines or using independent repair services. These barriers include software locks, restricted repair manuals, and limited access to diagnostic tools and replacement parts.

Manufacturers have argued that their actions are justified, saying unauthorized repairs could lead to hacking or tampering and that granting full repair access could expose trade secrets and proprietary technology.

But farmers say manufacturers are creating monopolies on repairs, inflating costs, and increasing downtime. When a tractor or combine breaks down during planting or harvesting, the inability to promptly get critical machinery back in operation places farm profitability at risk. Farmers say they own the equipment and should have the right to service it and better control their destiny.

The Delaware Agricultural Right to Repair Act seeks to restore lost consumer rights.

"In many ways, I think farming is more challenging than it has ever been," said State Rep. Rich Collins (R-Millsboro), the prime sponsor of the proposal. "Restricting repair access has become a profit center for equipment manufacturers, and it's imposed higher costs on farmers and increased their risk when equipment inevitably fails. This bill seeks to level the playing field and give farmers back the latitude and flexibility they need to operate."

The bipartisan bill is co-sponsored by State Reps. Jesse Vanderwende (R-Greenwood, Bridgeville) and Charles Postles (R-Milford North), who are among the few state lawmakers actively engaged in farming.

The bill would require manufacturers to provide independent technicians and equipment owners with reasonable access to the information, tools, and parts needed to diagnose and repair their machinery.

Among its key provisions, the legislation would prohibit “parts pairing”—a practice where software prevents the use of third-party replacement parts. It would also ban manufacturers from disabling equipment components, reducing machine functionality, or issuing misleading alerts in response to repairs not conducted by company-approved technicians. 

The right to repair movement has started to gain traction nationally, not only with farm equipment but with consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and other product categories. While dozens of states have introduced legislation on the issue in recent years, Colorado is the only one thus far to enact a law dealing specifically with agricultural equipment.

The Delaware proposal is currently pending action in the House Agriculture Committee.

NEWS:

New Agency Would Seek Out Fraud,

Waste and Corruption

A measure to establish a new state agency dedicated to reducing fraud, waste, and abuse awaits lawmakers' consideration as they return to work on Tuesday for the final month of the 2025 legislative session.

Senate Bill 4, which seeks to create a Delaware Office of the Inspector General (OIG), cleared the Senate in late May on a unanimous vote.

If enacted, the OIG would become a first-of-its-kind entity in Delaware—an independent, nonpartisan agency tasked with safeguarding public health and safety while investigating and preventing government fraud, waste, mismanagement, corruption, and other abuses of taxpayer resources.

The Inspector General would be appointed through a structured nomination process. A selection panel would recommend three candidates to the governor, who would then nominate one for Senate confirmation. The appointed Inspector General would serve a five-year term.

The legislation has bipartisan support. Among its co-sponsors are State Reps. Tim Dukes (R-Laurel) and Lyndon Yearick (R-Camden, Wyoming, Woodside).

Though the office is expected to require an annual budget of approximately $1.5 million, supporters argue that similar offices in other states have routinely saved or recovered many times that amount through audits, investigations, and oversight initiatives.

As of 2024, more than 30 states have established some form of an Inspector General’s office. However, their structure, powers, and jurisdiction vary widely. States such as Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Virginia maintain centralized, statewide OIGs, while others operate department-specific offices with more limited authority.

The Delaware bill is presently pending action in the House Administration Committee.

OPINION:

Democratic State Lawmakers Don’t Trust Local Communities

By State Rep. Bryan Shupe

House and Senate Democrats have made one thing clear: they don’t trust local communities to govern themselves. Over the past year, they’ve sponsored legislation that seeks to strip authority away from county governments, school boards, and even local librarians—placing the responsibility for key decisions in the hands of unelected state boards and bureaucrats.

Whether it’s about energy infrastructure, public libraries, or economic development, the message from Dover is simple: “We know better than your town officials, your school board, your county council—and you.”

Here are three recent bills illustrating the point:

Senate Bill 159: Overriding Sussex County on Wind Project

SB 159 is a direct response to the Sussex County Council’s decision to deny a permit for an electric substation tied to a proposed offshore wind project. The substation would have linked turbines off Delaware’s coast to the power grid, but the electricity would go to Maryland, not Delaware.

Sussex residents made their voices heard. County Council listened and voted accordingly.

Rather than respecting the expressed will of local residents, the state stepped in. SB 159 would not only strip all Delaware counties of their ability to reject similar projects but also retroactively overturn the Sussex decision.

Of the 28 Democratic legislators sponsoring or co-sponsoring the bill, only one represents Sussex County.

In a column defending her sponsorship of the bill, Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall (D-Rehoboth Beach) doubled down on the need for the state to usurp authority and override local determination, noting that “Southern communities claimed ‘local control’ in defense of Jim Crow segregation.” That is an offensive and historically inaccurate comparison that reveals just how far legislators with this mentality will go to discredit opposing views.

This measure is not about green energy. It’s about political control, imposed from the top down.

House Bill 119: Undermining Local Librarians and Community Review

This bill claims to provide clarity in the book review process, but its real effect is to shift decision-making power away from local public and school libraries and into the hands of a few individuals at the state level.

I’ve spoken directly with Delaware’s head librarians, and many oppose this bill. They question why the state needs to create a new, centralized review board to oversee what they already manage effectively.

HB 119 would hand final authority over appeals on public library material to the state librarian, an appointed position. In the case of school libraries, decisions would ultimately lie with a seven-member School Library Review Committee, composed of groups with no accountability to the communities impacted by their actions.

Our local libraries already have review processes in place—review boards made up of community members who understand local values, needs, and concerns. They work with care and transparency. They deserve our trust.

This bill opens the door to a broader, more dangerous form of censorship—the kind that comes from the top down.

Senate Bill 75: Blocking Counties from Regulating Marijuana

After Delaware legalized recreational marijuana, county officials listened to the concerns of their constituents and enacted local rules to limit or regulate cultivation and sales.

State lawmakers responded with SB 75 to limit the authority of county governments to regulate marijuana businesses. The bill passed the Senate on party lines—every vote in favor was a Democrat.

It’s another example of local voices being silenced by state lawmakers who think they know better.

A Pattern of Overreach

What unites these three bills is a deep distrust of the people and leaders closest to the issues. Instead of respecting school boards, county councils, or librarians, the majority party in Dover insists on centralized control, removing accountability and local nuance.

These actions ignore the most basic principle of representative democracy: that decisions should be made at the level closest to the people. It’s a principle rooted in common sense and one that has served our country well.

Even if you agree with the outcomes of these specific bills, consider the dangerous precedent they set. When the state government can override your county, town, or school district at will, your voice no longer matters.

Delaware deserves better. We need leaders who trust our communities, not those seeking to silence them.

NEWS:

Joint Finance Committee Sets FY 2026 Operating Budget at $6.58 Billion

Earlier this week, the 12 Delaware legislators comprising the Joint Finance Committee approved the Fiscal Year 2026 state operating budget, totaling $6.58 billion. The spending plan is a $451 million increase over the current budget—a hike of 7.36%.

The new budget must be enacted before July 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of state government services and the continued operation of public facilities.

Unlike the federal government, Delaware is constitutionally prohibited from spending beyond its means. State law limits appropriations to no more than 98% of projected revenues.

The non-partisan Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council (DEFAC) makes revenue projections six times a year. The final forecast for the fiscal year is scheduled for release on Monday, June 16. If that report significantly deviates—either higher or lower—from DEFAC’s previous forecast issued in May, lawmakers could revisit and adjust the operating budget.

The final revenue estimate is more likely to affect the composition of Delaware’s two other major money bills: the capital budget and the Grants-in-Aid bill.

Commonly known as the Bond Bill because it is partially financed through bond sales, the capital budget funds school construction, road improvements, and other major public projects. The Grants-in-Aid bill provides supplemental assistance to senior centers, volunteer fire departments, and hundreds of other non-profit organizations delivering services to communities across the state.