IN THIS ISSUE

• OPINION VIDEO: Woodland Ferry Under Threat
• NEWS: Local Government Authority Diminished by the 153rd General Assembly
• OPINION: Delaware Schools Need to Embrace the Advantages of New Technologies

OPINION VIDEO

Woodland Ferry Under Threat

The Woodland Ferry, which carries vehicles and passengers across 460 feet of the Nanticoke River southwest of Seaford, dates back to Colonial times, but a state task force is considering options that could threaten its future viability.

Established by Executive Order No. 14, the Delaware Task Force on Sustainable Transportation Funding is weighing a wide range of options to reform the state's Transportation Trust Fund (TTF), which finances road and bridge projects, public transit, and more.

Some revenue streams that support the fund are either not keeping pace with inflation or, in the case of the state fuel tax, declining. Additionally, several major projects on the horizon, such as capping I-95 in Wilmington and widening Delaware 1 in New Castle and Kent counties, will place new strains on the TTF.

Two options are under consideration for the Woodland Ferry. One recommendation under advisement would begin charging tolls for what is currently a free service. A second suggestion would transfer the crossing's operation to a nonprofit entity or private company.

State Rep. Danny Short, who represents the area, does not support either option. He argues that charging fares will further diminish ridership on the ferry, which is already flagging because the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) cannot keep the vessel in service due to chronic maintenance and personnel issues. Rep. Short added that, like most public transit services, the ferry isn't viable without state support.

While the ferry costs about $755,000 to operate annually, Rep. Short said that is well under 1% of the $125 million the agency spends from the TTF each year to support public transit operations elsewhere in the state.

When the Woodland Ferry is operating normally, it serves dozens of vehicles daily. Given its continuing value to local residents and its cultural and historical significance as the nation’s oldest operating ferry, Rep. Short says the crossing should be maintained.

Rep. Short says many problems with the unreliable ferry service stem from unforced errors by DelDOT. Instead of replacing the older ferry with a new vessel of the same size and type, DelDOT contracted for a new, larger, purpose-built vessel that was troubled from the start. After its official christening in 2008, the vessel suffered systemic mechanical breakdowns and was functional for only six of its first 14 months in active service.

Additionally, the larger vessel requires a higher operator classification, making it extremely difficult to hire and maintain full staffing. Both issues have made the service exceedingly erratic and unpredictable. Operations at the crossing are currently suspended as the ferry awaits difficult repairs to its thruster assemblies.

As an alternative to the task force's options, Rep. Short suggests replacing the current MVF Tina Fallon with a smaller, more reliable vessel—to be christened the MVF Tina Fallon II—that would be easier to staff and less expensive to operate.

While the task force is soliciting public input via a survey, Rep. Short said the online form does not address the Woodland Ferry directly and offers little opportunity for detailed comments. He urged supporters of maintaining and improving the service's operation to send emails to the following address: Dotpr@Delaware.gov.

The Delaware Task Force on Sustainable Transportation Funding is considering other options, such as raising the state fuel tax, increasing existing vehicle fees, and establishing new fees, including e-bike registration. For more information on what the group has been discussing, access its Meetings, Minutes, and Materials at this website: https://deldot.gov/Programs/sustainable_funding/

Under the executive order that established the group, the task force must deliver a final report on its recommendations to the governor and the General Assembly no later than December.

NEWS

Local Government Authority Diminished by the 153rd General Assembly

House Republicans Largely Opposed Laws that Intruded

on the Jurisdictions of Municipal and County Governments

A review of the 153rd General Assembly, which ends in a little over two weeks, reveals at least five instances in which state lawmakers stripped authority from county councils, municipal governments, and even local libraries—often transferring decision-making authority to officials the people affected by those choices could not hold accountable.

Here is a list of those actions:

House Democrats Override Governor's Veto of Marijuana Bill

Senate Bill 75, as amended, largely ties county officials' hands on where marijuana businesses can set up shop and what hours and days they can be open.

The bill passed the House and Senate last year without Republican support. A handful of Democratic lawmakers also opposed its passage.

House Republicans objected to the state interfering with local authority. Governor Matt Meyer appeared to agree, vetoing the measure in August 2025. In his veto message to the General Assembly, Gov. Meyer, a former county executive, raised concerns that the bill broadly preempted local decision-making on where and how cannabis retail locations and growing operations can operate.

Senate Democrats overrode the veto on January 28, 2026, 14-6, exceeding the required 60% supermajority. More than five months later, House Democrats followed suit, voting 25-16 to override the veto with only about two hours left in the legislative session.

Two Democrats joined all 14 members of the House Republican Caucus in opposition. With the successful override, SB 75 (as amended) was enacted into law.

Senate Bill 159: Overriding Sussex County Council Decision Linked to Offshore Wind Project

This legislation was a response to 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 regional power grid, but the electricity would go to Maryland, not Delaware. The permit denial was based, in part, on the proposed project's lack of benefit to county residents.

Rather than respecting local residents' expressed will, the state enacted SB 159, which retroactively overturned the Sussex decision and stripped all Delaware counties of their ability to reject similar projects.

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.”

The House voted 25-15 to pass the bill, with one Democrat joining all 14 members of the House Republican Caucus in opposition.

House Bill 119: Undermining Local Control of Libraries

Signed into law a little more than a year ago, supporters of this statute claim it clarifies the book review process. However, critics say the measure shifts decision-making power away from local public and school libraries and into the hands of a few individuals at the state level.

Under the law, the state librarian, an appointed position, has final authority over appeals on public library material. For school libraries, decisions now ultimately rest with a seven-member School Library Review Committee, composed of representatives of groups with no accountability to the communities affected by their actions.

The new law replaces previous community-based review protocols for public and school libraries.

The measure passed the House 27 to 10, with all 10 votes in opposition from House Republicans. One House Republican was absent.

HB 430 – Proposed Constitutional Amendment Barring Non-Resident Business Owners from Voting in Municipal Elections

About a dozen Delaware municipalities allow non-resident property owners, including business operators and trusts, to vote in town and city elections.

In many cases, these practices have been in place for decades. All were previously approved by the General Assembly.

In late 2024, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the Town of Fenwick Island, which is one of the municipalities allowing such voting. The group argued that this infringed on the "one person, one vote" principle and violated the state constitutional mandate for "free and equal" elections.

The town's attorneys countered that each qualified voter—human or entity—may cast only one vote. They also noted that because property owners pay taxes and are subject to the town's ordinances, they had a right to participate in the electoral process.

The Delaware Superior Court dismissed the lawsuit, ruling for Fenwick Island. Just days before the decision was handed down, House Bill 430 was filed. House Republicans overwhelmingly opposed the measure, arguing that it trampled local control, imposed a solution to a problem not shown to exist, and would subject many local businesses and homeowners to taxation without representation.

The amendment cleared the House with the minimum 28 votes. Twelve House Republicans voted against the measure, with one absent. As a constitutional amendment, the legislation must be approved a second time by the upcoming 154th General Assembly to be adopted.

Senate Substitute 2 for Senate Bill 23 – Housing Mandates

This law seeks to increase affordable housing availability in Delaware by increasing the overall supply of residences and mandating actions by county and municipal governments.

“The Housing for Every Delawarean Act” generally requires the counties and municipalities with populations over 2,000 to make significant changes to their comprehensive plans and zoning, increase allowable housing density, and create a plan to increase affordable housing in their jurisdictions.

The law also eliminates local governments' discretion to reject a residential development if the project complies with zoning. This was illustrated in a recent Kent County case, where the planning commission rejected a proposal over traffic-safety concerns. However, Kent County Levy Court was compelled to approve the project on appeal, noting that the proposal complied with the property's zoning requirements.

Nine House Republicans voted against the bill, and one caucus member abstained due to a potential conflict.

OPINION

Delaware Schools Need to Embrace the Advantages of New Technologies

BY State Rep. Jeff Hilovsky

I recently traveled to New Jersey to meet with Rowan University Chancellor Dr. Tony Lowman and the Dreamscape Learn Team.  

Dreamscape Learn is an Extended Reality (Virtual Reality) experience that builds interest, sparks curiosity, increases participation and attendance, and directly involves students in the learning process by immersing them in a 3D virtual reality environment.  

I had the opportunity to tour the facility, speak with faculty, and experience two lessons: one on Chemistry and the other on Art History. Both lessons were interactive and gave me opportunities to grasp concepts, learn facts, and spark questions that left me curious, wanting more information, and anticipating the coursework that followed to build the learning needed for the next VR experience.  

In a time when many are questioning education's relevance, and where and how jobs will be created in this exponentially changing world, one must wonder: how is it possible we are teaching essentially the same way (one teacher/20 students) as we did in the 1700s?  

This is not about thinking outside the box. This is about using "force multipliers" like Extended Reality and VR to help educators prepare our students, each of whom may learn and think differently, to succeed in an ever-changing world.  

Dr. Lowman was clear and took me on a private tour to show how he plans to expand this opportunity to many more students in the near future. 

As the legislative session ended in June, the House passed House Substitute 1 for House Bill 404, 36 to 4, which I wrote with Delaware Education Secretary Dr. Cindy Marten and her team to integrate Extended Reality and AI into the classroom responsibly. The measure included strict guardrails, with state officials providing legal and technological oversight to protect student privacy and safety. 

Unfortunately, in the early morning hours of July 1st, the Senate Majority Leader and Senate Pro Tempore refused to bring the bill to the floor for a vote for purely partisan reasons.  

I will soon meet with the DOE to discuss a hands-on demonstration in Delaware. 

Please click here to watch a two-minute video that illustrates the promise of this approach.