Ghost guns, a higher smoking age and other takeaways from Delaware's State of the State

Raising the purchase age for tobacco products, outlawing so-called “ghost guns” and expanding a new program that helps teachers pay off their student loans.

Those were among the proposals Gov. John Carney put forward Thursday in his second State of the State Address to both chambers of the Delaware General Assembly – an annual speech that typically offers broad-stroke policy ideas with few specifics.

The governor will put price tags next to his proposals next week in the form of a spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The Legislature typically uses that spending pitch as a blueprint for crafting the state's final budget while his annual address generally sets the mood for the coming months.

Carney, who was not available to answer questions afterward, began his 35-minute monologue by urging lawmakers to work together, stressing that Delawareans are tired of the gridlock they see in Washington D.C.

“They don’t want us to shut down the government,” he said. “They want us to make the government work for them.”

But some of his proposals could generate significant debate weeks ahead, particularly when it comes to gun control — an issue that dominated the 2018 legislative session.

Here are five major proposals from Carney’s address:

Raising the smoking age

Perhaps not the most controversial proposal in the governor’s speech, Carney’s public support for lifting the age at which someone can purchase cigarettes from 18 to 21 was at least the newest.

If successful, it would impose one of the biggest restrictions on tobacco use in Delaware since 2002, when the state banned smoking in most indoor public places, such as bars, hospitals and theaters.

“Living healthy lifestyles is probably the most important thing we can all do to lower health care costs in the long run,” he said. “We know that forming good health habits early in life increases the chances you’ll be a healthy adult.”

Limiting the number of people who can smoke also would go a long way toward reducing health care costs in the state, said Senate Majority Whip Bryan Townsend, D-Newark/Bear.

“By helping young people postpone that bad habit, not only will it make them healthier but it will save the state a tremendous amount of money in avoidable health costs,” he said.

Although Carney specifically focused on cigarettes, Townsend said the bill he plans to introduce in February would raise the legal purchase for a number of tobacco products. That includes electronic cigarettes which have grown in popularity among teens even as other forms of tobacco use has fallen.

House Minority Leader Danny Short, R-Seaford, said some in his caucus might take issue with the fact adults older than 18 can vote and serve in the military but would not be able to smoke.

“I understand the health side of that issue but I think there are other things we can do other than restrict the age but we’ll see how that plays out,” he said.

Gun control

When it comes to controversy, it’s hard to beat the issue of gun control.

And Carney’s speech indicates Delaware General Assembly is headed into another year of intense debate over restricting access to certain types of firearms.

The governor helped to touch off that battle last when he called for a ban on the sale and import of so-called “assault weapons” in Delaware.

A bill to create such a ban failed to reach the Senate floor, but Senate President Pro Tem David McBride, D-New Castle, recently vowed that would change this year if the legislation is reintroduced.

Carney commended McBride for his pledge and pushed the debate in a new direction by calling for a separate ban on so-called “ghost guns.” A new boogeyman for Democrats, the term refers to homemade weapons assembled for untraceable parts and include firearms made with 3-D printers.

Those types of guns can be acquired without a background check, include no serial number and could be made from parts undetectable by metal detectors.

But Second Amendment advocates argue they also are virtually non-existent.

“If ghost guns were an issue in Delaware, it might be something to spend our time on,” said Sen. David Lawson, R-Marydel. “But show me one … show me the problem. There are more people killed with hammers and fists than these guns they’re trying to ban.”

No legislation to ban either “ghost guns” or “assault weapons” had been introduced in the Legislature as of Thursday. But Townsend, who sponsored last year’s ban bill, said he is looking into sponsoring a similar measure this year.

“My intention is to reintroduce some legislation,” he said. “I don’t know if it will be a wholesale reintroduction of the exact same language.”

State worker raises

Thanks to a large surplus last year, lawmakers were able to provide state workers with a number of enhanced benefits.

Teachers received a 2-percent raise while other state workers received a flat $1,000 pay hike at a collective cost to state taxpayers of $26 million. Those raises came in addition to $13 million worth of previously negotiated pay increases and one-time $500 bonuses collectively valued at $23 million.

Carney on Thursday gave the state’s workforce of more than 30,000 hope that even more pay hikes could be around the corner.

“Last year, state employees in every agency got a pay raise,” she said. “And in my budget next week, I’ll propose that we continue these investments in state employee pay.”

A spokesman for the governor declined to say what those “investments” would entail.

But House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, said he would support further pay hikes.

“State employees have been left behind for quite a few years,” he said. “When you don’t get taken care of every year with a cost-of-living raise, you fall behind and you hardly ever catch up.”

Teacher loan repayment

Carney returned Thursday to an issue he first broached in his 2018 State of the State address: a student-loan repayment program for educators.

First proposed by state Rep. David Bentz, D-Christiana the High Needs Educator Student Loan Payment Program was first offered this school year.

The $200,000 program allows the state to make loan payments valued at up to $2,000 a year on behalf of teachers working at high-needs schools and those teaching high-demand subject areas.

Teachers can qualify for up to five years of assistance, putting the total potential value as high as $10,000.

The idea was to help convince young teachers to remain with schools that need experienced staff the most.

Nearly half of the staff at Richardson Park has less than a decade of teaching experience, for instance. Meanwhile, 65 percent of the faculty at Seaford High School and 75 percent of educators at Frederick Douglass Stubbs Elementary have been teachers for less than 10 years.

The program appears to have garnered plenty of interest in just the first year with 200 teachers in more than 100 schools taking advantage of the new benefit.

Carney on Thursday says he will double the funding in his budget proposal for next year with the goal of reaching 700 teachers.

Education funding

The governor preempted his State of the State address this week with an announcement that his budget proposal would include new funding to help school education English language learners and low-income students.

His plan to revamp the state’s Opportunity Grants program would direct $60 million over the next three years to districts and charter schools based on the number of students they enroll in each of those categories.

Pending approval from the Delaware General Assembly, the program would direct $500 to each district and charter school for every English language learner and $300 for each low-income student. Low-income would be determined by whether the student receives federal poverty benefits, starting with the 2019/2020 school year.

Those grants would come in addition to the annual per pupil allocation provided to the state’s 19 districts and 21 state-authorized charter schools. Delaware is one of the few states that does not account for poverty or English proficiency in its school funding formula.

Exactly how schools use that extra money would be determined by each district and charter school under plans approved by the state Department of Education.

State officials say the idea is to give local schools flexibility to develop innovative solutions that best fit their individual needs. After three years, he said, the state could require that districts adopt the plans that produced the best results.

The proposal also comes as Carney and other state officials seek to defend themselves from a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Delaware alleging Delaware is failing to provide adequate educational opportunities for disadvantaged students.

The governor on Thursday continued to lobby lawmakers for their support.

“We can’t just throw money at the problem,” he said. “I am prepared to invest in better education programs that actually achieve real results for children at risk.”

Contact reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.