Senate completes first override of a Governor’s Veto in 50 years

I am still amazed that Governor Carney chose a rather innoculous bill to veto, and that he did it on an issue that he must know the entire General Assembly is against him on, and that he did it while the General Assembly is still in session to do something about it. And do something about it they did. Both chambers have now unanimously rebuked the Governor in overriding his veto of House Bill 282. That bill now becomes law.

Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola, Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, and Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman issued a joint statement today following the Senate’s unanimous vote to override Governor John Carney’s veto of House Bill 282:

“While the Senate vote today marked the first successful override of a Delaware governor’s veto in 50 years, this vote was not about us, and it was not about Governor John Carney.

This was a vote of confidence in our state workers and the labor unions who fight for their interests each and every day.

We believe state workers and retirees deserve a seat at the table when decisions are being made that will impact the health and welfare of their families for years to come. We trust state workers to fairly balance their personal interests with the interests of their communities, just as they trust us to protect the benefits promised to them during their dedicated careers in public service. And, we believe any steps that are undertaken to control healthcare costs in Delaware should be done in the open with seats at the table for the people most impacted by our decisions.

Those are exactly the reasons we passed legislation to create the Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee, which recommended reforming the State Employee Benefits Committee following a failed attempt to impose sweeping changes on the healthcare benefits of our retirees.

Those are the same reasons that both chambers of the Delaware General Assembly unanimously passed House Bill 282 this spring and both chambers voted unanimously this week to override the Governor’s veto.”