DOVER – On Wednesday, House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown and Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola announced committee assignments for the newly created special committees tasked with investigating Delaware’s first statewide property reassessment in more than two generations.
The special committees, formally announced by Democratic leadership last week, will hold a series of public hearings this fall to review the recent reassessment process and consider potential legislative action to improve the process, as well as explore options to provide targeted tax relief for Delawareans.
“We know that there are still a lot of unanswered questions about the reassessment process – both for Delawareans and for lawmakers. These committees are about finding those answers and putting together a thoughtful roadmap that we can act on in the coming legislative session,” said Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown.
“Although significant challenges lie ahead, I am encouraged that our appointees, with their expertise and representation from all corners of the state, are prepared to move forward without delay.”
“We selected the Senate committee members based on a combination of geographic balance and housing and land use policy experience. These legislators have shown extraordinary care and diligence on this matter since we first were alerted to problems for our constituents,” said Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend.
“I look forward to putting our heads down and working together over the coming months to really drill down on what happened, and make recommendations about how we can move forward on behalf of the people of Delaware.”
Committee membership is as follows:
Senate:
- Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend
- Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman
- Senate Minority Whip Brian Pettyjohn
- Sen. Eric Buckson
- Sen. Dan Cruce
- Sen. Kyra Hoffner
- Sen. Russ Huxtable
- Sen. Spiros Mantzavinos
House:
- House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown
- House Majority Leader Kerri Evelyn Harris
- House Minority Leader Tim Dukes
- Rep. Frank Burns
- Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha
- Rep. Kevin Hensley
- Rep. Eric Morrison
- Rep. Cyndie Romer
- Rep. Claire Snyder-HallI
- Rep. Michael Smith
- Rep. Kim Williams
The special committees will meet in accordance with the following tentative schedule:
Hearing #1: Week of September 22, 2025
Topics: The Recent Reassessment
- What happened at the County level?
- What was Tyler Technology’s methodology, for both residential property and non-residential properties?
- How did information flow across levels of government?
- What flags were in place for unusual valuations?
- What was the appeals process, and what options do Delawareans have now?
- Preliminary update on the implementation of emergency legislation passed on August 12.
Hearing #2: Week of October 6, 2025
Topic: What might future reassessments and tax structures look like?
- What reassessment processes and structures do other states and jurisdictions use?
- Discuss potential for different tax rates based on property type (residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial).
- Discuss potential for different tax rates based on size within categories (small vs. large business, small vs. large agricultural). Discuss different housing categories (homeowners, small rentals, large rentals, manufactured homes, second homes).
- Drill down on county capacity to adopt differentiated categories or tax rates within categories.
- Update on the implementation of August 12 legislation.
Hearing #3: Week of October 20, 2025
Topics: Delawareans and their property taxes
- What other considerations might drive changes to Delaware’s property tax framework?
- What programs are in place to protect Delawareans experiencing economic hardship or on fixed income?
- How do these programs compare to other states’ offerings?
- What updates to property-tax exemptions should occur given the first-in-40-years reassessment?
- Update on implementation of August 12 legislation.
Hearing #4: Week of November 3, 2025
Topics: Reassessments and Education Funding
- How does ongoing property reassessment relate to education funding with Delaware’s current funding system and to the legal settlement in the Court of Chancery case that sparked the 2024 reassessment?
- Discuss the work of Delaware’s Public Education Funding Commission and others to identify optimal coordination of efforts relating to education funding.
Each meeting will take place in the House or Senate Chamber in Legislative Hall. All meetings will be open to the public and will be livestreamed at legis.delaware.gov. Additional details about the hearing schedule and opportunities for public engagement will be announced in the coming days.
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