On May 14, 2019 Senate Bill 7 was signed by Governor John Carney which formally creates the Delaware Population Consortium (DPC). The DPC has prepared, without formal designation, a unified set of statewide population projections annually since 1975. This new legislation formalizes the DPC, identifies its membership and work products, and requires that all counties, municipalities, school districts, and State agencies use the DPC projections for planning and policy purposes.
Having one authoritative set of demographic and population projections for Delaware is vital to efficient and effective land use planning, economic development, school planning and other state functions. This legislation is an important implementation measure from Governor Carney’s Government Efficiency & Accountability Review (GEAR) initiative. It will ensure that all State, county and local agencies are using one mutually agreed upon set of population projections and as such encourage efficiency and transparency in government.