DE HB169

Expands compensatory payment eligibility to include cities with populations over 25,000 and at least 20% tax-exempt property, in addition to the three existing county seats (Wilmington, Dover, and Georgetown).

Increases the annual payment cap from $3,000,000 to $3,500,000 in state fiscal year allocations.

Establishes new payment formulas based on population and tax-exempt property percentages: 36.0% for county seats under 50,000 with less than 20% tax-exempt property, 18.0% for county seats under 50,000 with more than 20% tax-exempt property, 100.0% for county seats over 50,000, and 12.0% for non-county seat cities over 25,000 with more than 20% tax-exempt property.

Removes specific exemptions for Delaware State University and the University of Delaware from the compensatory payment exclusions.

Implements a proportional distribution system when total calculated payments exceed the annual cap, allocating funds to each eligible city based on their calculated payment as a fraction of total eligible payments.