Connecticut Budget Unbundled at Panel Discussion

With less than a month left in this year’s legislative session, three proposed state budgets are on the table. Introduced in February, Governor Dannel Malloy’s two year $40 billion budget suggests spending cuts in a number of areas to help cover an estimated $2.7 billion deficit. With the State’s Democrats and Republicans recently laying out their budgets well, legislators are looking for a solution.

On Wednesday, The Business Council of Fairfield County held a panel discussion on the State’s budget, hosting legislators from both sides of the aisle. While their plans are different, both parties say their proposals reduce the Governor’s cuts.

So where does each plan dig up the money? The Democrats’ budget suggests expanding the state sales tax to certain services and raising taxes for higher earners. The Republicans’ budget avoids tax increases but proposes freezing wages for state workers and cutting budgeted overtime pay.

Chris Bruhl of the Business Council of Fairfield County says the Governor’s budget seems to be the foundation on which a compromise will be reached. The legislative session will end June 3. If the budget isn’t settled by then, a special session will be called.