Sen. Fasano Calls for Budget Analysis Release Following Malloy Administration Apparently Hiding Budget Shortfalls

October 11, 2016

Hartford – Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) today wrote to the state Office of Fiscal Analysis asking that they release their analysis of the state budget as soon as possible. His letter follows a report by the CT Mirror which reveals that Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s administration apparently failed to disclose a known shortfall in the state budget when sharing numbers with the state comptroller’s office.

“The public deserves the truth. I hope that, unlike what happened in 2014, Governor Malloy wouldn’t try to hide bad news from the public before an election. He says one thing privately, but paints a completely different picture publicly. It’s inexcusable for any state leader to purposefully conceal known issues in the state budget, all to create the appearance that everything is just fine thanks to the Democrat approved budget and fiscal policies. Intuitively I believe there is a deficit, and until we acknowledge the problems we can’t fix them. Hiding the severity of Connecticut’s financial issues only further hurts families and jobs. All Connecticut residents deserve to know exactly what is happening with the state budget.” said Sen. Fasano.

Below is the complete letter sent to the Office of Fiscal Analysis asking the office to release its own budget projections as soon as they are completed.

Dear Director Ayers:

As you know, I requested a financial analysis of the state budget including an assessment of deficit projections as far back as July, 2016. I am aware that the Office of Fiscal Analysis has been working on this analysis and is near completion. I urge you to release this information immediately once completed.

Given today’s report by the CT Mirror, suggesting that Governor Dannel P. Malloy failed to publicly disclose a known shortfall in the state budget, now more than ever our state needs an unbiased, nonpartisan voice to shed light on the status of Connecticut’s finances in detail.

It’s vital that lawmakers and the public receive accurate and truthful budget forecasts, something I believe we can only get from your office given what we’ve seen from the governor’s administration hiding known problems in the numbers shared with the comptroller. If your analysis also reflects a deficit, some people in state government have a lot of explaining to do.

Thank you for your attention to this extremely concerning matter.

Sincerely,
Len Fasano
Senate Minority Leader