Connecticut Enters Survival Mode
June 21, 2017Given that I have just concluded my first legislative session as a Connecticut State Senator I thought that it was important to give my constituents a quick legislative update.
Unfortunately the 2017 Legislative Session has come to an end without a state budget to move us into the next two fiscal years. While Connecticut has ended legislative sessions in the past without a budget our great state has never faced a fiscal crisis like we do today. That is why I am proud to stand with my Senate Republican colleagues and offer Connecticut residents an alternative to the status quo in Hartford – a budget and a plan to move Connecticut forward, A New Direction.
The proposed Senate Republican Budget:
- Closes the deficit without new taxes
- Increases education funding and includes a new ECS formula.
- Stabilizes municipal aid and does not add new financial burdens onto towns and cities.
- Maintains tax exempt status for hospitals to protect them from a new local hospital tax.
- Preserves core government services by restoring funding for social services and protecting funds for services and programs that benefit people most in need.
- Prioritizes transportation needs and stabilizes funding without tolls or new taxes
- Lowers taxes for retirees and helps seniors age in place
- Enhances funding for state parks and tourism
- Streamlines government
- Provides for structural changes
Despite the serious financial crisis Connecticut faces and the constant departure of families and businesses, the Senate was not allowed to vote on this budget due to the “veiled Democratic majority” in the Senate. It remains even more appalling that there was no vote on this proposal when the Senate Republican Budget was the only line-by-line budget offered by a General Assembly caucus. Despite this implied snub and disguised hypocrisy I will continue to fight for you – the overlooked taxpayer.
