In Final Stretch of Session, Connecticut Democrats Remain Focused on Increasing Spending, Still No Balanced Budget

Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) released the following statement reflecting on the focus of the 2019 legislative session and this week’s approval of more spending.

“With less than three weeks left in the legislative session, Connecticut still has no balanced budget proposal from Gov. Lamont or majority Democrats elected to lead our state. Instead, Democrats have been focused on handing out raises, increasing spending, crowding out funding for the most vulnerable and digging our state into an even bigger hole.

“Today, the Appropriations Committee approved six more new state employee contracts, bringing the grand total in new unanticipated contract costs to $74.6 million, putting another hole in the state budget. The Senate also approved a minimum wage increase that will add more costs onto not only state and local municipal government, but onto our already struggling job creators and nonprofits. Also this week, Democrats refused to approve a modest allowance increase for the most vulnerable seniors in the state’s nursing homes. Instead, they continue to talk about creating new expensive programs, like free college, without offering any plan to actually pay for them.

“While Gov. Lamont is putting all his effort into tolls, he seems oblivious to the fact that his budget remains severely out of balance and is worsening by the day as Democrats approve more and more spending. We still have no update on where the governor is in labor negotiations which he is counting on for hundreds of millions of dollars in savings. We have no idea where he is on hospital tax negotiations. We have no idea if his State Employment Retirement System and Teachers Retirement System reamortization plans – which push more debt onto future generations – will move forward. We only have two and a half weeks left and Democrat leadership appears lost.”