Fasano Calls on Democrats to Cancel Vote on Unbalanced Budget
June 4, 2019Without Union Approval for $450 Million in Labor Savings Leaves Major Hole in Democrat Budget
The Democrat budget not only raises taxes on working and middle class families, it’s also out of balance by hundreds of millions of dollars. Democrats count on $450 million in state employee labor union savings although those savings have yet to be approved by union members. Republicans are calling to postpone a vote on the Democrat budget until it balances.
Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) today called on Democrat lawmakers to cancel a vote on their state budget proposal. Sen. Fasano wrote to Governor Ned Lamont to request copies of any and all documentation confirming that his anticipated $458 million in pension and health care savings can be achieved and have been agreed to by state employee labor unions.
The Democrat budget approved by the House of Representatives last night and scheduled to be voted on in the Senate today, contains significant savings attributed to state employee labor savings, but no confirmation that unions have agreed to and approved these savings have ever been shared with legislators.
This includes pension and health care savings of $163.2 million in FY 2020 and $256.6 million in FY 2021 in the General Fund, and savings of $18.3 million in FY 2020 and $19.7 million in FY 2021 in the Special Transportation Fund.
Click to view Sen. Fasano’s full letter.