Sen. Kelly on CT consensus rev. forecast: “The guardrails don’t need fixing.”

For Immediate Release

Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, issued the following statement regarding the Jan. 16 consensus revenue forecast.

“It remains clear that the caps and savings programs that Republicans effectively pushed for seven years ago are working.  They are working so well that last year, Senate Republicans called for the largest income and property tax cuts in state history: $1.5 billion in relief. We have now passed the first state income tax rate cut since the mid-1990s, and those smart fiscal guardrails have brought us to this point. The guardrails clearly work, so they don’t need fixing. The fiscal pledges we have all made as state lawmakers must continue to be respected. We must stay within the spending cap and within our means. Connecticut Republicans will continue to push back on attempts by the majority to dismantle the spending caps and budgetary guardrails that have helped create our current surplus and reduce debt. We must do more for struggling working and middle-class families who have been taking it on the chin due to inflation. Working families, small businesses and vulnerable seniors continue to struggle with the high cost of groceries, heat, electricity and burdensome taxes. Without the common sense volatility and revenue caps in place, we would be forced to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in vital services for our neediest residents. We must respect their sacrifices and continue to lower their burdens. Republicans are looking out for them.”