HARTFORD – The legislative Appropriations Committee is poised to push through a two-year $40.47 billion budget that raises spending $605 million over Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s February proposal.
The plan includes a controversial accounting tactic that would remove about $1.5 billion from the constitutional spending cap that is bound to generate Republican criticism when the committee debates and votes this afternoon.
Leaders of the budget-setting committee said that Malloy’s February proposal was too harsh on the social-service safety net, so tens of millions of dollars were added to the Department of Social Services, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Department of Developmental Services.
“Over the past two months we have heard from thousands and thousands of state residents about what is important to them, what makes Connecticut such a great place to live, and what we need to do to keep our economy thriving,” said Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, co-chairman of the committee, in a statement this morning. “We’re demanding more savings from state government, and we’re re-investing in the people who need the state’s help.”
Bye pointed out that the budget-setting process take three steps, starting with the governor’s proposal, then the committee process, then final negotiations as the General Assembly gets closer to the June 3 adjournment.
“I am extremely proud of the Appropriations Committee,” said Rep. Toni Walker, D-New Haven. “All of its members’ hard work, diligence and insightful dialogue have shaped the budget that is before us. At its core, government’s role is to lend a hand to those who need a lift up. And although this budget reflects the difficult fiscal reality we are facing, we stayed true to our core values. We continue to support municipalities, seniors, children, libraries, schools, healthcare, arts, tourism and social services. Spending cuts are indeed everywhere in the budget, but we do no cut to the bone – vital programs and services will face tough choices, but they will have the resources to carry on.”
The budget for the first year of the biennium, which starts July 1, would reduce current-service expenditures by more than half a billion dollars and by more than $760 million in the second year.
The plan would reduce salaries for non-union state workers by nearly $60 million over two years. Overtime would be cut by more than $62 million over the biennium. It would spend $284 million more than Malloy’s proposal in the first year and $321 million in the second year.
In reaction, SEIU 1199 New England, which represents health care workers in nursing homes and other social-services, favor the proposal.
“While this new budget does not offer the full funding needed to provide a living wage to caregivers and quality care to the people for whom they care, it certainly appears to be an improvement from February’s proposed budget,” said spokeswoman Jennifer Schneider.
On Friday, minority Republicans proposed a two-year, $39.5-billion budget alternative that also included pay freezes and reductions in overtime and would also restore much of the social-service funding that recommended.
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