Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, today said the co-chairs of the Appropriations and Finance, Revenue and Bonding committees are on schedule to deliver a two year budget proposal next Thursday.
“This will be the first time Connecticut families will see what a truly balanced budget looks like,” Williams added, taking a shot at Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell.
The Democrats and Rell have been going back and forth over the size of the state deficit. Rell’s no-tax-increase budget proposal, released Feb. 4, reflected a $6 billion deficit.
Yesterday her budget office revised that figure to $7.39 billion.
The Democrats are siding with the non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis, which estimates the deficit is closer to $8.7 billion.
Judging from the Democrats’ previous statements, tax increases are likely, although lawmakers have also acknowledged there is no way they can rely on tax hikes alone to dig the state out of such a deep fiscal hole.
