Republican rescue and renew

Can Connecticut be saved? That question was recently put to me by a college student after I had finished explaining the Connecticut fiscal crisis. I hesitated for a moment before I said “yes.”

That was before the Democrats on the Appropriations Committee pulled the plug on their budget just a few hours after they had scheduled a vote on it. I would still answer “yes.”

Why? Because on April 27 my fellow Republicans and I presented a plan to rescue the state budget and renew Connecticut.

The Republican budget is a no tax increase budget. Connecticut’s citizens and workers have suffered the two largest tax increases in the last 6 years; yet, we remain in a “permanent fiscal crisis.” We are a taxtraumatized state. It’s time for a new approach.

The Democrats’ spending addiction has caused this fiscal calamity. We need to reduce spending to bring Connecticut back to prosperity. The House Republican budget spends $833 million less than the Democrats’ budget and $270 million less than the governor’s budget.

The Republican budget erases a $5.1 billion budget deficit and restores a balanced budget. Years of mismanagement allowed Connecticut’s budget to balloon to unsustainable spending levels. After six years of failed Democrat budgets, Republicans had to make tough choices to close the budget deficit.

The Republican budget makes structural changes to state government for long-term savings.

Twenty-five years ago, more than 80 percent of Connecticut’s citizens voted for a Constitutional Spending Cap, but Democrats refuse to obey the command of the people to implement the cap. The Republican budget implements the Constitutional Spending Cap with effective restrictions. Finally, the will of the people is being heard.

The Republican budget requires mandatory approval of labor contracts by the General Assembly. Labor costs are the major driver of state spending. The legislature must exert control over the process.

The Republican budget enacts a constitutional transportation lockbox. For too long majority Democrats have raided transportation funding to plug budget holes. We set in statute a cap on general obligation bonding by the state treasurer at $1.3 billion annually — significantly less than the more than $2 billion that has been issued each year for the past three years. Under Gov. Malloy, borrowing has skyrocketed to levels which prompted rating agencies to downgrade Connecticut state bonds. Our budget closes the Connecticut Juvenile Training School.

State government is too big. It is time to shrink government and focus on core functions. The Republican budget improves efficiency by consolidating administrative functions, privatizing programs for mental health and the developmentally disabled, eliminating taxpayer funded election campaigns, merging the Department of Higher Education and the Office of Early Childhood into the Department of Education, merging the Department of Housing into the Department of Economic and Community Development, and merging the State Department of Aging into the Department of Social Services.

Public safety and assistance for our neediest citizens are important roles of government — that is why we restore cuts to essential programs.

The Republican budget reverses the governor’s massive increase on gun permit fees.

The Republican budget provides tax relief for families and seniors. Republicans will restore the property tax credit for seniors and families, which was cut by Gov. Malloy. Republicans will phase out the income tax on Social Security income. The Republican budget rejects Gov. Malloy’s plan to have municipalities tax hospitals. Taxing hospitals will only drive up the cost of health care and possibly force some hospitals to close.

The Republican budget reduces the Death Tax. This tax is continually cited as a major reason people leave Connecticut.

The Republican budget provides every town with an increase in education funding. Gov. Malloy mandated that towns pay $407 million for the Teachers Retirement Fund. The Republican budget removes this mandated burden. It is not fair to towns or property tax payers to shift such a gigantic burden onto municipalities.

Shortly after we originally presented the Republican budget, estimated tax receipts declined sharply. We revised our budget to account for that revenue drop. My Republican colleagues and I are working into the night to reduce spending, to balance the budget, and prevent tax increases. We will work as long as necessary until we finish the job.