The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
House GOP releases state budget plan
Amid gridlock, Democrats say agreement will come by end of month
HARTFORD » House Republicans on Tuesday unveiled a new budget proposal amid growing calls for the General Assembly to end the current stalemate and pass a two-year state spending plan.
The GOP budget — unlike a competing proposal from majority Democrats — contains no tax increases. It also maintains school aid, caps future borrowing and abandons Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s plan to extract $400 million in teacher pension payments from municipalities.
“We need to vote on a budget that addresses all the issues that have led to perpetual deficits over the last seven years,” said House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby.
“The massive tax increases that Democrats have rammed through without a single Republican vote have failed to solve our problems,” Klarides said.
House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said the Republican proposal contains some good ideas and predicted House members on Tuesday would begin work on a new budget and hope to pass a spending plan by the end of the year.
“Some of these [GOP] proposals are interesting and we will look at them,” Aresimowicz said. “But some are problematic.”
The latest GOP budget comes as Malloy continues to operate the state under a limited executive order that will soon cause massive across-theboard spending cuts, including significant reductions in municipal aid, school funding, transportation projects and social services.
Joe DeLong, executive director for the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, said the time for budget proposals is over.
“It’s deja vu all over again,” Delong said, quoting Yankee great Yogi Berra. “We have seen enough dueling budget proposals. We think there are a lot of good ideas but it’s time to get the job done.”
Competing plans
The Republican budget released Tuesday marks the most comprehensive spending plan by the GOP House caucus.
The House GOP plan seeks to limit state borrowing to $1.3 billion per year, a major drop from the $2.2 billion the state borrowed in 2015. It also calls for eliminating hospital property taxes and altering health insurance and pension plans through “statutory changes,” which means passing new laws or amending existing ones.
Republicans would also eliminate the cap on motor vehicle tax rates, reduce the state workforce, offer communities some mandate relief, preserve municipal aid and generate $768 million in savings over the next two fiscal years by freezing wages.
The GOP said its budget would eliminate a $5.1 billion budget deficit over the next two years.
Klarides said the employee savings can be achieved without opening existing union contracts or retirement plans.
“The changes we would make are all through state statute changes,” Klarides said. “They do not have to be negotiated.”
Aresimowicz questioned that assessment. “Some court cases say you can’t change benefits once people retire,” he noted.
House Democrats recently offered a budget that relies on revenue increases, namely a higher sales tax and a 10 percent surcharge on food and beverage. Malloy, a Democrat, has rejected new tax increases.
Divided government
The difficulty in passing a budget is rooted in math — Republicans and Democrats are tied in the state Senate and Democrats hold a slim 79-72 vote majority in the House.
Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, a Democrat, can break a tie vote in the Senate, giving Democrats ultimate control of the chamber if they hold on to all members of their caucus.
That narrow balance of power was not lost on Klarides, who pointed out in past years, when Democrats had comfortable majorities in both chambers, party leaders could allow members to vote against a budget and still pass the spending plan they wanted.
“We would have a budget now if Democrats had enough votes,” Klarides said. “So that tells you people are out there who are not happy.”
DeLong also noted the political difference this year. “The is the first time in years the Connecticut General Assembly has had to work with someone else to get this done,” he said.
Aresimowicz said a budget led by Democrats will soon emerge.
”We have made good progress understanding other people’s proposals,” Aresimowicz said. “I am confident we will have a budget agreement by the end of the month.”