Gov. Lamont turns to tax relief, avoiding tolls after win
HARTFORD — After meeting little resistance in his path to a second term on Tuesday, Gov. Ned Lamont expressed little interest in using his victory to rekindle old policy battles or to push for new forms of revenue collection that have long been the target of some of his fellow Democrats.
During his first conversation with reporters on the morning after the election, Lamont instead laid out an agenda that will be familiar to many returning state lawmakers: modest tax cuts and bipartisan spending plans that avoid dipping into the state’s rainy day funds.
Unprompted by the press — but with a nod to Republican fears that Democrats would use their return to power to go on a spending spree in Hartford — Lamont pledged to keep in place volatility caps installed by the legislature in 2017 to help control budget deficits.
“I think it’s served us very well, and I am going to be asking the legislature to continue that going forward,” Lamont said. “It gives us a clear sense of direction in how we’re getting our fiscal house in order.”
The governor told reporters that he would soon be meeting with his secretary
of the Office of Policy and Management, Jeffrey Beckham, to discuss the state’s revenue forecasts to determine what kind of tax relief the state can afford as residents confront stubbornly high inflation and the rising cost of energy.
One area of relief the governor said he was considering is an extension of the 25-cent-a-gallon gas tax holiday that he and lawmakers
put in place in April. The suspension of that tax is set to expire on Dec. 1.
The top Republican in the state House, Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R- North Branford, said Lamont appeared to be “playing it safe” following the election, in which he noted that Democrats flipped several legislative seats in wealthy, suburban communities, while Republicans
performed better in working-class areas of the state.
“I’m glad that he’s putting his stake in the ground with no new taxes, but I believe we have to be concerned about providing relief” from existing taxes, Candelora said.
One way to do that, Candelora suggested, would be to pass along some of the anticipated $500 million in annual savings from payments made to reduce the state’s pension debt during Lamont’s first term, in the form of tax cuts.
Earlier this year, Lamont reached an agreement with lawmakers over a budget that included record surpluses and nearly $600 million in tax cuts, most of which are set to expire after this year.
Republicans, including his campaign opponent Bob Stefanowski, had called on the governor to cut taxes even further by dipping into the state’s full rainy day fund, something Lamont said he was unwilling to do, given the possibility of a recession in the coming years.
Another point of GOP contention, the 2020 Police Accountability Bill signed by Lamont, appeared to be quelled by Democrats’ victories in Tuesday’s election.
“Look, I’m happy to talk with the legislature about any ways we can fine-tune this, but I think we don’t want to demagogue this bill,” Lamont said Tuesday. “I think this bill should remind people we’ve got the best police in the world, and that’s what it will show.”
Following his press conference outside the State Capitol on Wednesday, Lamont was also asked about two policy battles that ended in failure for the first-term governor: installing highway tolls and joining a regional pact to reduce tailpipe emissions known as the Transportation Climate Initiative.
Lamont said he had no plans to revisit either proposal, noting that unlike when he came into office four years ago, Connecticut is currently awash in funds for transportation projects.
Despite holding on to Democratic majorities in the legislature, the governor still has to grapple with a diverse caucus that at times frustrated parts of his legislative agenda, said Gayle Alberda, a professor of political science at the University of Fairfield.
Additionally, Alberda noted that many Democrats eked into reelection by narrower margins than the governor did, which could give them pause when voting on more controversial agenda items.
“He had difficulties building that Democratic coalition” in his first term, she said. “Just because you’re a Democrat doesn’t mean you believe in the same stuff.”
One point of friction between Lamont and more progressive members of his party in recent years has been proposals for a so-called “millionaires’ tax” on wealthy residents.
Voters in Massachusetts approved such a tax hike during Tuesday’s elections, but on Wednesday the former Greenwich businessman said he had no plans to change his stance and follow suit, instead preferring to focus on drawing new residents — and their taxes — to Connecticut.
“I’ve said probably 200 times, I don’t want more taxes but I don’t mind more taxpayers,” Lamont said. “I hope everybody got my message on that.”