The state House of Representatives passed the $41.3 billion, two-year budget early this morning by a wide enough margin ”“ 126-23 ”“ to be veto-proof. The legislation now goes to Gov. Dannel Malloy, whose office indicated he would not sign it until it was fully reviewed.
“We recognize that they believe that they have achieved this end and are now sending a budget to him for his consideration and we appreciate their work,” Malloy”™s Director of Communications Kelly Donnelly said about the legislature. “At the same time, it is incumbent on the governor and his administration to carefully review this budget ”“ a complete document of nearly 900 pages that was made available only a few minutes before it was called on the floor.
“Unfortunately, our review has already uncovered egregious problems relating to the hospital tax that could put the state budget out of balance by over a billion dollars,” Donnelly said. “Staff will continue to analyze the bill, weighing its merits and faults, so that the governor can arrive at an informed and carefully considered decision regarding his support.”
The budget received the necessary two-thirds vote in both houses ”“ the Senate approved it by a 33-3 majority yesterday ”“ to prevent a veto. Malloy vetoed a GOP-sponsored budget last month.
The House vote apparently brings to an end a budget impasse that has lasted for 118 days, the longest such stalemate in the state”™s history.
Connecticut Democratic Party Chairman Nick Balletto said the budget was “significantly better than the GOP proposal that passed the General Assembly in September, and it’s better specifically because of the actions of Democratic leaders.
“This is not the Democratic budget we initially envisioned,” Balletto said. “However, we remain fiercely committed to making the necessary hard choices and leading with our values. We’ll continue to make steps toward putting Connecticut in a better place as we continue to do the work Republican leaders neglected for decades. We know that the governor and Democratic leaders in the General Assembly will continue to fight for the values we hold dear as a party.”
“Nothing should ever be stagnant ”“ the state”™s not stagnant, the budget shouldn”™t be stagnant and if we can find a way to move Connecticut forward, then we have to go in that direction,” said Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Len Fasano (R-North Haven). “We can”™t look at ‘the budget is done, let’s put that away until we hit a deficit.’ We should be working on the budget consistently.”
“This compromise budget restores millions of dollars to our towns and cities, our schools, and to core state services,” said Deputy Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Kevin Witkos (R-Canton). “At the same time it reduces future spending by implementing a spending cap and bonding cap among other structural changes.”
