Gov. Dannel Malloy has released a detailed Resource Allocation Plan for Fiscal Year 2018, to be implemented via executive order should the General Assembly fail to adopt any budget for the biennium before July 1. The plan also provides for the allocation of funding for the first quarter of the fiscal year, which runs July 1 to Sept. 30, to begin this week.
The Resource Allocation Plan is based on principles released by the administration last week.
The governor also released a proposed quarterly mini-budget, which would require adoption by the legislature. That option pares spending across government, but also adopts some revenue changes that were proposed by Democrats and Republicans, and allows for what he termed “more thoughtful” reductions in spending.
The mini-budget would avoid some cuts that would otherwise be made to municipal aid, hospitals and nonprofit providers. It would restore funding to summer youth employment programs, the rental assistance program and honor guards.
A comparison between the two plans is available here.
Neither option would make the deficit worse over the coming months while the legislature continues to wrestle with the budget, the governor”™s office said, adding: “The administration believes that legislative action on the mini-budget is the most responsible and preferable alternative, short of adopting a balanced and responsible two-year budget.”
In the absence of an enacted budget, the governor is obligated to maintain essential services and satisfy obligations that are critical to the functioning of the state, and he may do so by allocating funds under executive authority.
The state enters Fiscal Year 2018 with a projected General Fund deficit of more than $2.1 billion.
