Frantz questions surplus
State Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R- Greenwich/New Canaan/Stamford, joined state legislators at the state capitol for the opening of the 2014 legislative session, his sixth, and immediately took issue with the governor concerning the state budget surplus.
“I look forward to a productive session focused on enhancing the state”™s business environment, promoting economic growth and improving the job market across Connecticut,” Frantz said.
Frantz serves as deputy minority leader of the Senate Republican Caucus and ranking member of the General Assembly”™s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee and Commerce Committee. He also serves on the Legislative Management and Transportation committees.
After attending the joint session and hearing the “State of the State” address from Gov. Dannel Malloy, Frantz criticized the new state surplus citing it as a bit of creative bookkeeping and placing the word surplus in quotation marks.
“The governor”™s address emphasized that there is a ”˜surplus”™ in Connecticut today,” Frantz said. “But, where did that surplus come from? Literally just a few months ago things were so dire in the state of Connecticut that we were talking about emergency rescue plans to prevent another Detroit from happening in Connecticut. So, how is it that we can have a surplus of roughly half a billion dollars?”
“The answer,” according to Frantz, “is simple. That money was borrowed. It was not legitimate revenues of the state of Connecticut. Roughly $725 million was borrowed from the market, from other dedicated funds or came from accounting changes, thereby creating the surplus of about $525 million. We have to keep that in mind going forward with every policy decision this year.”