A Historical Moment for the State of Connecticut

In the very early hours of Saturday morning, several fiscally-responsible Democrats in the House of Representatives supported the Republican-proposed budget – after their Senate colleagues did the same on Friday afternoon – allowing the legislature to pass an historic biennium budget that serves the residents of Connecticut.

When the governor released his budget seven months ago, the overwhelming response I received from constituents was to fight against his funding cuts and protect the municipal aid for Waterford and Montville. This is exactly what I have done, and the results have been delivered: millions of dollars restored in education and municipal aid for our two towns and across the state.

The Republican budget is a bipartisan document that reflects the goals and policies that the House and Senate embrace. We know how to get our state out of its current fiscal crisis and back to fiscal sanity.

Apart from imposing NO NEW TAXES on state residents, the approved budget eliminates Connecticut’s $3.5 billion deficit by:

• Consolidating government departments and agencies
• Limiting overtime for state employees
• Restricting state borrowing
• Implementing the constitutionally-mandated spending cap

Most importantly, it makes structural changes to the way we budget, putting our state on a more stable economic path, something essential to retaining businesses and promoting economic expansion. In more detail, it:

• Restores funding for veterans’ headstones and burial expenses, including honor guards
• Restores funding for the state’s property tax credit in its entirety to all families and individuals
• Increases funding to the regional fire training schools
• Funds core services like Care4Kids, day services for IDD individuals, Meals on Wheels, ADA dial-a-ride, and CT Home Care Program
• Reduces state government by 10% in many agencies and establishes a hiring freeze
• Funds state parks, tourism accounts, and the Community Investment Act

We need to do all we can to avoid the governor’s disastrous executive order, which would devastatingly cut Waterford and Montville’s school fundings, from taking effect October 1st.

The Connecticut budget crisis has gone on for too long. If we are to live within our means, we have to start now. Connecticut is at a crossroads and this is our best, and perhaps last chance to make significant and critical choices.

Learn more at www.cthousegop.com/budget.