Reps. Betts, Pavalock-D’Amato Unveil Revised No-Tax-Increase Budget Proposal

HARTFORD- State Representatives Whit Betts(R-78) and Cara Pavalock-D’Amato (R-77) joined their House Republican colleagues last week to issue their revised no-tax-increase budget for 2018-19 that eliminates the projected $5 billion budget deficit, increases school funding for all towns, reduces the corporate surcharge and mitigates municipal aid losses by reallocating funds.

“Taxpayers from Bristol and Plymouth did not cause the fiscal crisis in our state budget and they have repeatedly asked me not support any more taxes on them. The House Republican revised budget proposal represents exactly what taxpayers are demanding – no more tax increases,” said Rep. Betts.

“Our budget not only restores aid to our municipalities, it also increases Education Cost Sharing funding to ensure that our school systems have the resources they need to provide the best possible education to our students. This is a common sense budget that does not increase taxes while closing our $5 billion deficit, and I am hopeful that my colleagues in the House and Senate will consider our proposals,” said Rep. Pavalock D’Amato.

In this current proposal, Republicans revert back to the former Education Cost Sharing formula, while also adding $20 million to the distribution.  In addition, the proposal establishes a $90 million grant in order to ensure that no municipality loses aid compared to the current fiscal year.

Other structural changes include:

• Implements a strict Constitutional Spending Cap
• Reduces bond issuance cap from $2 billion to $1.3 billion for each fiscal year
• Ensures municipalities are held harmless
• Establishes a wage freeze for state employees, but no layoffs

Republicans now join Democrats and Gov. Malloy at the negotiating table to come up with a final budget plan that can pass both the House and Senate.

For more information on the House Republican budget proposal, please visitwww.cthousegop.com/budget.

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