Candelora Votes for Budget that Restores Education, Municipal Funding

Hartford – Today, State Representative Vincent Candelora (R-86) voted for a compromised state budget that puts an end to a four-month standstill and restores local municipal and education funding. Rep. Candelora referred to this budget as a compromise, and indicated that it contains measures that Republicans have fought decades to include. “This budget avoids the governor’s devastating education cuts, changes how state agencies treat businesses, seeks to make government more efficient and ensures that the 86^th district will receive the funding needed to provide quality education to its students,” Rep. Candelora said. “It’s been ten years since I have been able to vote in favor of a budget. I was unable to support past budgets because I saw how spending was outpacing revenues and Connecticut was getting into fiscal trouble. Rather than focus on our $3.5 billion deficit, we focused on policy to create a framework for economic stability. We all know that Connecticut will face more shortfalls in the future, but this budget builds a new foundation that changes dramatically the direction for our state and I am hopeful this budget will be a new direction for Connecticut,” Rep. Candelora noted. Budget highlights include:

• Enacts the constitutional spending cap that was first approved by voters in 1992
• Imposes a $1.9 billion cap on borrowing, $500 million less than what was borrowed last year
• Restores municipal and education funding cut by the Governor’s executive order
• Protects core social services, such as day care funding and programs for developmentally disabled
• Supports seniors by phasing in a tax exemption on social security and pensions
• Imposes a state employee hiring freeze
• Limits state union contracts to being no longer than 4 years
• Provides municipal mandate relief by reducing construction costs, reforming the arbitration process, and providing greater transparency to boards of education budgets

The budget also stopped proposals which would have raised taxes on our residents including:

• No sales tax increase
• No income tax increase
• No tax on cell phones
• No restaurant tax
• No business tax increase
• Does not shift teachers pensions on to municipalities

The plan passed the Senate 33-3 Wednesday evening and by 126-23 in the House of Representatives on Thursday. The budget awaits action from the governor.