May 10, 2018

Carney and MacLachlan Support Budget Compromise

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We have spent the entire shortened session debating a wide variety of bills, and while that’s an important aspect of our roles as state representatives, we owe it to the people we serve to put forth a comprehensive budget plan that truly works toward moving the state of Connecticut forward. We believe this compromised budget proposal begins to do just that.

This budget proposal provides $16 million in additional funding for the Retired Teachers’ Health Care Fund, fully restores funding for the Medicare Savings Program to 211 percent, maintains Educational Cost Sharing funding and municipal aid for 2019, and sets aside $2 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Republicans were successful in including some provisions for long-term structural changes, such as allowing for volunteerism at the local level to ease burdens on towns and cities, and hiring a consultant to come up with $500 million in savings for Connecticut, and they successfully blocked a proposal that would have cut funding for military funerals.

“Our communities in Clinton, Killingworth, and Westbrook are depending on a robust special transportation fund and this budget delivers that,” Rep. MacLachlan said. “We needed to fix the Medicare Savings Program for our most needy residents and we did that.”

“This budget is a product of everything I’ve been hearing from constituents in my district. For seniors, this budget protects and restores the Medicare Savings Program. For commuters and those dependent on public transit, this budget preserves 9-Town Transit and Shore Line East. For retired teachers, we added funds to responsibly fund their promised healthcare. We were able to do this in a bipartisan fashion and without raising taxes. It was a good budget for the district and the state. I was proud to support it,” said Rep. Carney.

In addition, Republicans were able to negotiate a hiring freeze on new state employees saving the state $7 million. Vo-Ag Students will receive an additional $12.5 million in support, set aside $5 million for emergency placement for Department of Developmental Services, and provides almost $30 million more to the Special Transportation Fund. The budget proposal prevents Governor Malloy’s increases to bus and train fairs that were expected to take place on July 1^st.

This compromise prevents the governor from running the state via executive order and subjecting municipalities to severe cuts that would have come as a result. Once adopted, the budget would take effect on July 1.

The 2018 legislative session, which is referred to as a short session began on February 7, and its primary focus was to deal with all issues tied to the state. The 2018 legislative session came to a close at midnight on May 9, 2018.