OPINION: A State Budget that Focuses on Connecticut’s Future
The last two weeks of session has been an exercise in frustration. The legislature still does not have an adjusted budget to address our deficit, yet Democrats continue to pass bills that add millions of dollars of spending. Despite statements from the Chief Court Administrator that the state does not need and cannot afford new judicial appointments, the legislature approved the Governor’s appointments of 31 new judges. Our state now needs to find $12.5 million to fund these new appointments. If that wasn’t enough, another bill increased spending for certain private providers at a cost of over $40 million without demonstrating any way to fund it.
Our state is in a dire financial situation with billions of dollars in deficit in the future budget years. This type of nonsensical, short-sighted spending behavior is why Connecticut is where we are today. We have to start looking at our fiscal situation holistically and analyzing the impact that one decision has on another.
On May 2, 2018, I joined my fellow House and Senate Republicans at the Capitol to release our second complete balanced budget proposal this year to stabilize the state deficit in fiscal year 2019 and beyond. Connecticut’s budget cannot be addressed by piecemeal; we need to look at this problem as a whole. Our budget reduces the 2020 deficit by almost $1 billion.
Instead of using an expected revenue surplus to create more lavish programs and offer more empty promises, we show fiscal restraint by putting that money towards our unfunded liabilities and savings account. Best of all, we fund core social services, such as the Medicare Savings Program, without introducing new taxes.
The plan also preserves grants for substance abuse treatment and mental health care, and provides $5 million for Emergency Placements for those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Overall, the plan implements policies to achieve long-term savings for the state, allowing the stability and predictability that we need in future years. It fully balances next year’s budget, reduces future deficits, restores funding for core government functions, and accomplishes all of this without new taxes.
The 2018 legislative session ends at midnight on Wednesday, May 9th, 2018. We have an obligation to the state and its taxpayers, and I hope that before the session ends, we can provide some solutions for the State of Connecticut and for constituencies.
The Republican revised Fiscal Year 2019 state budget proposal can be assessed by visiting: www.cthousegop.com/budgetfy2019.