Rep. Dubitsky, Republican Legislators Unveil Alternative Budget Proposal

HARTFORD – State Representative Doug Dubitsky (R-Chaplin) stood today with House and Senate Republicans to unveil “Blueprint for Prosperity,” a fiscally responsible budget proposal that – unlike Governor Malloy’s proposed budget – keeps state spending below the constitutional spending cap without cutting core funding to basic governmental services.

The Republican proposal restores much of the critical social and human services funding cut by the Governor’s budget, including funding for mental health and hospitals. The Blueprint for Prosperity responsibly limits long-term borrowing, consolidates redundant state commissions, and provides tax exemptions on clothing and shoes under $50 – all promises the Governor made but failed to fulfill. In further contrast with the Governor’s irresponsible, unfair and unbalanced budget, the Republican proposal does not eliminate funding for libraries or the resident state trooper program, and it does not raid the Community Investment Act funds for farmland and open space preservation.

“This is a responsible budget that prioritizes the core functions of government while establishing a forward looking plan to bring our state’s finances back to a manageable trajectory,” Rep. Dubitsky said. “Our budget contains appropriate savings, necessary funding for the core functions of state government, no new taxes and a vision for long-term sustainable growth. In contrast, the Governor has proposed slashing essential services to our most vulnerable residents, millions in overspending and unnecessary borrowing and pushing our state down a long-term path to financial disaster.”

“The Republicans have now shown that it is possible to create a budget that neither violates the constitutional spending cap nor takes much needed funds away from our state’s most vulnerable,” he said. “Now, it is up to the people of this state to decide what matters to them, and what they want their state to look like going forward. I urge the House and Senate Democrats to adopt our budget, or to at least to use our balanced and responsible proposal as the basis for developing a final state budget. I also urge the people of this state to tell their legislators loud and clear which budget they want for Connecticut.”

More details, including the full proposal, can be found at: www.cthousegop.com/blueprint.