May 17, 2017

Hall, Stokes Unveil Revamped No-Tax-Increase Budget Proposal

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HARTFORD – State Representatives Carol Hall (R-59) and Greg Stokes (R-58) recently joined their Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives to unveil a revised budget proposal.

The new no-tax-increase proposal eliminates the projected $5 billion budget deficit for the next biennium, increases school funding for all towns, reduces the corporate surcharge and mitigates municipal aid losses by reallocating funds.

“I am proud of my caucus for producing a no-tax-increase budget that proves that we can balance the state’s budget without doing so on the backs of the taxpayer,” said Rep. Hall. “Connecticut is clearly in a tough financial situation and this budget reflects the fact that we need to make substantial cuts and structural changes, but, at the same time, holds all municipalities harmless. Enfield will not experience a drop in municipal aid funding in our budget proposal– ensuring that our community is not burdened by the state’s fiscal mismanagement.”

“Republicans have been working on solving our state’s budget crisis,” said Rep. Stokes. “We have revised our budget to take into account new revenue numbers. Although there are some hard cuts, my priority has been to maintain funding for our schools without increasing taxes. Education is my top priority. Enfield students deserve the best opportunity for the future.”

Other structural changes in the House Republican budget 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
Added $2 million in funding to Meals on Wheels and elderly nutrition programs

Instead of implementing a new Education Cost Sharing distribution formula as in the previous Republican budget proposal, this proposal reverts back to the current formula, while adding an additional $20 million in funding. As a result, Enfield will see an increase in school funding over current levels. House Republicans relied on reduced state spending and a lowered bonding cap to limit state borrowing to balance the budget. They also included 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, please review the links below:

Policy Changes
Revenue
Budget Accounts
Municipal Aid
Concessions