My May Editorial: “Promises Kept: Our Budget Adjustment Plan”

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Last month, I outlined my concerns with state spending and why it is critical to maintain fiscal guardrails to balance a stable and sustainable budget for our residents. Sadly, neither the majority party on the Appropriations Committee, nor the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee did their job in proposing budget adjustments and an updated revenue package, so House Republicans stepped up.

Why it matters: if we fail to adjust the budget as a legislature, not only will it go out of balance on July 1^st, but it would grant the governor the authority to make spending decisions to reflect his special interests, without any balance or input from the General Assembly or voters, like you.

When leadership on these committees decided against adjusting the budget, my colleagues and I rolled up our sleeves and got to work. Our plan focuses on affordability, including structural spending reforms, increased funding for local education, and preventing more pressure on local property taxpayers.

One important theme in our proposal is supporting Connecticut youth and education. First, we are directing $236 million for local education funding and another $79 million to help relieve special education costs. Additionally, we have allotted $12 million to increase reimbursement rates to Birth-to-Three child service providers, demanded federal funding for staffing shortage support, and still matched the governor’s proposed $12 million increase to the Care4Kids program.

It’s important to note that even with increased spending to education, our budget still rests at $43 million under the spending cap while keeping remaining American Rescue Plan Relief (ARPA) funding untouched for other acute spending needs. These include support for our nonprofits and social services, Connecticut’s unemployment compensation fund, or childcare costs.

Other significant aspects of our plan include maintaining the $42 million deposit to the Teachers’ Retirement Fund, investing in youth mental health resources, eliminating the truck tax to lower retail and grocery prices, and providing municipalities with the money they need to efficiently implement early voting this fall.

Unfortunately, Connecticut becomes more unaffordable every day, and our goal is to incentivize families, residents, and small businesses to stay, grow, and live in our state without constant financial pressure from their government. Creating this incentive began in 2017 when Democrats and Republicans worked collaboratively to develop fiscal guardrails promising to help our state earn revenue, spend wisely, and pay down state debt simultaneously.

As always, if you have any questions, ideas, or concerns about this or any state issue, please contact me at Kathy.Kennedy@housegop.ct.gov or at 860-240-8700. Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my brief email updates at RepKennedy.com.