Rep. Marra Votes to Adopt 2024-25 Connecticut State Budget with Historic Income Tax Cut

On Tuesday, State Rep. Tracy Marra (R-141) voted to adopt the FY 2024-2025 Connecticut state budget, headlined by a historic cut to the state income tax for middle- and low-income earners and families.

The fully balanced bipartisan budget features more than $150 million for local education, establishes a phase-out on pension and annuity taxes, investments in public safety, and strict adherence to fiscal guardrails established in the 2017 budget agreement. Each of these key initiatives were proposed and supported by House Republicans dating back to 2022, when they proposed the income tax cut included in the final compromise.

“I’m pleased this bipartisan budget maintains the strong fiscal guardrails Republicans introduced in 2017, phases out taxes on pension and annuity income, lowers taxes on the middle class, expands Education Cost Sharing funds for Darien and Norwalk,” Rep. Marra, a member of the Education Committee said. “I want to thank my colleagues for working together to make this a truly bipartisan budget our state can be proud of.”

Income tax cuts included in the budget reduce the bottom two marginal tax rates – from 3% to 2% and from 5% to 4.5% – with full benefit going to single filers earning under $105k and joint filers earning under $210k.

The budget also bolsters Education Cost Sharing (ECS) funding to Darien and Norwalk by more than 9% and 13%, respectively, which directly infuses our local schools with additional tools to strengthen our children’s education. In receiving these ECS funds, municipalities can better allocate the monies saved by the funding injection without raising costs for taxpayers. The budget also fully funds the Excess Cost grants for special education reimbursements to towns.

Additionally, the budget shrinks the size of state government by requiring state agencies to follow real-world hiring principles. In doing so, the state will save $200 million.  The bill gradually phases out the taxes on pension and annuity income to help Connecticut seniors.

Importantly, there is funding to create a “Narcan Leave Behind” program to allow first responders to leave naloxone kits with the family, friends, or bystanders at the scene of a non-fatal overdose, and it makes Narcan tax exempt in all forms. It also includes funding to improve safety and training for local firefighters, an additional $5 million in firefighter cancer relief funding, and help to remove PFAS, which contains dangerous carcinogens, from standard use in fire service operations.

The bipartisan budget was enabled by honoring the spending, volatility, and bonding caps enacted by Republicans in the 2017 budget agreement and re-certified early in the 2023 legislative session.

The budget passed the House after midnight Tuesday on a 139-12 vote and in the Senate Tuesday afternoon, 35-1. It waits to be signed by Governor Lamont.