Piscopo, Wilson Support Budget that Restores Education, Municipal Funding

HARTFORD –State Representatives John Piscopo (R-76) and David Wilson (R-66) today voted for a bipartisan budget that averts Gov. Malloy’s devastating education cuts to cities and towns and installs structural municipal mandate reform that will provide long-term relief sought by local leaders and the taxpayers they serve.

“This budget is truly a bipartisan compromise. There are many things contained in the document that I do not support, but there were an overwhelming number of policies included that I’ve fought for and have been working on since I got elected that are positive reforms. With the implementation of a hard bonding cap (limited how much money the state can borrow) and spending cap, and helping municipalities by providing mandate relief and raising the prevailing wage, we will begin to turn this state around,” said Rep. Piscopo.

“I believe that this is a step in the right direction. It is a compromise that we had to be able to demonstrate. Although this would’ve been an easy budget to vote against based on the things that I don’t like about it, I voted for the budget to move the state forward and preserve the funding to our five towns in district, and implement important changes like the spending and bonding caps, and to stop many proposed tax increases, namely an increase in the sales tax and income taxes. I look forward to continue working toward implementing more structural change to get Connecticut back on track,” said Rep. Wilson.

Budget highlights include:
-Enacts the constitutional spending cap that was first approved by voters in 1992
-Enacts a $1.9 billion cap on bonding, $500 million less than what was bonded last year
-Restores municipal and education funding
-Protects core social services
-Supports seniors and tax cuts on retirees
-Imposes a state employee hiring freeze
-Requires mandatory votes on union contracts by the legislature
-Provides municipal mandate relief and prevailing wage reform, raising the threshold from $400,000 to $1  million
-Phases in tax reductions on pensions and social security

The budget also stopped proposals which would have raised taxes on our residents including:
-No sales tax increase
-No income tax increase
-No tax on cell phones
-No restaurant tax
-No business tax increase
-Does not shift teachers pensions on to municipalities
-No tolls

The budget passed the Senate by a vote of 33-3 Wednesday evening and by 126-23 in the House of Representatives on Thursday. The budget awaits action from the governor.

###