House Republican Budget Adjustments, Promises Kept

Promises Kept…

In addition to maintaining spending and borrowing caps that have kept our state solvent, the budget plan focuses on supporting children at the beginning of their educational journey. The proposed adjustments seek to add $236 million more for local education funding, including an additional $79 million more for surging special education costs. By providing an additional $12 million to increase reimbursement rates ($120 per hour to $167) to Birth to Three child services providers, Republicans will receive more federal match dollars to augment funding to mitigate staffing shortages. Responding to the state’s childcare crunch, Republicans matched the $12 million increase proposed by Gov. Lamont for the Care4Kids program.

Additional Details…

In the plan to shift budget priorities toward core commitments to residents, House Republicans also propose to:

• Keep a scheduled $42 million deposit to the Teachers’ Retirement Fund
• Allocate a $7 million increase to Medicaid rates to behavioral health providers, mental health services for kids
• Eliminate the Highway Use Tax (truck tax) to address surging price of goods, groceries, and services
• Allocate an increase of $3.6 million to municipalities to implement early voting
• Deliver $5 million in ambulance provider Medicaid rates
• Provide $2 million for CT Foodshare’s Nutrition Assistance Program
• Supply $1 million allocation for homeless shelter needs

To read more details on the plan, please click here.