May 18, 2017

Representative Polletta Supports Republican No-Tax-Increase Budget

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State Representative Joe Polletta (R-68) this week joined his colleagues in the House Republican caucus to unveil an adjusted, no-tax-increase budget proposal to address the significant projected shortfall of $5.1 billion over the next biennium.

In response to recent consensus revenue reports coming in far below projections, and the massive, looming deficit for the next biennium, Republicans in the House crafted the latest no-tax-increase budget proposal to eliminate the deficit and balance the budget. The proposal maintains current school funding for all towns, reduces spending in every state agency, and proposes changes to state employee benefits to bring them more in line with the private sector.

“The old way of creating and passing state budgets has clearly failed and it’s time we get serious about the way Connecticut operates,” Rep. Polletta said. “We cannot continue to borrow money to pay operating expenses, and we must reduce expenses through difficult, but necessary means. The proposal we put out this week takes into account the substantial reductions in tax revenue facing the state and begins putting Connecticut back on a sustainable fiscal path for the future.”

Other structural changes in the Republican proposal include:

Implementing a strict Constitutional Spending Cap
Reducing the bonding cap from $2 billion to $1.3 billion for each fiscal year
Ensuring school districts are held harmless for two years
Adding $2 million in funding to Meals on Wheels and elderly nutrition programs
Establishing a sustainable funding source for state parks, fisheries and forests

Under the revised Republican proposal, Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grants will revert back to the current formula, but will add an additional $20 million to the distribution and will establish a working group to discuss future changes.

The Republican proposal will also establish a $90 million grant to ensure municipalities do not lose aid compared to the current fiscal year.

“I remain committed to working across the aisle to find sustainable, long-term solutions to the state’s fiscal situation, and to create budgets and tax policy that will bring business back to the state instead of chasing them away,” said.

The legislative session ends at midnight on Wednesday, June 7.