Rep. Veach Applauds Passage of Biennium Budget, Much Needed Tax Relief

HARTFORD – State Representative Donna Veach (R-30) voted on Monday night in favor of the state’s $51.1 billion biennium budget that honors the fiscal controls put into place in 2017 bipartisan budget by staying below the spending, bonding, and volatility caps.

One of the most notable inclusions in the biennium budget comes in the way of $800 million in tax relief over the biennium, something Representative Veach and her Republican colleagues championed last spring. While Monday’s budget doesn’t reach the $1 billion in broad-based tax relief proposed by Rep. Veach and her colleagues, it does contain the largest personal income tax cut in state history.

“While the budget wasn’t perfect, it did in fact have many initiatives, namely the extensive tax cuts, brought forth by my colleagues that were included,” Rep. Veach said. A more balanced budget comes from working on both sides of the aisle to compromise for the betterment of all of Connecticut’s residents, and this budget, while not perfect does just that.”

After careful examination by Republicans to the hiring frequency of state agencies, it was determined that millions in allocations were made for state jobs that were never ultimately filled. As a result of this analysis, a real-world approach to forecasting future state employee staffing levels was used to find a $200 million reduction in spending.

It also includes $5.4 million in property tax relief for veterans, increases to essential crisis intervention call responses provided by 211, additional funding for homeless shelters, a newly created ‘Fallen Hero’ account for families of a fallen officer killed in the line of duty, phasing out the income tax exemption for pension & annuity income and individual retirement accounts, and increases to the Earned Income Tax Credit for working families.

 Additionally, the budget includes two separate grants totaling $75,000 for the Meriden-New Britain-Berlin Young Men’s Christian Association Inc. The Town of Berlin is also scheduled to receive a $254,000 grant for improvements to properties owned by the town and the Board of Education.

In January of this year, Rep. Veach met with representatives from Camp Sloper to continue discussions they previously had on various projects they were looking to undertake and ways she might be able to assist them in seeing them through.

“I’m pleased that the early lobbying on behalf of Camp Sloper will ultimately result in a $500,000 grant from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection,” Rep. Veach said. “This money will go a long way in assisting in their pond dredging project.”

“Our YMCA is so thankful for the support, leadership and guidance of both House Representatives associated with the Southington community. We want to thank both Representative Donna Veach and Representative Chris Poulos for their tireless efforts of supporting the Save Sloper Pond project. Because of their work, Sloper Pond will be healthy for many more decades and provide memorable experiences to thousands of youth each year in Southington and surrounding communities,” said Southington-Cheshire YMCA Chief Executive Officer Mark Pooler.

The final tally when voted on in the House of Representatives was 139-12. The budget has also overwhelmingly passed the senate 35-1. It now moves on to the governor’s desk for his signature.

Representative Veach can be reached at Donna.Veach@housegop.ct.gov, or by calling (860) 240-8700.