December 9, 2015

Zawistowski Opposes Short-Term Budget Fix

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HARTFORD—State Rep. Tami Zawistowski on Tuesday voted against a budget deficit plan and transportation-related legislation that failed to tackle issues driving crippling, long-term problems for the state.

Members of the legislature were called to the Capitol for a special legislative session to find $350 million in savings in a two-year budget that fell out of balance within three months of its razor thin approval in June. This fall, minority party Republicans—for the first time in recent history—were invited by Democrat lawmakers and Gov. Malloy to participate in negotiations to fix the majority party budget that’s been amended twice already.

“While these straight-forward talks represented a much-needed change to how business has been conducted here, the outcome for taxpayers is, unfortunately, all too familiar,” said Zawistowski, an Appropriations Committee member who serves the 61st General Assembly District covering Suffield, East Granby and part of Windsor. “The deficit mitigation plan approved today simply papers over the state’s financial problems, relying on gimmicks and one-shot solutions to get us over an immediate hump. This cycle will continue until we change this budget’s building blocks.”

Minority party legislators pulled out of the discussions when it became clear they couldn’t reach consensus on issues they considered crucial: protecting funding for community hospitals, finally defining the state’s constitutional spending cap, and immediately pursuing some money-saving changes to how our government operates.

Zawistowski and Republicans considered the long-term view of Connecticut’s fiscal health crucial. The state faces deficits totaling roughly $3.5 billion over the next few years.

The majority party’s short-term plan, approved by a 75 to 65 vote, does the following:

Raids $35 million from the Special Transportation Fund used for road and bridge repair
Sweeps money promised to cities and towns, adding pressure to those local budgets
Repeals sales tax exemption on residential weatherization and energy products
Cuts money from regional vocational-technical schools
Fails to restore entirety of Gov. Malloy’s cuts to community hospitals

Among the Republican long-term solutions rejected by majority Democrats:

Finally implement definitions for a constitutional spending cap by March 1 in the next legislative session through a bipartisan commission. If no cap is in place no final action on any bills would be permitted.
Mandatory approval of state labor contracts by both House and Senate. A contract has not been rejected since the Senate, controlled by the Republicans, voted one down in 1995.
Cap bonding allocations by the State Bond Commission at $1.8 billion annually.
Increase state employee pension contributions and healthcare beginning in 2022 when contract expires.

Zawistowski voted against a Democrat resolution to create a constitutional “lock box” for transportation funds because it provided wiggle room for the legislature to raid them later. The plan didn’t define “transportation,” perhaps giving the General Assembly flexibility to divert money to other line items before it even hits the lock box.

“If the legislature implemented highway tolls or even created a new gas tax, would that money go into the lock box? Not necessarily. Details matter, and this hastily-crafted plan issued solely to say, ‘we did something’ demanded more attention,” Zawistowski said. “That we voted on a budget plan that raids the Special Transportation Fund on the same day we voted to create a ‘two-year’ transportation lock box should illustrate the legislature’s commitment to managing this money in a way that taxpayers expect. Simply put, this is a lock box with a lot of keys.”