April 23, 2013

Zupkus Opposes Borrowing-Focused Budget from Democrat Lawmakers

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HARTFORD — The legislature’s Democratic majority has pitched a budget that relies heavily on borrowing to keep it balanced while virtually guaranteeing tax hikes in the not-so-distant future, said state Rep. Lezlye Zupkus, a member of the Commerce Committee.

House and Senate Democrats on Friday released their counter (H.B. 6351) to the budget proposal issued in February by Gov. Malloy, and the plan exceeds the Constitutional Spending Cap by more than $1.2 billion. They also plan to borrow more than $1 billion to cover government operating expenses.

“This budget plan moves Connecticut’s mounting fiscal problems into the future, keeping our state on a road that everyone, other than the people who proposed it, knows is simply unsustainable,” said Zupkus, who represents Bethany, Prospect and Cheshire. “If this proposal is adopted, these debt and deficit issues will continue to haunt our state legislature.”

The level at which the Democrats’ budget proposal relies on borrowing is remarkable, even with the backdrop of large-scale budget bail-out bonding over the last few years, Zupkus said.

Included in their two-year budget plan is:
– Bonding $80 million to cover lost revenue from the expiring electric generation tax;
– Using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles implementation as an excuse to borrow $750 million to cover day-to-day government operating expenses;
– Reduces $208 million economic recovery note repayments to just $12 million, adding the balance to state’s considerable debt and pushing out payments beyond 2014.

The plan also includes a massive $500 million tax that affects community hospitals, ignores a looming gas tax increase, and it raids the Retired Teachers Healthcare fund. Meanwhile, the plan calls for the creation of new state agencies as well as program expansion.
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“Their plan does nothing to create a stable economic environment, which any business owner will say is among the most important factors in determining whether to expand and hire new workers,” Zupkus said. “This budget, which extends a surcharge on corporate profits, signals that some legislators continue to view employers and entrepreneurs as sources of state revenue rather than partners capable of propelling Connecticut’s economy back to prosperity.”

“And that’s the wrong message to send, considering our state’s unemployment rate is higher than the national average,” she said. “This plan is wrong for Connecticut.”