Budget developments changed by the hour Tuesday inside the halls of the Connecticut State Capitol.
Early in the afternoon, Senate Republican President Pro Tem Len Fasano warned that “people would suffer” in Connecticut if a budget wasn’t approved by July 1, and the state was to be run by executive order.
He said lawmakers need to expect a public backlash if more than a billion dollars in cuts are authorized after the fiscal year ends.
“I think you’re going to see an outcry from the public, slow at first, but it will reach a pinnacle in September,” said Sen. Fasano, (R–Durham).
Later in the day, Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney announced his support for Gov. Dannel Malloy’s “mini-budget,” a plan that adds more than $300 million in revenue, but also would be a spending a document for the first three months of the fiscal year. It would allow for money to be sent to cities and towns for operating and education expenses.
“I am prepared to sign an emergency certified bill today calling the Senate into session on Thursday, June 29 to vote on the proposed “mini budget” for the first quarter of the fiscal year,” Looney said in a statement Tuesday.
“No one wants the governor to run the state by executive order,” Sen. Looney (D–New Haven) also added.
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The delay appears to be in the House of Representatives. Republican Leader Themis Klarides was non-committal over whether she’d support a partial budget for the 2018 fiscal year, but did say it wasn’t her first choice when given the option of a full budget.
Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz would not say he or his caucus would vote in favor of a mini-budget, much less bring his caucus into session to debate or vote on such a measure, since he was told recently by members that they wanted to see a full budget approved by the end of the fiscal year.
“Is it putting another Band-Aid on a situation that requires us to do a surgery?” Aresimowicz asked.
He said the only way he can say for himself, or House Democrats for that matter, supporting a partial spending plan was if it was part of a larger negotiation over two-year spending.
“I’m not going to artificially move the goal line, being a football coach, to say everything is going to be OK for another few months,” said Rep. Aresimowicz (D–Berlin), who is also the Berlin High School football coach.
Malloy expressed concern that lawmakers can’t get on the same page to support the mini-budget when there appears to be bipartisan support for it.
“Going into July 1 without a budget will cause bigger problems, not smaller problems,” Malloy warned.
He said the mini-budget will make sure school systems, non-profit groups, and cities and towns will be in a far better position with some kind of law authorizing spending in place, rather than the uncertainty of sweeping cuts without a law in place.
“All of that can be avoided. It can be avoided by a complete budget or a mini-budget and it’s not avoided if I’m left simply to do what I’ve laid out for you to do,” he said.
