Republican lawmakers urged Gov. Dannel Malloy to sign off on the state budget passed by the legislature at a press conference in Hamden Wednesday.
The state’s fiscal year ended on June 30 and the state still does not have a budget.
The Connecticut House of Representatives and the state Senate both passed Republican versions of the budget, but Gov. Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, has vowed to veto the spending plan, which he said would be devastating to the state’s effort to increase jobs.
On Wednesday Republican lawmakers argued that the budget was bipartisan and the best option for the state.
“It avoids the draconian cuts the governor wants to make through his executive order,” Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano said.
Fasano said the budget brings stability to cities and towns with increases in municipal aid, restores cuts to non-profits and avoids painful tax increases.
Some of Malloy’s issues with the budget revolve around the GOP plan when it comes to pension fund spending.
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The budget spends less money annually on retirement benefits for state employees while mandating that they pay more for their plans starting in 2027.
The Republican budget puts those savings into action for the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 fiscal year. The governor said that kind of budgeting is exactly what’s led to Connecticut having one of the most underfunded pension systems in the country. He even accused Republicans of taking part in “Rowland-era,” budgeting.
Len Fasano argues that it is inaccurate to say the pensions are not fully funded.
“The pension is fully funded -100 percent. What happened is that because we change it in 2027 that has a fiscal impact.”
State Senator George Logan (R-Hamden) said that the budget fairly addresses the issue of teacher pensions.
“The budget does not shift teacher pension costs onto municipalities and property taxpayers. This is an expense that the state should not be paying. And shifting it onto its towns and cities. Doing so would mean cuts to teachers schools and increased property taxes. We have enough taxes. We cannot afford any more additional taxes," Logan said.
There are also concerns about cuts to higher education. The University of Connecticut, which faces a $300 million cut in funding over the next two years under the budget plan, said that amount of money lost would mean closing regional campuses, chopping financial aid, and possibly cutting division one athletics.
Republicans have defended their position, saying that social services and municipalities need the money and that UConn can get cash through the federal government, grants and increasing tuition.
Spending cuts will be triggered on Oct. 1 if no budget is passed, and the governor has expressed doubts that legislators will make that deadline. Fasano said that if the governor vetoes the budget, the legislature still has the ability to override it and encouraged residents to voice their opinion to their legislators.
“There is no budget out there that can garner support from the House and the Senate but the budget that was passed. There's no other plan. There’s no other alternative. The Democrats do not have support for their budget," Fasano said.
