The state has not had a budget since July 1 and the governor has released a budget proposal this morning that includes raising the sales tax from 6.35 percent to 6.5 percent and the tax on restaurants from 6.35 percent to 7 percent.
Gov. Dannel Malloy has released his third budget proposal since February and it also proposes establishing the "passport to parks" fund to eliminate all parking fees for Connecticut residents at state parks and beaches.
“We cannot continue down a path of operating the state without an adopted budget – we must meet one another in the middle,” Malloy said in a statement. “To reach compromise, I have scaled back some of my proposals, I have adopted some of the best ideas from legislators of both political parties, and I have tried to be responsive to the needs of municipalities within the limited resources the state has at its disposal. This budget represents real, structural change, and it uses new revenues only as a last resort after achieving historic labor concessions and making hundreds of millions of dollars in difficult spending cuts.”
The governor's proposal also phases in a progressive education funding formula and provides 21 struggling districts with additional funding in Fiscal Year 2018 and 38 districts additional funding in Fiscal Year 2019.
The governor’s announcement comes the day after Hartford officials held a news conference about the city’s dire financial situation that could require the city filing for bankruptcy.
Malloy said his proposal addresses the critical needs of Hartford and other cities and town that may struggle in the future with a “new municipal accountability framework that will ensure that extraordinary state resources are only available with extraordinary accountability and oversight.”
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A news release from the governor’s office said his proposal also includes the first steps to address the ongoing crumbling foundation crisis with funding for an additional staff person to help coordinate the state response, as well as $10 million in bond authorizations each year for six years.
The governor's proposal also includes restoring many of the reductions to private providers that were implemented under the executive order.
The governor is also proposing raising the cigarette tax from $3.90 per pack to $4.35 per pack.
