Monday marks 101 days without a state budget and there are mixed messages on the status of budget talks from legislators and the governor.
Four days ago Governor Dannel Malloy said he wanted a deal by this Friday, but did not want to give false hope. He said there are still hundreds of millions of dollars apart.
On Friday and throughout the weekend, NBC Connecticut is told, top Republicans and Democrats met without the governor.
"In the past few days, there has been an open and honest dialogue. And where everyone has given in areas where in March, April, or in May we probably wouldn't have gave," Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz said.
They could be working on a bipartisan budget that’s veto-proof, but there are no guarantees.
Agreeing on a funding formula for education – from K-12 to higher education -has been a problem. Typically by now, local school districts would know how much they’d be getting from the state and receive that money in October.
"We recognize to get a bipartisan budget to have to give here and give there. When we have our negotiations we keep in mind our membership and what we need to protect in our caucus. But you cannot have a bipartisan deal unless there's give and take on both sides of the aisle," State Senator Len Fasano said.
Local
The deadline of Friday, Oct. 13 looms because that could determine how much money the state’s hospitals could receive from the federal government.
Cities and towns are already receiving less money from the state than they did last year because there is no budget in place.
