
(Updated 4:19 p.m.) Like Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget the Republican’s alternative budget comes with a set of principles, but it’s a different set of principles and not one that calls for “shared sacrifice.”
Sen. Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, said his caucus knows that over the last two years everyone in the state of Connecticut has been sacrificing. He said unemployed families have learned to sacrifice and “the only area where there’s been no sacrifice is government.”
“The unemployment rate in state government is zero,” House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, said at a press conference to explain the no-tax increase budget proposal.
To that end the Republican budget proposes no new tax increases and $1.5 billion in spending cuts, but they’re not across the board cuts and they do not include the sale of state assets as Republican budget proposals have in the past. The Republican budget released Tuesday also does not cut municipal aid even though it shifts Town Aid Road to the capital budget. Malloy’s budget also avoids cuts to municipal aid.
The Republican budget does close seven rest areas, the Department of Motor Vehicles in New Britain, and ends Chester to Hadlyme and Glastonbury to Rocky Hill ferry service. It also proposes consolidating state agencies to save $47.9 million, changes how poor and disabled persons receive Medicaid, and eliminates unemployment benefits for part-time workers.
Perhaps the most controversial piece of the Republican budget is the Medicaid waiver which they say will help the state avoid costly payments for federal health care mandates and save the state $70 million in the first year and $140 million in the second year of the budget. The proposal actually requires the Department of Social Services to apply an asset test, instead of the current income test, for anyone applying for the program. It’s unclear exactly how many fewer people would be allowed to stay in the program if the asset test was applied.
Overall Republicans said their budget spends $1.5 billion less than Malloy’s budget in the first fiscal year, and $1.4 billion in the next fiscal year. It also proposes laying off 2,700 non-union employees, which Republicans estimated was a five percent reduction in the state workforce. Another 834 vacant positions wouldn’t be filled even though some of those are union positions.
The Republican workforce reductions come from elimination of currently vacant positions, a hard hiring freeze, consolidation of state agencies, and elimination of 1,380 management positions.
Malloy said he hasn’t read the Republican proposal yet, but will.
“I will read it I promise. I did see in one of the news reports that they want to close those two ferries up, I’m not for that,” Malloy said on his way out of the state Capitol.
And while he appreciated their confidence in his ability to negotiate $2 billion in union concessions, he thinks proposing layoffs as the Republicans have won’t help further those discussions.
“To some extent, I’ve got deal with the reality of what is possible and what is not possible given a 20-year contract one of my predecessors signed in 1997,“ Malloy said.
Roy Occhiogrosso, Malloy’s senior communications adviser, said a preliminary glance at the Republican proposal shows that it’s not balanced.
“The Republicans’ budget assumes more than $500 million in unidentified savings across state government,“ Occhiogrosso said in a statement. “The Republicans have had more than two months since the Governor proposed his budget to identify specific savings, but instead have chosen to assign an arbitrary dollar figure to a line-item and call it a cut. They also include a proposal to ‘restructure’ $200 million in debt in FY 2012, which is one-time budget gimmick and a ‘savings’ in name only.”
McKinney said Republicans are proposing to shift $200 million of the state’s high interest borrowing to lower interest borrowing. He said it’s not a gimmick it’s what people do every day when they switch their credit card balance from a high interest rate card to a lower one.
As for the $500 million in unidentified savings, McKinney said his caucus went through the budget line-by-line and there’s nothing unidentified in their plan. He said it’s possible he didn’t have time to go over everything in the one-hour press conference, but it’s all there in fine print.
The Republican budget also proposes hiring 20 employees for a new Medicaid fraud unit which it estimates will bring in about $224 million in savings.
In order to bring in some additional revenue it proposes a tax amnesty program which it assumes will bring in about $25 million and proposes an automated vehicle insurance identification enforcement system to track down registration and insurance scofflaws to the tune of $150 million per year.
It also eliminates the Citizens’ Election Program, which helps fund lawmakers campaigns. The elimination saves $44.2 million over the next two years.
As they have in the past Republicans consolidated all the legislative commissions such as the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, African-American Affairs Commission, and the other four legislative commissions. McKinney suspected that consolidation of six commissions into one will cause people to “howl.”
But that’s not what Democrats are howling about.
Support authentic, locally owned and operated public service journalism!
“In a matter of days, the Finance and Appropriations committees are scheduled to vote on the legislative budget recommendations. Our budget will be responsible, not political,” House Speaker Chris Donovan and House Majority Leader Brendan Sharkey said in a statement. “We appreciate the efforts of legislative Republicans to address the state’s budget issues, but are troubled by many aspects of their proposal.”
Donovan and Sharkey called the Medicaid savings assumptions “unrealistic” and said other cuts will do harm to the safety net for low income elderly residents.
Senate President Donald Williams and Majority Leader Martin Looney said at least a portion of the Republican budget is part fantasy.
“Two examples: it relies on $224 million from reducing Medicaid fraud – but the state already has this initiative and is only expecting a $30 million return. Republicans also double-count savings from loan-restructuring and include cuts that violate the Sheff vs. O’Neil settlement.”
Check back later for more.
More State Budget news

Lamont Signs Another 24 Bills Monday
Gov. Ned Lamont signed another 24 bills Monday, including one that changes what police have to do to inform a family after the death of a loved one, and one that increases funding for children’s mental health.
Keep reading
Stefanowski Talks Abortion, Employee Raises & Budget In First Press Conference
For a half-hour Wednesday, Bob Stefanowski stood outside the state Capitol and fielded questions on abortion rights and state employee raises in a sign the Republican candidate plans to run a more conventional campaign in this year’s rematch with Gov. Ned Lamont.
Keep reading
Lamont Signs The Budget
Alongside Democratic legislative leaders, Gov. Ned Lamont signed the $24 billion budget adjustment Monday that includes $600 million in tax relief. That’s more than they anticipated they would be able to offer Connecticut residents this Election year because revenue came in higher than expected, but it still creates about an $800 million deficit in 2024. …
Keep reading
ANALYSIS | It’s A Wrap: The Winners and Losers of the 2022 Session
It was a short legislative session, but the House and the Senate were able to move a lot of business this year, including the passage of a $24-billion budget with around $600 million in tax cuts.
Keep reading
Connecticut Acts To Help Its Lead-Poisoned Children
After decades of inertia, Connecticut is finally moving to help its thousands of lead-poisoned children and prevent thousands of other young children from being damaged by the widespread neurotoxin.
Keep reading
Bill Bolstering Contracting Oversight Board In Jeopardy After Lamont Administration Raises Concerns
It passed unanimously in the Senate, but a bill that would give the State Contracting Standards Board greater oversight over state contracting appeared stalled in the House Wednesday on the last day of session. “The governor and I have not talked about the bill,” House Speaker Matt Ritter said. “The commissioners have sent us a…
Keep reading
Senate Approves Tax Cuts, Sends $24B Budget to the Governor
The state Senate gave final approval late Tuesday to a $24 billion election year budget plan that includes around $600 million in tax relief while enabling the state to make an $3.5 billion payment on its unfunded pension debt. Senators voted 24-12 at around 10:30 p.m. to send the midterm budget adjustment to the desk…
Keep reading
House Green-Lights $24B Budget
On a party-line vote early Tuesday, the House passed a $24 billion budget adjustment package containing more than $600 million in tax cuts which Democrats heralded as “historic” and Republicans derided as temporary. Lawmakers voted 95 – 52 at around 12:20 a.m. to send the 673-page budget document to the Senate for consideration before the…
Keep reading
Budget Materials
The General Assembly is preparing to debate adjustments to the $24 billion state budget. Below are a few of the documents we’ve been provided as back-up materials. The budget, HB 5506. Town runs. Car tax impact on municipalities. Finance Committee Power Point.
Keep reading
Lawmakers May Vote for First Pay Increase in 20 Years
With legislative retirements mounting, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were considering Monday raising the salaries of General Assembly members for the first time in more than two decades and indexing their pay in the future. During a morning press briefing, House Speaker Matt Ritter told reporters that funding for pay raises had been…
Keep reading
Amid Surging Revenue, House Prepares to Vote on Budget Adjustments
Connecticut’s House of Representatives was expected to vote Monday on a $24 billion budget adjustment package, buoyed by revised revenue predictions that exceeded expectations by more than $350 million. The revised consensus figures released Monday confirm the surge in revenues that enabled Gov. Ned Lamont and legislative Democrats to reach an agreement last week on…
Keep reading
Dems Detail Budget Deal With $500 Mil in Tax Cuts, Extension of Gas Tax Holiday
Legislative Democrats and Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration announced Wednesday the details of a $24.2 billion budget adjustment package, which they say provides around $500 million in tax relief including extending a gas tax holiday until December. Lamont and legislative leaders outlined the agreement during an afternoon press conference in the state Capitol building. Both chambers…
Keep reading
Health Care Workers Call for New Hires
After a record number of health care workers are expected to retire this year, health care staff called on Gov. Ned Lamont to commit to filling 1,000 vacant positions by August 1 of this year. A record 1,137 state workers who notified the state that they will retire this year comes at a moment of…
Keep reading
Senate Joins House And Votes To Give Raises, Bonuses To State Employees
The Senate gave final approval by a 22-13 vote on a plan to give unionized state workers a set of raises and bonuses. The plan, negotiated by Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration and a coalition of public sector labor unions, provides three years of 2.5% raises and step increases as well as a total of $3,500…
Keep reading
House Advances Labor Deal In Historic Vote
Lawmakers in Connecticut’s House of Representatives signed off on a plan to give state workers a set of raises and bonuses Thursday in a mostly partisan vote on a negotiated labor agreement. The House voted 96 to 52 in support of the deal with 1 Republican, Rep. Tom Delnicki of South Windsor, joining all Democrats…
Keep reading
Republicans Propose Last-Minute Tax Package
Legislative Republicans pitched a $1.2 billion tax relief plan Thursday which reduces state income, sales and gas taxes and proposes to join other states in suing the federal government to challenge restrictions on spending pandemic relief funds. House and Senate Republicans announced the plan during a state Capitol press conference Thursday morning. It cuts the…
Keep reading