
Last week, the Democratically-controlled Finance and Appropriations Committee unveiled their mid-term budget proposals as a counter to Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget, but they don’t add up.
“If you take the Finance Committee revenues and the spending proposed by Appropriations they’re general fund, they’re out of balance by $784 million,” Acting Office of Policy and Management Secretary Jeff Beckham said. “Those two work products are not aligned at all.”
That’s mostly due to the large number of tax cuts proposed by the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.
“They’re coming from two slightly different directions, but I think we’re going to get there,” Lamont said Friday during a virtual news conference.
Lamont said the Finance Committee played some games with the revenue cap and that makes him worry.
“I worry about going off budget for some spending,” Lamont said. “That’s just a way around the spending cap, which I don’t think is helpful.”
In 2017, the bipartisan budget approved without the initial blessing of former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, included a volatility cap, revenue cap, spending cap, and bonding cap.
“Follow the rules of the road that you yourself set up back in 2017,” Lamont said “I think they’re really important. I think they’re guardrails and I think the legislature – I think on both sides of the aisle – said we need these guardrails to make sure we don’t go, you know, out of our lane.”
Beckham said they will have to work out something before the administration can sit down with lawmakers behind closed-doors to negotiate.
However, if you use the revenues Lamont proposed in his budget and marry them to the Democratic spending package “we would have a general fund balance and we would have about a $31 million surplus,” Beckham said.
Beckham said the Finance package was a “massive set of tax cuts, and spending at roughly where we are.”
One of the big differences is the car tax.
There are now three proposals to reduce the car tax. One from Lamont, one from the Finance Committee and one from the Appropriations Committee.
Lamont’s reduces the car tax for towns with mill rates over 29. It would cost about $160.4 million. The Appropriations Committee proposes raising that to around 32.46 mills and would cost around $100 million. The Finance Committee proposal uses the 29 mills but also eliminates the first $5,000 assessment on vehicles. That proposal would cost around $240 million in lost revenue.
“We all want to cut the car tax. We know it’s an unfair tax, we know it penalizes those towns that have a higher mill rate, “ Lamont said.
Support authentic, locally owned and operated public service journalism!
Lamont’s message to lawmakers from his own party: “You’ve got to make some choices there.”
The governor said many states have joint budget committees so “we don’t have this dichotomy.”
However, he remained optimistic.
“We’ll get together,” Lamont said.
Lawmakers are scheduled to start talks this week.
More State Budget news

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
The Budget Battle Begins To Take Shape
Tax collections have improved and pushed Connecticut’s budget surplus to $4 billion, but the state budget still relies heavily on federal funding and without it the state would end up running a “sizeable operating deficit.” The Office of Policy and Management told state Comptroller Natalie Braswell Wednesday that if not for the use of the…
Keep reading