Reps. France and McCarty Join Legislators in Outlining State Budget

HARTFORD – Rep. Mike France (R-Ledyard, Preston & Montville) and Kathleen McCarty (R-Waterford & Montville) today stood with fellow House and Senate Republican Legislators and offered an honest plan for addressing Connecticut’s budget for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017.

Blueprint for Prosperity, which is balanced under the spending cap, restores vital social service programs for the neediest, reforms taxes, and institutes major government reforms to save hundreds of millions in the coming years. This alternative answer to Connecticut’s spending woes benefits multiple socioeconomic interests: taxpayers, consumers, the developmentally disabled, businesses, non-profits, municipalities and hospitals. In addition to restoring drastic budget cuts, Republican lawmakers are calling for restoring the exemption on clothing and shoes under $50 starting June 1, 2016 and restoring a full tax freedom week.

“Without raising taxes, we have found a way to protect those who can’t protect themselves,” Rep. France said. “This proposal incorporates several of the solutions I strongly advocated for: financial stability, support for age-based and mental health services, and small business incentives. This is a substantial step in the right direction for the state of Connecticut.”

“My priority in formulating this budget was to preserve the safety net that supports the most vulnerable in our community without raising taxes,” Rep. McCarty said. “This plan accomplishes that goal while additionally restoring funding for senior citizens, libraries, the youth service bureau, mental health services, and protecting education. But there is still more we can do to ensure that all of our constituents are covered under this spending cap. I look forward to working with my leaders and colleagues to refine this proposal for the remainder of this session.”

Highlights of the Blueprint that differ from the Governor’s budget proposal include:

• Restoration of critical human services safety net funding for Connecticut’s most vulnerable citizens
• $18.7 million restoration in mental health and substance abuse funding including Regional Action Councils
• Appropriation of an additional $15 million to help alleviate DDS wait list for services for intellectually disabled
• Restoration of funding to increase long-term care residents’ personal allowance needs, restores current copay percentages and keeps CT Home Care Program open to new entries so that seniors can stay in Connecticut
• Funding for a 2% private provider COLA to benefit nursing homes, care facilities and nonprofit social services providers
• A phasing out of the Income Tax on Pension Income under $100,000 for joint filers to help retirees stay in CT, and the elimination of the proposed income tax hike on single filers beginning in income year 2017
• Elimination of the cap on business tax credits, the corporate tax surcharge in FY 2017, and the Business Entity Tax to ensure businesses continue to invest in Connecticut

For more information, and to stay informed on the Republican proposal, please visit http://cthousegop.com/blueprint/.