Malloy Signs Majority Of CT Budget, Vetoes One Item

Gov. Dannel Malloy has signed the majority of the bipartisan budget bill into law. He line-item vetoed a portion of the budget that dealt with a new hospital tax proposal and called on legislators to fix language in order for it to work.

“Connecticut’s families and businesses deserve to have a budget in place, one that provides a stable environment to live and work,” Malloy said. “While there are certainly many provisions of this budget I find problematic, there’s also a clear recognition of many of the fiscal priorities and concerns I’ve consistently articulated since January. I appreciate the work of the General Assembly in passing a budget to my desk that I can sign.”

Connecticut has gone 123 days without a budget and was the last state in the nation to pass one. Republicans with the help of some Democrats passed a budget, but it was vetoed by Malloy. The current bipartisan budget passed by veto-proof margins.

Malloy said he was concerned about sweeping energy funds that are normally used to invest in energy efficiency. He also found cuts to economic development programs to be problematic along with assumptions on revenue and expenditures in the coming years.

"While this may be a step in the right direction, make no mistake about it – this is by no means a perfect document and it is not one I would have negotiated,” he said.

On the plus side, Malloy supported fully funding pension amounts, the creation of a municipality accountability review board to help sort out Hartford’s fiscal issues and a formula-driven education cost sharing formula.

He also supported the constitutional spending cap, a requirement for votes on all collective bargaining agreements by the legislature and changes to the estate and insurance premium taxes.

Image via Jessica Hill/AP