After an all-night session and early morning weekend vote State Rep. David K. Labriola, R-Oxford, voiced strong opposition to a state budget which included increased spending, the introduction of Keno and the busting of the spending cap.
H.B. 6704 – An Act Concerning Expenditures and Revenue for the Biennium Ending June 30, 2015,passed the House on a party line vote of 95 to 48 at 5:15 a.m. Sunday morning.
“The people of Connecticut demand fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, and more jobs," Labriola said. “The budget which passed provided none of those things.”
Among the more controversial pieces, the overall budget:
- Takes about $3 billion a year out of Medicaid spending, thereby ignoring the spending cap.
- Contains no structural cuts, but includes spending increases, which creates a deficit of more than $600 million in the first year after the next biennium.
- Adds Keno gambling in Connecticut.
- Delays the payment of almost $400 million in debt, costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in unnecessary interest charges in the long run.
- Continues to borrow $750 million for cash flow purposes to pay day-to-day operating expenses.
- Sweeps $100 million from the Transportation Fund and puts it into the General Fund thereby reducing the money available for repair of our bridges and roads.
Editor's Note: The above information comes from a news release from the House Republican Office.
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