Connecticut Looks to Special Session for Budget

HARTFORD, CT — As the regular legislative session ends, Gov. Dannel Malloy and the legislature look toward the challenge of coming up with a state budget, hopefully before the end of the fiscal year.

The fiscal year ends July 1 after which Malloy would have certain powers to run the state without a current budget.

The situation has happened twice in recent years, first under Gov. John Rowland in 2003 and again in 2009 under Gov. Jodi Rell, according to the CT Mirror. The government went without a budget until Sept. 8 in Rell’s case as politicians debated on how best to deal with fallout as the Great Recession got underway.

Malloy said he has pledged to work with state employee unions and the state wouldn’t be looking at mass layoffs to save money should a budget not be passed by July 1. Malloys’ administration and leaders of the union have agreed on the framework of the decision, but it must still be passed by union members and the legislature must still work on a budget.

The framework of state union concessions would save the state more than $20 billion over 20 years.
Malloy said one of the most important aspects of the framework is creating a new “Tier IV” class of workers who would have a hybrid pension/401k-style plan. About 25 to 40 percent of the state workforce is expected to retire by 2022. While other concessions may yield greater short-term cost savings, the new class of employees would save the state money for the decades to come, Malloy said.

The governor added that he would prefer to have a budget passed and signed before July 1. He has denounced both Republican and Democrat legislative budget proposals.

Many Issues Left on Table
A number of hot-button topics came up over the course of the session, but in the end many failed to see a vote. Recreational marijuana legalization, allowing Tesla to sell vehicles directly to consumers and early voting were among the issues that didn’t see a full vote. The issue of tolls didn't get a vote either.

Some revenue-driven ideas may be resurrected in the special session as part of budget talks.

A bill that will allow the development of a new casino in East Windsor passed the House and Senate.
Another bill will put forth a constitutional amendment regarding a special transportation fund “lockbox” to voters in 2018. Republicans criticized the bill and said it didn’t do enough to ensure funds meant for transportation don’t get raided. Malloy criticized Republicans and said they either don’t want the fund to be protected or are playing politics.

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