Budget Woes Promise To Overshadow Session
Budget Woes Promise To Overshadow Session
By Susan Haigh
Associated Press
HARTFORD â When state lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Wednesday, they were greeted with the daunting task of having to fix the largest budget shortfall in recent Connecticut memory.
Besides the current fiscal year deficit, estimated at anywhere from $193 million to $356 million, the next two fiscal years that begin next July 1 are predicted to be about $6 billion in the red.
And considering some experts believe Connecticutâs economy was in recession months after the nationâs economy, those deficit numbers could worsen as state tax revenues continue to slow.
âThis is the worst predicament that we have been in, in anyoneâs memory,â said Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr, a Democrat from Brooklyn. âIt is not a bump in the road.â
Lawmakers and Governor M. Jodi Rell have said they expect Connecticutâs budget problems to overshadow much of the long, five-month legislative session, when the top priority typically has been to pass a new two-year tax and spending plan.
Representative Christopher Donovan, a Meriden Democrat and the new speaker of the House of the Representatives, said he believes the huge deficit will be one of the first issues taken up by the new General Assembly. Besides a planned January 14 vote on Rellâs latest deficit reduction plan for the current fiscal year, he said he wants the legislative committees to work on the next two fiscal years right away.
The legislature usually waits until the end of the session to complete the state budget.
âWeâre going to be moving on the budget issues quickly,â he said. âThatâs what is on everybodyâs mind and that affects so much of what we do.â
Rell, a Republican, has said she wants to avoid tax increases and state employee layoffs to solve the stateâs fiscal woes. But she has also repeated the phrase âeverything is on the tableâ several times publicly.
âEvery aspect of the state budget will be affected one way or another,â predicted Williams. âItâs a mistake to say that any line item is a sacred cow.â
State officials are hoping to get some relief from the federal government. Besides money for capital projects, such as bridges and roads, theyâre also hoping to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in additional Medicaid funding. Medicaid is one of the stateâs largest spending areas.
But Connecticut leaders are quick to point out that the federal government wonât be able to patch the stateâs entire revenue hole.
âI donât want to mislead anyone that this is going to be a fix. It certainly will be a help,â Rell said. âIt certainly will not be a fix.â
Rell said she sees the federal stimulus package as âa confidence builderâ that will help assure taxpayers something is being done to address the worsening economy.
âWe need people to feel weâre doing things in the right way,â she said.
Joe Brennan, senior vice president at the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), said the stateâs business community hopes the federal stimulus package will provide Connecticut with an opportunity to become more efficient. He said this is a good time for the state to streamline its permitting process for projects, whether itâs environmental permits or other requirements.
âWe always hear in Connecticut, itâs always hard to get things done,â he said.
Brennan said he also hopes state policymakers wonât pass legislation that could make life more expensive for Connecticut businesses. For example, CBIA has opposed legislation in past sessions that required paid sick leave, prohibited bullying in the workplace, and opened up the state health plan to municipalities.
âWeâre hopeful this is not the year to put mandates and costs onto businesses,â Brennan said.
Donovan, a proponent of opening the state employee health care plan to cities and towns, said he still plans to push his bill this session despite Rellâs veto last year. He said the proposal would be an opportunity to help municipalities save money in difficult financial times by allowing them to participate in a larger insurance pool.
There may be other legislation proposed this session that stems from the financial crisis, such as laws to make it easier for banks to merge or acquire other banks in Connecticut to avoid failure.
Also, the General Assembly could pass additional legislation aimed at helping homeowners adversely affected by the mortgage meltdown. Last year, a package of reforms was passed to create programs to help people struggling to avoid foreclosure.
Other possible issues up for debate include:
*Gay marriage: Now that the state Supreme Court has ruled that gay and lesbian couples have the right to marry in Connecticut, lawmakers will need to decide what to do with the stateâs existing civil unions law.
*Highway tolls: The legislature is due to receive a report that examines the issues and options of highway tolls as a way to reduce traffic congestion and raise revenue.
*DCF: Reforms to the state Department of Children and Families will likely be considered in light of several disturbing reports, including the death of 7-month-old Michael Brown Jr last May while in foster care at the home of a DCF employee in Mansfield.
*Bottle bill: Lawmakers are expected to resume the debate over who should keep the unredeemed nickel deposits on soda and beer bottles and cans. The money, estimated at $24 million, now goes to the soda and beer distributors. The state, however, wants the cash to help fill its budget gap.