Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Another day of negotiations yields optimism, but no deal

  • Money
  • by Keith M. Phaneuf and Mark Pazniokas
  • October 10, 2017
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Keith M. Phaneuf :: CTMirror.org

House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, Senate Republican leader Len Fasano (center) and House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz talk with reporters.

The state’s long-running budget drama took a new twist Tuesday as some legislative leaders hinted they were closer than ever before to a bipartisan deal, absent any input from the Democratic administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

But House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, conceded that any bargain likely would include measures Malloy already has vetoed and labeled as gimmicks, and  House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, remained adamant her caucus wouldn’t accept any revenue increases beyond the more than $800 million it already has endorsed.

Lawmakers acknowledged that proposals to reduce payments into the state employees’ pension fund, boost teachers’ contribution toward their retirement plan, and direct Malloy to achieve massive savings after the next budget is in force all remain under consideration.

So is Connecticut on the cusp of a tentative solution to its nearly 15-week budget impasse?

“We’ve all moved in our positions and I think it is for the greater good of the state,” Aresimowicz said after Democratic and Republican legislative leaders wrapped 3 1/2 hours of closed-door budget talks. “And I really can’t see a way where we don’t come to an agreement.”

Since the middle of last week, though, top Democratic and Republican lawmakers have negotiated without representatives of Malloy, who vetoed a GOP budget passed with the assistance of three Democratic senators and five House Democrats. An override was not pursued last week.

To reach the two-thirds threshold necessary to override a gubernatorial veto, the Republicans would have had to win over another 24 Democrats in the House and three in the Senate.

The legislature has been sharply divided along partisan lines over how to close a projected shortfall of $3.5 billion in the upcoming biennium, and leaders said the talks were limited to force the two sides to find consensus. But the administration, which tracks finances on a daily basis, also can play a key role in these talks by assessing and trouble-shooting proposals that may not save or raise as much money as lawmakers envision.

To reconcile competing Democratic and Republican budget proposals, the speaker said, GOP ideas Malloy rejected once before likely must be brought before him a second time.

“They may be,” Aresimowicz said. “To get to a place where we are all comfortable — but none of us are absolutely happy — we’ve all given in various areas.”

Legislative leaders said they hope to be ready to brief Malloy on a common plan as early as Wednesday.

“I think the variable we don’t know is how discussions will go with the governor,” the speaker said. “That will be an additional layer of negotiations.”

The GOP-crafted budget vetoed by Malloy would have scaled back state employee pensions after the current benefits contract expires in mid-2027, but taken some of the savings now, reducing the actuarially required state contributions in the upcoming biennium by $321 million. Malloy says the move might not survive an inevitable court challenge by labor unions. He also called it irresponsible, given the failure of past administrations to adequately support pensions.

The administration also questioned the legality of a proposal to supplant some of the skyrocketing contributions the state must make into the teachers’ pensions with increased contributions from the employees.

Teachers can be required to contribute more. But the state’s ability to reduce its payments into the fund are limited, the administration says, by contractual pledges the state made to its bond investors when it borrowed $2 billion in 2008 to shore up the teacher pension fund.

The GOP plan also would have ordered the governor to achieve $260 million more in savings after the budget is in force by combining agencies and reducing executive appointments.

But the latter doesn’t involve close to that level of spending and governor’s authority to impose layoffs is greatly limited over the next four fiscal years by a deal that brought new union concessions.

Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, acknowledged these GOP proposals are problematic for the governor, but said Malloy also has faced the unpleasant task of managing state finances by executive order absent a new budget.

And given the projected deficit, that has meant painful cuts to municipal aid, social services and other priorities not fixed by contractual obligations.

The governor “has expressed support ultimately for a conventional budget,” Looney said. “He has as great of a stake in getting to an agreed-upon budget that we can pass and that he will sign as we do.”

“We are eager to see details from leaders on where they’ve found compromise,” said Kelly Donnelly, a spokeswoman for the administration. “The governor has been very clear that our budget must be balanced with realistic spending cuts and not gimmicks or unachievable savings. We look forward to reviewing their ideas and finalizing a biennial budget in the days ahead.”

But it still was unclear late Tuesday whether the latest legislative talks even would result in a bipartisan proposal being presented to Malloy.

Both Klarides and Senate Republican leader Len Fasano of North Haven said tax hikes remain a sticky issue.

The Republican budget Malloy vetoed generated $840 million from tax and fee hikes across this fiscal year and next combined, and canceled another $50 million in previously approved tax cuts that haven’t been implemented yet.

And that’s not counting $95 million in new pension contributions from teachers — an increase from 6 to 8 percent of payroll — that would supplant payments state government otherwise would make.

The last proposal from Democrats generated about $1.53 billion from tax and fee hikes across two fiscal years combined.

So as Democratic and Republican legislative leaders seek consensus on a new budget, does that mean the GOP must consider more tax hikes?

“The tax hikes are a different situation,” Klarides said. “I still hold firmly on the tax hike issue, that we shouldn’t agree to any further tax hikes. We have to have the conversations that we have in that room. But we still feel strongly that tax increases do not move the state of Connecticut forward.”

Fasano also was cautious about promising any Senate Republican votes for a new budget that raises taxes and fees beyond the level in the early GOP plan.

“A budget is a total package, and we’re going to go in there and try to get the things we believe hard in,” Fasano said. “And at the end, my caucus will review the budget from top to bottom. … And my caucus will decide whether they can be in favor of that.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keith M. Phaneuf A winner of numerous journalism awards, Keith Phaneuf has been CT Mirror’s state finances reporter since it launched in 2010. The former State Capitol bureau chief for The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, Keith has spent most of 31 years as a reporter specializing in state government finances, analyzing such topics as income tax equity, waste in government and the complex funding systems behind Connecticut’s transportation and social services networks. A former contributing writer to The New York Times, Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut.

Mark Pazniokas is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
CT hasn’t started collecting new payroll tax from state workers
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Connecticut established a new payroll tax surcharge on Jan. 1 but still isn't deducting it from state workers' paychecks.

Lamont’s budget offers another round of tax amnesty
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposal waives penalties and caps interest at 3% over each of the next two fiscal years.

Senate sends data center incentives and town aid pledge bills to Lamont’s desk
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Senate endorsed an omnibus fiscal bill that lays the groundwork for a major boost in PILOT aid to many municipalities.

House approves big municipal aid pledge, tax incentive bills
by Keith M. Phaneuf and Mark Pazniokas

The House approved bills Wednesday pledging $100 million-plus in new municipal aid and offering tax incentives to attract data centers.

CT legislature poised to make early budget pledge to help cities and towns
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The state House is expected to approve more than $100 million in new, annual PILOT grants to municipalities.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Fitness is part of Connecticut’s COVID solution
by David Humphrey

Based on what we now know about infection rates and transmission, it is more apparent than ever before that gyms, fitness centers, and the physical and mental health benefits of exercise are essential to help our state get through the months ahead.

Opinion Connecticut can’t afford state government-run health insurance
by Mike Licamele

As much as I support strengthening and improving healthcare, I do not believe SB 842 is the way to do that. Instead of trying to force Connecticut residents into a new, government-controlled healthcare system, lawmakers should focus on improving our existing one by building on what’s working and continuing to address lowering costs, not raising taxes

Opinion Disabled, marginalized, stalled and walled
by Doris Maldonado

As a bilingual health information specialist for PATH P2P Family Voices CT and National Family Voices Cultural Responsiveness Telehealth Team, I offer more than professional expertise as well as despair for the marginalized within marginalized communities. I am a Latina with disabilities, adoptive mother of 17-year-old twins with special needs and a thriving toddler.

Opinion The marijuana legalization debate must be based on facts
by Will Jones III

In response to my earlier piece on why Connecticut lawmakers should reject marijuana commercialization,  Brendan Ruberry wrote a rebuttal that, on its face seems scathing, but to be clear, the attempted rebuttal falls flat and well off the mark.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO