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

Legislature overrides Malloy veto, delaying a budget cut

  • Money
  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • January 31, 2018
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

ctmirror.org

Senate GOP Leader Len Fasano gives a colleague a thumbs up after a quick veto override vote.

With little debate or fanfare, the General Assembly voted Wednesday to override Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s veto of a bill that delays cuts in a Medicare assistance program until July, quieting a public outcry over tighter eligibility standards.

By votes of 131 to 4 in the House and 30 to 1 in the Senate, legislators delivered on a promise to fully fund a program that uses Medicaid funds to help poor elderly and disabled patients pay for health care costs that Medicare does not cover.

New eligibility limits for the Medicare Savings Program that lawmakers wrote into the state budget were projected to save $54 million this fiscal year and about $130 million in 2018-19. The override vote delays the imposition of the new limits until July 1.

Unless the legislature makes further changes in the eligibility standards in the 2018 session that opens next week, lawmakers could face another outcry over the program this summer, as legislators turn to their campaigns for re-election.

The Malloy administration had defended the budget cut, noting that lawmakers had broadened the eligibility rules in 2010, ignoring a budget crisis as they raised income limits and eliminated an asset test for the program.

The legislature’s response to the public complaints over the budget cut has become emblematic of the political difficulty the General Assembly has in reducing state services to cut spending.

Legislators found the extra $54 million for the Medicare program this fiscal year by:

  • Canceling a previously ordered transfer of $17.8 million from this fiscal year to the next. But state finances next fiscal year already are at risk of deficit by more than $200 million because of declining revenue projections.
  • Reducing the state’s contribution this fiscal year to the teachers’ pension fund by $19.4 million. But the budget already assumes the state will save $19.4 million in this area because it increases what teachers must set aside for their pensions.
  • Reducing accounts for executive appointments, miscellaneous agency expenses and the Department of Administrative Services. The governor has questioned whether these cutbacks can be achieved in the remaining six months of the fiscal year, since the new budget already has forced major cutbacks in these areas.

“The bipartisan budget changes adopted to fund the Medicare Savings Plan are wishful thinking, double counting and pushing off problems into the future,” Malloy wrote in his veto message. “This bill has essentially done nothing to the state’s budget operations in order to fund the restoration of the Medicare Savings Plan by either adding new revenue or reducing state spending levels.”

Opposing the override were Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, and Reps. Peter Tercyak of New Britain, Danny S. Rovero of Killingly and Diana Urban of North Stonington, all Democrats, and Rep. Craig Fishbein, a Republican from Wallingford.

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

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 Democrats to propose beefed-up spending plan
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The Appropriations Committee will propose a two-year state spending plan Wednesday that bolsters municipal aid, higher education and social services.

Lamont unveils bipartisan deal to pay off huge unemployment trust debt
by Keith M. Phaneuf

A new plan to preserve Connecticut’s debt-riddled unemployment trust fund would curb benefits and increase taxes on some businesses.

Lamont takes a moment to celebrate government efficiency
by Mark Pazniokas

The state has consolidated 140 positions in human resources into 70.

Big dollars hang in the balance as CT finance panel rushes to finish work
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Millions of dollars in proposed tax hikes and cuts remain in play as the finance committee nears its Thursday deadline.

Bill that would eliminate CT’s religious exemption from mandatory vaccines clears House
by Jenna Carlesso

The measure passed by a vote of 90 to 53 after 16 hours of debate.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion One step Connecticut can take to address our maternal mortality crisis
by Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD

Uncertainty. Fear. Worry. These are just a few of the thoughts and emotions that run through the minds of almost every expecting parent. And for many expecting Black parents, those feelings can be more acute. That’s because for far too many, having a child is a life and death struggle.

Opinion Connecticut lawmakers on aid in dying: two decades of delay, deferral, obstruction
by Paul Bluestein, MD

Very soon, members of the Connecticut House and Senate will be voting on HB6425, - the Medical Aid in Dying bill. More than 20 years ago, Oregon implemented its Death with Dignity Act. Since then, Washington, Vermont, California, Montana, Colorado, Maine, Washington DC, Hawaii and most recently New Mexico have passed legislation authorizing medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults. But not Connecticut.

Opinion The intersection of race, class and gender in America’s childcare system: The class edition
by Georgia Goldburn

When Michelle Obama declared that she wanted to become “Mom in Chief,” she spoke to a sentiment shared by many women, i.e. the desire to be the primary caregiver of their young children in their early years. Not unexpectedly, Mrs. Obama was derided for making that choice, highlighting how society stands ready to indict women […]

Opinion A progressive income tax to re-align Connecticut’s moral compass
by Ezra Kaprov

Redistribution of wealth and property is a fundamental and missing pillar of the hope for multi-racial democracy in the United States.

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