The House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a proposal that would grant state police troopers a 2.5% general wage hike and a step increase next fiscal year.

The proposal, which is also expected to win approval in the Senate, passed 134-12 in the Democratic-controlled House, enjoying bipartisan support despite objections from GOP leaders.

Legislators from both parties have lamented a state police force that’s now about 25% smaller than the 1,200-plus troopers who served Connecticut prior to 2010. 

Democrats said the raises, which would affect an estimated 885 troopers, are essential to recruitment efforts.

But both House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford, and Rep. Tammy Nuccio, R-Tolland, argued against the raises.

“We’re facing a collision course with a rather ugly truth” — that state employee compensation is becoming unsustainable, said Nuccio, who is the ranking House Republican on the Appropriations Committee.

Nearly all unionized workers have received a 2.5% general wage hike and a step, which typically adds another 2 percentage points to the raise, each fiscal year since 2021-22.

Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration, which negotiated the wage deal with the troopers, also is bargaining new contracts with all other major state employee unions. And it would be difficult for state officials to convince labor arbiters that Connecticut could not afford effective 4.5% annual increases for other state employees if the legislature approves one for troopers.

The House GOP proposed a $54.4 billion biennial budget earlier this month that counts on more than $300 million in savings over the next two fiscal years by freezing pay for all workers. 

Candelora said troopers earn an average of $116,000 per year in base pay, but compensation rises to $175,000 per year once overtime is considered. 

“There’s no amount of pay that’s going to be able to recruit more officers,” he said.

The solution, Candelora added, involves criminal justice reforms that give officers greater legal protection when performing searches or pulling over motorists on the highway. 

“What they really need is our support,” he said. “They need real criminal justice reform.”

Despite Nuccio and Candelora’s arguments, 35 of the 47 Republicans who cast ballots in Tuesday’s joined 99 Democrats in supporting the raises.

Andrew Matthews, executive director of the state police union and a former president, noted before a legislative panel earlier this month that union concessions packages have weakened retirement benefits for troopers.

Before 2011, a trooper was eligible for a hazardous duty pension based on the three highest annual salaries of a minimum 20 years of service.

Now Connecticut requires 25 years of service that offers a hybrid pension/401(k) benefit calculated on average wages over the entire 25-year span.

But Matthews also said workers deserve the raises in the deal and more. 

“It’s a dangerous job,” he said at the time, adding that 26 troopers have died in the line of duty and that post-traumatic stress injuries are “a real thing” many troopers face.

The legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis estimated the agreement would cost state government nearly $4.1 million next fiscal year. Municipalities that participate in the resident state trooper program would collectively incur an added cost of $301,675 next fiscal year, nonpartisan analysts estimated.