At many of the state’s public colleges – which collectively enroll 150,000 students – tuition could rise, course offerings would shrink, class sizes would increase, library hours would be cut and some degrees would no longer be offered, the state’s higher education leaders testified Wednesday.
2016 State Budget
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Labor, advocacy groups call for tax hikes instead of budget cuts
A top Connecticut labor leader blasted Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget as continuing “to protect the very, very wealthy,” offering a counterpoint to the governor’s call for deep spending cuts and state workforce reductions, and to the broader aversion among many legislators to the idea of raising taxes for a second consecutive year.
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Malloy finds even polite questions have no easy answers
A harder test comes Thursday night in Stamford when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy faces an unfiltered audience at the first of his town hall meetings. But even in a small invitation-only event Tuesday, he heard concerns about the depth of his spending cuts.
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Business leaders push to intensify control of state spending
Connecticut’s business leaders had high praise Tuesday for the deep spending cuts and absence of tax hikes in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s new budget. But they also warned that without an even harder, bipartisan push to control spending, businesses will remain reluctant to grow — or to support the tolls and gasoline tax hikes recommended to finance transportation improvements.
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Malloy’s vision for Connecticut shifts dramatically in new budget
Had state government slashed its way out of a deficit five years ago, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy often has said, Connecticut’s quality of life would be unrecognizable. But the Democratic governor now is urging spending cuts over the next two years that key Democratic lawmakers argue could have an impact similar to cuts Republicans sought – and Malloy decried – in 2011.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Malloy: Increase charter school, cut neighborhood school funding
Charter schools have escaped Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget axe and are slated for a $9.3 million boost in his proposed state budget. But the Democratic governor wants a $52.9 million cut on funding for special education, after-school programs, reading tutors and other services in low-performing public schools across the state.
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After five years, Malloy says he still can be a force for change
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy cast himself Wednesday in his sixth State of the State address as a vigorous agent of change, not the stolid defender of an entrenched administration wobbling under the weight of bad polling, dwindling revenues and growing debt.
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Overview: Malloy targets municipal aid, agency budgets, perhaps ‘thousands’ of jobs
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed a $19.87 billion budget Wednesday that cuts most state agencies and previously approved municipal aid, and potentially eliminates “thousands” of jobs, while avoiding tax hikes to close a nearly $570 million deficit.
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Labor savings: The big unknown in Malloy’s new budget
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s new plan to cut agency budgets almost 6 percent relies heavily on cutting labor costs. His critics say it can’t be done by downsizing staffing alone, but also requires concessions. And labor union leaders decry both approaches.
Posted inHealth, Money
Advocates say social service, mental health cuts will hurt
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget calls for cutting funding for mental health and substance abuse treatment, hospitals, community health centers, school-based health clinics, asthma treatment, respite programs for those who care for people with dementia – and more.
Posted inEducation, Money
Malloy: Shift health care, pension costs to universities
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget would transfer the responsibility for health care, retirement and other fringe benefit costs for thousands of employees to the state’s public colleges and universities – a move college leaders have warned will probably result in a lot of red ink in their budgets.
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Text of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s 2016 State of the State
This is the text as prepared for delivery of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s address to the legislature.
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Malloy’s budget speech to call for reforms, sustainability
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy intends to frame his budget proposal today as a reform of Connecticut’s much-maligned and unpredictable process of budgeting, as well as a blueprint for taming unsustainable spending. In excerpts released ahead of his noon speech, he also challenges legislators: “We can’t be opposed to tax increases, but unwilling to cut the spending those taxes support.”
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New Malloy budget falls $720M below current-services level
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy would spend $720 million less than what’s necessary to maintain current services next fiscal year, but his new plan, due to the legislature Wednesday, won’t say how about 40 percent of that reduction would affect specific programs, according to an administration presentation.
Posted inHealth, Money
How each hospital fared under the budget deal
Hospitals will receive $164.3 million in state and federal funds under the budget deal legislators approved Tuesday, restoring some of the funding Gov. Dannel P. Malloy cut from hospitals in September, as well as millions more in overdue payments. Here’s who gets what.