If April state income tax receipts continue to grow, will legislators be tempted to abandon a new capping system that compels the state to save, rather than spend, much of these funds?
State Budget
Posted inMoney
S&P lowers CT’s bond rating citing hefty debt
The potential for Connecticut’s hefty debt burden to remain a drain on state finances for years to come prompted one major Wall Street rating agency Friday to downgrade the state’s credit rating.
Posted inMoney
Aresimowicz asks GOP to drop partisan budget plans
The top Democrat in the House of Representatives asked his Republican counterparts Tuesday to abandon their longstanding practice of issuing a GOP budget this spring. But House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, said Republicans won’t forfeit their option to bring their fiscal proposals directly to the public.
Posted inMoney
Lawmakers still haven’t decided how to tackle CT’s red ink
Neither of the state legislature’s budget-writing panels put forth plans last week that help to eliminate significant deficits in the current fiscal year, or for the budget that begins July 1.
Posted inMoney
Budget panel won’t pass spending plan — again
For the second consecutive year, the legislature’s Appropriations Committee will not recommend a new budget before its deadline. But Democratic and Republican leaders from the House and Senate said lawmakers will continue working between now and the session’s end on May 9 to close a projected shortfall in the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Posted inMoney
CT budget panel going down to the wire again
With last year’s failure to recommend a new budget still fresh in their minds, the leaders of the legislature’s Appropriations Committee were uncertain this week whether they could avoid a repeat.
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Debt assistance could cost Hartford other state aid
A new state plan to pay off nearly $550 million of Hartford’s bonded debt led some legislators Wednesday to consider reducing other forms of aid to the capital city.
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Time is running out for lawmakers to close CT budget deficit
With 10 days left before Connecticut enters the final quarter of the fiscal year, the legislature still has not addressed a significant deficit that leaders pledged to tackle four months ago.
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Despite snowstorms, town road grants remained stalled
After facing Connecticut’s third nor’easter in less than two weeks, municipalities are reminding state officials that strained local snow removal budgets badly need overdue state aid. But the prospects for immediate release of the stalled $30 million in Town Aid Road grants seem dim.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Cities and towns press for release of road repair funds
While the administration has not refused to release the Town Aid Roads grant payments, it has warned that funding could be stalled until legislators stabilize a state transportation program headed for insolvency by next fiscal year.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money, Politics
Lawmakers urge reversing clean-energy cuts, but lack budget fix
A coalition of legislators and energy-efficiency advocates pledged Tuesday to work to restore at least some of the roughly $175 million stripped from green programs in the new two-year state budget. But none identified offsetting spending cuts or revenue increases.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
Advocates for marijuana sales point to big economic boost
Advocates for legalizing recreational marijuana use in Connecticut — and taxing its sales — are hoping a holistic, economic argument will win the day this year. Supporters say the potential to bolster the state’s tourism industry, create jobs, and even encourage young professionals to locate here, should attract votes for an issue that couldn’t get a vote in the House or Senate in 2017.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Nappier, Malloy divided over how to fix teacher pension fund
State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier warned this week that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s recommendation that Connecticut defer and otherwise restructure contributions into the teachers’ pension fund could jeopardize the state’s standing on Wall Street.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Partisan rift threatens efforts to close CT budget deficits
Democratic and Republican legislative leaders, who returned this week to the Capitol to open the 2018 session, conceded they are sharply divided on how to wipe more than $400 million in red ink off Connecticut’s books. And while they also pledged to reach for a bipartisan compromise, no one expressed optimism this would be achieved before Connecticut’s next governor takes office 11 months from now.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy offers strategies to counter federal tax changes
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy recommended two measures Monday aimed at protecting Connecticut households and businesses that may face higher federal taxes under the plan passed recently by Congress. One would allow municipalities to create charitable organizations to support local services, offering property tax credits in exchange.