The legislature’s two budget-writing panels grilled Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s fiscal staff Friday about the new state deficit – and the administration’s latest cuts to reduce it. Republican legislators focused, as expected, on why the $99 million shortfall Malloy reported last week wasn’t acknowledged before Election Day.
State Budget
Posted inEducation, Health, Money
Malloy’s emergency budget cuts fall on social services, education
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered nearly $48 million in emergency budget cuts Thursday, imposing the deepest cuts on social services, education and culture and tourism promotion. The cuts, which do not require legislative approval, whittle the nearly $100 million deficit Malloy projected last week down to $45 million.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy: Tax breaks likely for consumers, teachers, poor — maybe not business
Despite the likelihood of deep spending cuts in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s next budget, the prospects of tax relief for consumers, retired teachers and the working poor are good. But for Connecticut’s businesses – not so much.
Posted inMoney, Politics
It’s official: CT’s budget is $89 million to $100 million in the red
The state budget received its first official deficit reports Friday when nonpartisan legislative analysts and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration projected shortfalls ranging from $89 million to just under $100 million. Budget director Benjamin Barnes, insisted it quickly would be closed, and reasserted Malloy’s insistence that tax hikes are not an option. (File photo: Gov. Malloy and budget director Barnes)
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Malloy to order emergency cuts, restrict hires to counter impending deficit
To reverse an impending state budget deficit, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration has told agencies it will order emergency spending cuts and freeze all-but-critical hiring.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT budget again faces red ink as federal grants, gaming revenues shrink
Despite a small bump upward in state tax receipts, new cracks in state finances surfaced Monday that could contribute to a budget deficit forecast by week’s end. A joint report by nonpartisan analysts and by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration projects total revenues will fall about $59 million below the level built into this year’s budget. (Photo: Benjamin Barnes, state budget director)
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Foley’s tax relief on retirement benefits would cost about $100 million
Much of Tom Foley’s last-minute proposal to cut taxes on Social Security benefits already is covered in existing state law. And the GOP gubernatorial nominee’s overall tax relief proposal on retirement benefits would expand Connecticut’s post-election deficit by roughly $100 million next fiscal year.
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After all the campaign promises, a lot of tough choices loom
Though Connecticut’s gubernatorial contenders spent more time this fall talking about tax cuts than state budget deficits, the red ink awaiting the winner of Tuesday’s contest is very real – and can’t be wiped away without tough choices.
Posted inMoney
Nonpartisan analysts tracking $84M in potential cost overruns in state budget
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration isn’t projecting any troubles for the current state budget, but the legislature’s nonpartisan analysts have identified almost $84 million in potential problems. The Office of Fiscal Analysis reported “deficiencies” or potential cost-overruns in five areas.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy boldly projects perfection in last budget update before election
It’s came as no surprise this week when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration reported the state budget was in balance. What was far more surprising, though, was the added assertion there are no signs of cost-overruns in any of the dozens of agencies supported by this year’s $19 billion budget.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Improving transportation in Connecticut: A decade of slow going
This year the state expects to rake in 40 percent more at the pumps, between wholesale and retail fuel taxes, than it did a decade ago. The transportation network hasn’t made similar progress. First of a three-day series.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Pew study: States’ reserves left them only half prepared for Great Recession
Connecticut was far from the only state whose fiscal reserves weren’t enough to withstand The Great Recession, according to a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts. The new study recommends several steps to help states better prepare for economic downturns – including proposals Connecticut’s legislature has resisted in the past.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Final CT surplus report renews partisan budget debate
State government wrapped up the fiscal year with a $121.3 million surplus, according to unofficial numbers released Tuesday by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration. But one of the governor’s chief rivals insists the surplus wouldn’t exist had Malloy not used borrowing to defer hundreds of millions of dollars in operating costs until after the election.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Malloy pays price now for protecting municipalities in 2011
When Gov. Dannel P. Malloy isn’t dismissing the $1.4 billion deficit awaiting state finances after the election, he’s reminding reporters it’s not even 40 percent of the mess he inherited four years ago. What gets less attention though, are the municipal aid and pension reforms Malloy also undertook with bipartisan support.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy signs new CT budget into law
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed a controversial $19 billion budget Friday for the fiscal year that begins July 1.