Aresimowicz: 'This Budget Represents the Priorities of Our Residents'

By Regional Editor Corey Fyke.

In a narrow vote late Monday, the state Senate passed a $37.6 billion budget for 2013-15, a day-and-a-half after the House approved the Democrat-authored spending plan.

“This budget represents the priorities of Connecticut residents by investing in the public institutions and core services that we all rely on—from public safety to our schools to local infrastructure projects," said State Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, D-Southington, Berlin. "All while maintaining municipal aid at current levels so our towns do not have raise property taxes—without imposing any new state taxes.”
 
After several hours of debate that lasted all afternoon Monday and ended at about 9:40 p.m. yielded a 19-17 for passage, House Bill 6704 now heads to the governor’s desk for a signature.

Among other provisions, the budget:

• Counts Medicaid dollars for the first time in a “net appropriation” fashion, shifting $6.3 billion over the two-year budget off the books.
  
• Launches a keno lottery game
  
• Spares cities and towns from significant cuts in aid
  
• Funds an aggressive “Generation Next” expansion of UConn
  
• Cuts aid to hospitals
  
• Extends a $2.50-per-megawatt-hour tax on power plants for three months
  
• Refinances operating debt from previous years
  
• Spends more than $200 million in surplus funds
  
• Shifts money from the transportation fund to the general fund
  
• Expands education reform efforts put into place last year
  

 
The budget debate in the house began just after midnight Saturday night and ended around dawn Sunday with a 95-48 vote at about 5 a.m.
 
“Of course, no budget is perfect and this budget required many tough cuts, many tough choices and hard compromises.  We still have a long way to go,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who worked closely with Democratic legislators in crafting the budget, said in a statement after House approval. “But this budget shows that we’ve got our priorities straight, and we are determined to keep Connecticut moving forward.”
 
Several Republican senators, however, disagreed with the Democratic perspective during lengthy testimony on the Senate floor Monday afternoon and evening, picking apart the spending plan’s central tenets. The testimony was broadcast on CT-N.
 
Malloy has said he plans to sign the bill.

Jason Vallee contributed to this report.

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