Connecticut House Republicans have offered a state budget plan for the first time since 2017. The plan aligns the GOP with Democratic Governor Ned Lamont in ongoing budget negotiations.
House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora said the GOP caucus decided to present its own plan this year, because the last time they were involved in the budget process it produced the bipartisan agreement of 2017.
That agreement introduced spending caps and resulted in budget surpluses.
“We are honoring the spirit of those caps to get us back to fiscal health and begin returning the money back to the people. Whether it be through income tax reduction but also additional programing support,” Candelora said.
The Republican tax cuts are aligned with Democratic Governor Lamont’s broad-based tax cut proposal, not the targeted cuts proposed by the majority Democrats.
“We want to see more thoughtful tax relief," Candelora added. "Frankly, we want to see more of what the governor has done.”
The GOP plan also increases funding to nonprofit providers, K-12 public schools and the state colleges and universities. Overall, it spends about $50.1 billion, about 1% more than Lamont’s plan.
