Connecticut lawmakers will avoid adjusting the state budget this year.
They have passed a bill that spends about $360 million in previously unspent COVID relief money.
According to Speaker Matt Ritter, the bill appropriates unspent American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money and avoids a lengthy debate over budget adjustments this year.
“To open the budget would have led to a parade of difficult decisions,” Ritter said.
“And meanwhile, we have a budget imbalance. Everything is protected; we are putting a billion dollars into the pension fund. So, you can cry all you want,” he said, referring to Republicans who have criticized the move.
Vincent Candelora, the House Republican minority leader, said this is a dangerous budget for the state of Connecticut.
“What it's going to do is set us up for tax increases next year. And also, we are going to be potentially violating the spending caps this year and setting up to undo those fiscal guardrails next year, ” Candelora said.
The move might also violate the state constitution.
“We are requesting that the attorney general review this process to see if the state of Connecticut is violating the constitution and state law in crafting a budget the way they are crafting it,” he said.
But some members of his caucus joined the majority Democrats and voted for the bill. That’s because the bill includes additional money for their cities and towns.
