Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Democratic state legislative leaders have reached a tentative budget agreement for lawmakers to vote on before the end of the session next week.
Lamont’s proposal for a cash rebate to offset rising energy costs did not make the final deal.
That’s because electricity bills have been lowered by getting rid of some of the public benefit charges, the governor said on Monday.
“We were able to save people about $400 a year on their energy bills by reducing, almost eliminating the public benefits charge,” Lamont said. “ So probably we're less likely to do rebates, more likely to do more on education.”
Cities and towns across the state will be happy with the deal,” Speaker Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) said.
That’s because it directs an additional $170 million to be spent on public education, he said.
“We all had to give a little bit, but I think at the end of the day you are going to see a nice budget announcement with hopefully mostly smiles, I think,” Ritter said.
House Republican Minority Leader Vincent Candelora criticizes the deal for spending $1 billion on public employee wage increases.
“You can’t put a billion dollars into workers at the same time your cities and towns, which are made up of 3.5 million people, are only getting $170 million for education, so that is what I struggle with,” Candelora said.
Legislative leaders expect the finalized package to be ready for a vote by the end of the week. The session ends on Wednesday, May 6.
