Environmental groups in Connecticut say both the Democratic and Republican state budget proposals would impact the state’s efforts to combat climate change.
Louis Burch, program director for the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, says both Democrats and Republicans have proposed massive cuts to programs such as the Green Bank and the regional greenhouse gas initiative.
“We’re not going to sit here and say that they should be cutting money from Health and Human Services or cutting money from the aging, but rather we’re suggesting that if these programs are so important and they are, that the state needs to be coming up with sustainable funding source to support those programs long-term, without turning around and raiding money that has been paid by the ratepayers.”
The Republican plan, passed by the House and Senate, contained the largest cutbacks to environmental programs. Governor Dannel Malloy vetoed the GOP budget last week, sending lawmakers back to square one.