Connecticut lawmakers return to the state Capitol on Thursday to continue with a special session aimed at restoring funding to a program that helps about 113,000 elderly and disabled state residents cover Medicare-related expenses.
The Connecticut House and Senate began the special session last Friday. They met for a brief technical session and announced plans to return this week to work on replenishing the $54 million spending cut they had originally made to the Medicare Savings Program in the bipartisan budget they passed, four months late, last October.
Democratic House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz says the money will come from various cuts and savings from certain budget line items, including state employee overtime. But he says the plan has yet to be finalized.
A bigger issue is closing the state’s increasing budget deficit. The latest projections put that deficit at $222 million for the fiscal year that ends on June 30.
But legislative leaders say they won’t be taking action on closing the deficit before mid-January. That’s when they hope to have the revenue figures from the state’s latest quarterly income tax receipts and some of the holiday sales tax receipts.
