Connecticut officials forecast the state will end its 2020 fiscal year budget with a $31.6 million shortfall. That’s according to the November estimated revenue and expenditure update released Monday by Comptroller Kevin Lembo.
Lembo says it’s a little early to be alarmed by the consensus figures put together by the governor’s Office of Policy and Management and the legislature’s Office of Fiscal Analysis. But he says a projected deficit should focus the governor and lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session.
“So any margin from here on out is gone. And we are going to have to manage the bottom line to zero. I know that the governor is ready to do that along with his OPM secretary. And I will keep an eye on it on my end.”
Lembo says the deficit is mainly due to a $20 million shortfall in projected revenue from the new plastic bag surcharge.
“That means a reduction in revenue. But I think when you pull back from that, the second you realize that means people are carrying their bags into the grocery store and that’s a good thing for the environment, so we’ll call that a mixed bag.”
