HARTFORD – During debate Friday evening on the floor of the House of Representatives,
Representative Doug Dubitsky (R-47) spoke strongly against the
irresponsible $19.76 billion budget proposal put forth by legislative
Democrats citing his concerns with the lack of structural changes
included in the budget.
The House of Representatives was called into a
special session to deal with the state’s budget after disagreement
between the legislative Democrats and the governor led to a stalemate in
negotiations that let up only in the final days of
the regular legislative session.
During the budget debate, opponents raised concerns
that the new budget relies too much on cuts to vital social services,
reductions in municipal aid, and gimmick revenue sources, such as an
unexplained projected rise in state revenues
from cigarette sales and casinos despite much evidence that these
revenues are actually declining over time.
“The people of this state are laughing at us, and for good reason,”
said Rep. Dubitsky in an impassioned speech on the House floor. “Why can’t we put a decent budget together on time?
“This is not a way to run a state. Look at the
newspapers - there are businesses and people fleeing this state, because
they need some stability in their budgeting. They need to know how much
they’re going to get, what the taxes are going
to be from year to year. Businesses budget out two, three, four, five
years, but what we do is we try to stick a piece of chewing gum in a
hole at the last minute and hope that the dam doesn’t burst.”
In an attempt to get out of what Rep. Dubitsky
referred to a cycle of “gum-in-the-hole” fixes to close budget deficits,
Republicans proposed several amendments Friday night that would have
implemented long-term, structural changes to the
budget including requiring a mandatory legislative vote on all union
contracts and implementing a state spending cap.
The budget passed the House in a tight 74-70 vote,
with 8 Democrats joining all 62 Republicans present in voting against
the measure. The state Senate voted on the budget on Thursday, with a
21-15 vote along partisan lines.
The budget now goes to Governor Malloy for his signature.
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