Projected deficit: $550 million; Democrats’ cure: Cut $12 million
BY PAUL HUGHES
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
DECEMBER 22, 2009
HARTFORD — Democrats moved Monday to shave nearly $40 million from a projected state deficit that may be as high as $550 million.
The Democratic-controlled House and Senate voted to trim $12.4 million in state spending, transfer $23.1 million from a half-dozen special state funds and raise $4.2 million in additional revenues. The Democratic plan additionally delayed a scheduled reduction in the estate tax for two years.
Significantly, the Democrats were unable to muster enough votes to override Gov. M. Jodi Rell if she chooses to veto the two bills that the legislature passed Monday.
Rell didn’t state her intentions after the special session adjourned Monday night. She accused Democrats of shirking their duties, a charge that Democratic leaders denied.
“It is time they stop the rhetoric and the finger-pointing and take their responsibilities seriously as elected officials and make the tough decisions,” Rell said in a statement.
The deficit-cutting measures didn’t go far enough for Republican lawmakers and a handful of dissenting Democrats, including Rep. John “Corky” Mazurek, D-Wolcott and Sen. Joan V. Hartley, D-15th District.
Hartley and Mazurek originally voted against the twoyear, $37.5 billion budget that Democrats pushed through the legislature three months ago.
“The budget that we are dealing with has been built on a house of cards. This is not unexpected, and the bill today falls far short of dealing with the deficit. It might be a beginning, but it certainly is not the answer. There is far more that has to be done,” Hartley said.
The Republican governor had proposed a plan to close a $337.1 million budget gap. Her plan relied mainly on spending cuts. Rell recalled the legislature last Tuesday, but Democrats didn’t vote on any of the recommendations “Many of the cuts that she had in her package were not doable,” said Sen. Toni N. Harp, D-New Haven, Senate chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee.
The Rell plan proposed $284.1 million in spending cuts and savings, including an $84 million reduction to municipal aid that both Democrats and Republicans rejected. The governor also sought to transfer nearly $53 million out of special budget funds.
The Republicans have basically proposed to cut spending to close the deficit — admittedly sometimes without regard to laws or regulations that would block some of their recommended spending reductions.
Republicans said Democrats should have cut much more than $12.4 million in spending. Hartley, Mazurek and a handful of Democrats agreed.
The House Republicans offered an unsuccessful amendment that proposed to lower the deficit by $271.5 million. Spending cuts represented three-quarters of the savings.
“At some point, we are going to have to grasp seriously the problem we are facing with the budget,” said Rep. Arthur J. O’Neill, R-Southbury.
The GOP amendment failed on a 34-104 vote.
Republicans and Rell also opposed delaying the reduction in the estate tax.
“We can’t afford it at this time,” said House Majority Leader Denise W. Merrill, D-Mansfield.
Currently, estates of $2 million and greater are subject to the tax.
The adopted budget raises the threshold to $3.5 million on Jan. 1.
The Democrats voted Monday to push back the effective date two years and also delay a 25 percent reduction in the marginal rates until 2012. The move is expected to save $5.9 million this fiscal year and $70.3 million in the upcoming 2011 fiscal year.
Republicans argued that the delay would lead wealthier taxpayers to move out of state, punish small business owners and indirectly increase the tax burden on the middle class.
“When you’re talking about the estate tax, you are talking about dairy farmers, you’re talking about small manufacturers, doctor offices, dental offices, real estate offices, convenience stores,” said Rep. William A. Hamzy, R-Plymouth, a deputy House minority leader.
The estate tax bill also shifted another $70.3 million from the state’s rainy-day fund to support spending in the current 2010 fiscal year. The adopted budget originally allocated more than $1 billion for that purpose. The change reduces the 2011 transfer to $271.7 million.
Rell announced Monday that she is going to re-open negotiations with state employees’ unions to try to find additional labor savings. Union leaders are willing to talk, but stressed the unions won’t agree to more contract concessions.
Copyright (c) 2009 Republican-American 12/22/2009
