2010 legislative session gets underway

On Wednesday, Feb. 3, the 2010 legislative session commenced at the Capitol. It was unlike any other opening day I had experienced in during my 11-year tenure serving in the General Assembly. With the state facing a $500 million budget deficit this year, and projections of $3 billion budget holes on 2011 and 2012, the mood was understandably subdued among legislators.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell addressed a joint convention of the state House of Representatives and the state Senate. In her speech, the Governor outlined the state’s current budget deficit and outlined some ideas for dealing with the shortfall. Here are a few of the highlights:

- No new taxes or fee increases
- No cuts to major town aid grants. However, there are reductions to smaller grants, such as school transportation and Magnet Schools.
- Deferring $100 million payment to state pension fund.
- Enhanced sales tax exemption for Green energy producers
- An estimated $20 million in additional revenue from Keno.

The Governor laid out a proposal that requires any budget surplus must go to Rainy Day Fund in January and May of each year. This makes a lot of sense, on many levels.

Budget would retain local funding

Capitol Commentary
By  Mary Ann Carson

HARTFORD-  House and Senate Republican legislators have proposed a 2009-2011 alternative state budget that would retain existing state funding for towns in the 108th District (Kent, New Fairfield, New Milford and Sherman) without raising taxes. The budget package would preserve vital state programs and services at 2007 levels, and greatly reduce government costs through cuts, agency mergers, retirements and salary and benefit concessions.

The proposal would also retain the $500 property tax credit for families earning as little as $46,000 that would be eliminated under the budget package approved by the Legislature’s Appropriations and Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committees, through largely party-line votes, on April 2. I detailed that budget package, which would require $3.3 billion in new taxes — the largest tax hike in state history — in my April 15 column.