Gov. M. Jodi Rell last week proposed a second budget that would further cut spending in Connecticut by $1.45 billion without raising taxes as the legislative session nears its end on Wednesday.
Rell said the new proposal was necessary because of worsening economic conditions since she proposed a $38.4 billion budget in February. The Republican governor has resisted calls from lawmakers in the Democratic-led General Assembly to raise taxes.
“The economy has worsened since I presented my first budget in February and I had hoped the legislature would have acted by now with a real sense of urgency,” Rell said in a press release. “Connecticut residents and businesses cannot afford massive tax increases.”
Rell said that since February the state has lost 18,100 jobs and has seen more than 4,000 businesses close.
The proposal would legalize Keno gambling, which would add an estimated $20 million of revenue in fiscal 2010 and $60 million in fiscal 2011. The Keno proceeds would be securitized, though the details were not included in the proposal documents released last week. Rell also proposed selling $22 million of bonds for road aid to towns rather than appropriating the funds.
Proposed cuts include the elimination and consolidation of some state boards and commissions, reductions of some Medicaid reimbursements to care providers, and the closure of some courthouses and state parks.
Democratic lawmakers criticized Rell’s proposal as hurting those hurt most by the recession. House Speaker Christopher Donovan was quoted in the Hartford Courant as saying, “We certainly see our role as fighting to protect the citizens of our state from some of these devastating cuts.”
