HARTFORD –State Representative Dave Yaccarino voted for a bipartisan budget that averts Gov. Malloy’s devastating education cuts to cities and towns and installs structural municipal mandate reform that will provide long-term relief sought by local leaders and the taxpayers they serve.
“No budget is perfect and even this one included some material that I was not pleased with, but it’s important to note that this budget does contain much good. This budget is a compromise that seeks to achieve the most good for the most people and moves Connecticut in a new direction. More importantly, restores most the municipal aid and education funding to North Haven that would have been drastically cut by the governor just a few months back.”
Budget highlights include:
- Enacts the constitutional spending cap that was first approved by voters in 1992
- Imposes a $1.9 billion cap on bonding, $500 million less than what was bonded last year
- Restores municipal aid and education funding
- Protects core social services
- Supports seniors and tax cuts on retirees
- Imposes a state employee hiring freeze
- Requires mandatory votes on union contracts by the legislature
- Provides municipal mandate relief and prevailing wage reform, raising the threshold from $400,000 to $1 million
- Phases in tax reductions on pensions and social security
The budget also stopped proposals which would have raised taxes on our residents including:
- No sales tax increase
- No income tax increase
- No tax on cell phones
- No restaurant tax
- No business tax increase
- Does not shift teachers pensions on to municipalities
- No tolls
The plan passed the Senate 33-3 Wednesday evening and by 126-23 in the House of Representatives on Thursday. The budget awaits action from the governor.
Rep. Yaccarino stated that constituents can feel free to contact him with any questions at [email protected].