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Connecticut Lawmakers Approve Plan to Close Budget Deficit

Michelle Lee flickr.com/photos/michellerlee/7610741336
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Creative Commons
Connecticut State Capitol, where the General Assembly meets.
Voters will have to wait for a possible change to Connecticut's constitution about the use of transportation revenue.

The Connecticut General Assembly approved a $350 million plan to close the budget deficit in the current $20 billion state budget.

The House of Representatives passed the package during Tuesday's special session in a vote of 75 to 65, mostly along party lines. A vote cleared the Senate earlier in the day by a vote of 20 to 15.

Lawmakers hoped to reach a bipartisan agreement. But House Minority Leader Themis Klarides said Republicans and Democrats differed on approaches to fixing the state's budget problems.

Klarides and other Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, expressed disappointment the plan doesn't make structural changes to the fiscal budget.

"Does anybody really care what we think?" Fasano asked. "Really, let’s be honest. Does anybody really care what the minority party thinks? No."

Credit Chion Wolf / WNPR
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WNPR
Len Fasano, Connecticut Senate Minority Leader. WNPR file photo.

But House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz said 90 percent of the package was agreed to by both sides.

Voters will have to wait, however, for a possible change to Connecticut's constitution ensuring transportation revenues are spent only on transportation projects.

A resolution passed 100 to 40, calling for an amendment to create a so-called transportation lockbox, but it was 14 votes short of what was needed in the House for a statewide ballot question next year.

Credit housedems.ct.gov
Connecticut State Rep. Tony Guerrera, house chair of the Transportation Committee.

Tony Guerrera, house chair of the transportation committee, spoke in favor of the lockbox idea on the House floor.

As many of us know, over the last 15 to 20 years our infrastructure has been failing, and that is because we don’t have enough money in that fund. And no matter who it is, and I’m not gonna point fingers at what time it was or what governor it was and so forth, but we went into some tough times in the state. And there was a pool of money at that time in that Special Transportation Fund, and we used that money.

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy wanted the lockbox legislation since he’s pushing for a massive 20-year, $100 billion transportation overhaul.

House Speaker Brendan Sharkey said lawmakers could potentially consider a new version next year. Otherwise, it’s up to the 2017 General Assembly to put the question on the 2018 ballot.

The bill now moves to Malloy, who said he'll sign it.

Leyda Quast is an intern at WNPR. Diane Orson and Tucker Ives contributed to this report, which includes information from The Associated Press.

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