HARTFORD – With the spirit of compromise in mind, Governor Dannel Malloy unveiled his 6th proposed budget.
“It has been 212 days since I presented my first budget to the legislature for their consideration,” quipped Malloy. “I have adopted some of the best ideas from the legislature from both sides of the aisle and I have tried to be responsive to the needs of the municipalities and all of those affected by our state budget.”
The proposal features increased taxes and fees on cigarettes, ride sharing services, and some motor vehicle fees.
Malloy is also reluctantly supporting an increase in the state sales tax from 6.35% to 6.5%.
“This would be yet another improvement and would lead us to a final agreement that removes some of the great danger the state's been operating under for the past 20 years,” said Malloy.
House and Senate lawmakers reacted with cautious optimism or outright dismissal.
“I think it's going to be a compromise. We all have to agree to compromise,” said State Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, Speaker of the House. “I said in January when we started this process that we have to leave everything on the table, we have to be open to compromise and if you're not willing to compromise in this process then you're going to own the ramifications of the bad outcomes that happen.“
“This is no compromise," said State Rep. Themis Klarides, House Minority Leader. "This is a slightly different version of what Democrats have been talking about for months."
Click here to view Malloy's budget proposal.