HARTFORD — The state Legislature passed a $19.7 billion Democratic budget that attempts to fix a projected $960 million deficit in the new fiscal year.
The House voted 74 in favor, 70 against, and 7 abstaining on Friday. Eight Democrats voted against the budget. The bill cleared the Democratic Senate on Thursday in a 21-15 vote along partisan lines.
As in the Senate, House Republicans criticized the deal the Democrats reached with Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy, claiming it doesn't fully fix the state's deficit problems. Rep. Chris Davis, a Republican from Ellington, predicts lawmakers will be back again to fix yet another deficit.
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Rep. Toni Walker, a New Haven Democrat, noted how the budget cuts more than $820 million in state spending and how she has been begged by various groups to protect the funding.
Under the legislation, CTNext, a new subsidiary of the state's quasi-public venture capital agency is created to help entrepreneurs.
The bill also allows municipalities to impose a local surcharge on the admission charged at various facilities. Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano says he worries it could lead to other local taxes.
Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey released a statement minutes after the budget passed:
It’s easy to criticize, but it’s never easy to make cuts that reduce services and impact families, and it’s easy to complain, but we had a responsibility to make these tough decisions, unlike the Republicans who did not have the courage to even offer their own budget for a vote. We were able to pass a budget that closed the deficit without raising taxes, borrowing or tapping into the rainy day fund, and makes the structural changes needed to move Connecticut forward on a sustainable path.”