HARTFORD, Conn — The state Senate has passed the biennial budget for July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2023, Wednesday night. The final vote for the $46.7 billion budget was 31-4.
The bill now heads to Gov. Ned Lamont's desk for his signature. The governor praised the passage of the budget and its bipartisan support.
“The bipartisan approval of the 2022-2023 biennial state budget sends a clear message to all of the residents of our great state – this is the most progressive, transformative, and life-changing budget our state has ever seen," said Gov. Lamont. "We agreed across party lines that now is the time to ensure thousands of families have access to affordable childcare, the expansion of access to free and affordable healthcare will provide security to households, and investments in our future through workforce development will make our state stronger. The investments in equity will lift up our state for generations to come. I want to thank the co-chairs of the Appropriations and Finance Committees and the bipartisan leaders of the General Assembly for working with my administration to move our state forward with this budget.”
Wednesday's vote, which comes after the bill passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support, is occurring on the final day of the regular legislative session that ends at midnight.
The budget benefits from a massive infusion of federal COVID-19 relief funds and improving state revenues. It includes spending increases in numerous areas, from education to municipal aid.
State Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) said the budget will help local taxpayers and will help the issues in Connecticut.
"This budget is really a moral document that addresses many of the issues that were brought before me and the Appropriations Committee over the course of dozens of hours of public hearings," said Sen. Osten, who has Senate Chair of the Appropriations Committee co-wrote the state budget. "This budget protects our private providers, who work with some of Connecticut's most vulnerable residents, young and old. It funds our investments in education from pre-K all the way through college. It provides state funding for our cities and towns, which helps local taxpayers. It makes investments in workforce development and in our cities. And it does this all without violating our state spending cap and while making large payments toward our pension debt. Connecticut is in a pretty good financial position due to some fiscal policies we have enacted over the past several years, and our ability to save money and spend money elsewhere and pay down our debt in this budget is a direct result of that."
Twenty-two House Republicans joined with majority Democrats in passing the budget early Wednesday.
House Speaker Matthew Ritter (D-Hartford) said Democrats plan to hold a special session to vote on the cannabis bill in the coming weeks.
*Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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