Members of southeastern Connecticut's delegation, be they Democrat or Republican, like parts of the governor's State of the State address and budget proposal.

Lamont promoted his performance thus far as governor and highlighted what he thinks is important during the legislative session that began Wednesday. Shortly after his address, Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management Melissa McCaw presented the governor's budget proposal during a news conference.

Several legislators noted Lamont's focus on workforce development, mental health, public safety, transportation infrastructure and luring or keeping businesses and employees in Connecticut.

But lawmakers also had reservations on some issues, including guns, pandemic recovery and state spending.

Boosts in spending proposed

Lamont touted his record on the state's economy in his election-year address. "Three years ago, we were standing at the edge of a fiscal cliff, facing a $3.7 billion budget deficit," he said, "and today we are deciding what taxes to cut or school programs to grow, thanks to our third consecutive year of budget surpluses."

The state expects to have a more than $2.2 billion surplus for this fiscal year and a $1.9 billion surplus for next year, and is projecting $600 million more in revenue than originally estimated when the biennial budget passed last year. However, between state employees' and teachers' pensions, the state faces almost $41 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.

State Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, who is also the Senate Minority Leader Pro Tempore, said the governor's proposed budget increases spending and promises tax relief, and "we'd like to see how that will turn out." Noting the state's rainy day fund "is at its peak in our history, and we've been able to put billions of dollars down to pay off pension debt," Formica added, "We need to find a way to keep that going until the pension debt is at a level it's reasonable, or almost at zero."

But Lamont is "moving away from the things that got us in this wonderful place we were in long before he was elected," Formica said. "Hopefully we can continue to change the conversation as we move through the session to keep focus on those fiscal constraints and keep Connecticut moving in the right direction."

State Rep. Holly Cheeseman, R-East Lyme, who has been a vocal critic of the governor in the past, was receptive to some ideas in his address and proposed budget, including increased funding for domestic violence prevention and awareness.

Like Formica, she is concerned about spending and new programs. She also would like to see the state put money toward the unemployment insurance trust fund for businesses. She said the state is spending more on infrastructure and is taking $100 million from the special transportation fund while bonding $400 million in general obligation bonds, "which is exactly what Republicans have proposed before, but we were told we couldn't do it."

Cheeseman is cautious about the state's economic standing. "Although we have the surplus, we've still 100,000 jobs fewer than we had at the time of the recession," she said. "There's an awful lot of Connecticut that hasn't come back."

Rep. Anthony Nolan, D-New London, was one of several legislators from southeastern Connecticut who said they were glad to hear the governor emphasize mental health. "Mental health is something we're tirelessly trying to help with but we haven't had enough funding or support," he said.

He was glad to hear the governor speak on the possibility of after-school programs, but "I'd like to hear a little more in detail what he's talking about." He applauded Lamont's support for no-excuse absentee voting.

Rep. Kathleen McCarty, R-Waterford, said she was pleased to hear there are going to be additional dollars for education. "It looks like there's a lot of good stuff in there," she said of Lamont's address and budget proposal. "I was very happy to see an interest in education and protecting our students — they've gone through so much."

McCarty said the governor has entered mental health proposals similar to what she and her Republican colleagues have proposed in the past, particularly in offering incentives to keep mental health providers and clinicians in the state.

Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, wanted to be clear that the governor’s budget proposal is not law and that it will be reviewed by the legislature. “We have to really delve into it because there’s a lot of new spending in here, which is unusual because most of the time in the second part of the biennium, we don’t see a lot of new spending,” she said. 

Osten and Rep. Toni Walker, D-New Haven, both co-chairs of the Appropriations Committee, have been working for months on a draft new budget. "Some of it mirrors what’s in the governor’s budget, but not all of it,” Osten said.

"In eastern Connecticut I put a number of bonding requests in," Osten said, but the governor's proposal doesn't have any detail on those. "The Norwich Police Department is looking for $10 million to do a new building; Sheltering Arms in Norwich is looking for $4.5 million. We're also looking at all the bridges in the area, making sure we're getting the resources." In terms of needed renovations, she said, the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge between Montville and Preston needs to be viewed on par with the Gold Star Memorial Bridge between New London and Groton.

On workforce development, Osten said she wants to make sure there are enough resources in the region to address the needs of Electric Boat. "This budget does not address those needs. Meeting with both Electric Boat and the Eastern Workforce Investment Board with our delegation, we wanted to make sure we were providing them with the resources because Electric Boat said they needed 3,000 to 3,500 workers this year," she said. "They've asked for another $1.5 million in the budget, and that is providing a good return on investment. They've hired over 2,000 employees, and we want to make sure we're going to try and get them what they need to be able to have training classes and get up and running."

While Osten isn't yet 100% on board with the governor's budget, "I'm not saying that we're not going to agree on a good portion of what the governor has."

Rep. Christine Conley, D-Groton, said there was a lot in Lamont’s speech she agreed with, as well as parts she has questions on. “Locally, he talked transportation needs, and we need money for bridges,” she said. “Gold Star Bridge is one of the major projects the state is working on. The governor also talked about the State Pier and offshore wind.”

Noting she's glad mental health issues are getting more attention, Conley cited a mental health for inmates bill she and Osten are pushing, and added, “We have to do more with the stigma of mental health so that people who are having struggles get their health care.”

Targeting crime

Lamont recognized crime as a problem in Connecticut, though not as big as Republicans have been saying since the summer. "Many of the car thefts and other street crimes are a symptom of population reeling after two years of COVID hell," he said. "We have more damn guns on the streets than ever before. Get these illegal guns out of our communities."

He also wants "more cops on the beat," noting that "our 10 largest cities and towns alone are training and hiring nearly 400 new cops in the next two years."

Nolan, a New London police officer, also commented on the governor's public safety portion of his speech. "What we fail to do enough of is reaching out after there's a victim of a crime that involves gun violence to follow up with them and to try and assure them we're there for whatever they need for us to support them," he said. He said officials also should try to steer away those who are committing these crimes from wanting to carry guns.

Rep. Greg Howard, R-Stonington, also a longtime Stonington police officer, said he was glad to hear Lamont say the state needs to address crime but the governor’s support for strengthening gun laws is off base. “We have some of the strictest gun laws in the country,” he said. “What we need is an empowered police force that goes out and enforces the laws we already have.”

He argued the police accountability law has disenfranchised police and made them afraid to do their job, which has been a Republican talking point since the law was passed in 2020. “You didn’t want to support us 18 months ago, you jumped on the bandwagon of how awful we were,” Howard said of Lamont. “Now crime is up, the public is demanding we do something about it, and all of a sudden you’re our greatest ally?”

The governor also spoke of his longstanding pandemic executive powers, which could be extended once again this week.

"I appreciate the authority you have granted me to keep the state safe during the pandemic," he said. "I have asked you, the legislature, to weigh in on the last few executive orders, which allow us to move quickly in the event of another COVID variant."

Lamont made headlines earlier this week when he said that if his executive powers are continued beyond the Feb. 15 deadline, the school masking mandate will be lifted on Feb. 28.

Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Essex, said he felt Lamont earned recognition for his pandemic response. "On some level, he and Connecticut deserve a victory lap, at least a mid-moment victory lap, because it's not over, but what he said is absolutely true," he said. "We got hit hard and fast, but each time we did better and better than other states because we were more thoughtful and people were more aware and concerned about the impact, not only on them, but on other people."

s.spinella@theday.com