Hartford — The state House of Representatives passed a proposed $24.2 billion state budget adjustment for 2023 in the early morning hours on Tuesday. 

The bill passed 95-52 along party lines with four House members absent or not voting. Debate on the bill began shortly before 7 p.m. Monday and ended shortly after midnight Tuesday. It now goes to the Senate for debate.

The $24.2 billion budget represents a 2.5% increase from last year’s budget. It’s gained broad support from Democrats, while Republicans have publicly opposed it for not cutting taxes enough. Gov. Ned Lamont told reporters Monday that the estimated $600 million in tax cuts is the largest tax cut in the state’s history. A tax cut under Gov. John Rowland in 1995 is the state’s second-largest, according to Jeffrey Beckham, the secretary of the State Office of Policy and Management. 

On Monday, state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, the co-chair of the Appropriations Committee, listed 30-40 examples of local investments. 

In New London, for instance, the budget adjustment proposal includes $1 million to renovate the Coast Guard Academy library. 

“They do have 500 people who live in our communities, and we thought that was a good issue to deal with,” Osten said.

The Slater Museum in Norwich is slated to receive $500,000 for its roof. Another $500,000 would go to Montville Parks and Recreation for the town’s tennis courts.

Osten said the Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam would receive $5 million under the budget.

The budget adjustment contains $500,000 for the Norwich Historical Society, $300,000 for Art Reach, a mental health facility in Norwich and $150,000 each for two Preston fire departments.

The Taftville VFW is in line for $100,000 for its roof and siding. Lebanon Pines, a facility for addiction, could receive $300,000.

While not specifically an allocation for southeastern Connecticut, Osten said she got $21 million to work on every senior center in the state.

"It’s a combination of $10 million for senior centers, we put a position in the Aging Department acting as the senior center coordinator, $3 million for adult day services, $3 million for Meals on Wheels, $4 million for the agency on aging and $1 million on Alzheimer’s respite,” Osten said. “I think the senior centers funding is a really big deal. It would help out every senior center in the state. The policy behind that is … a lot of people are still not leaving their homes. We want to make people comfortable to go out.” 

Osten, a constant advocate for Native American issues, said there is also money in the budget to reactivate the Indian Affairs Council. “We give them two staff members,” Osten said. 

Osten said she also put in $500,000 for the town of Sprague for the engineering to take down or develop plans to recreate a dam.

“It costs about $2 million to fix the dam, I personally think it should come down because it’s dangerous,” Osten said.

Sprague is also set to receive $1.3 million to finish a streetscape that makes sure every light in town is LED. 

A total of $2.8 billion in state funding will go to municipalities. Bozrah, East Lyme, Griswold, Groton, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lyme, Montville, New London, North Stonington, Norwich, Old Lyme, Preston, Salem, Stonington, Waterford and the City of Groton are in line for almost $200 million. 

Norwich, New London, Groton and Montville have been allocated the most of the region’s towns at approximately $48 million, $43 million, $31.5 million and $17.8 million, respectively.

Ledyard is slated to receive about $14.6 million, with Griswold at $11.3 million, East Lyme at $8.4 million, Lebanon at $5.2 million, Preston at $4.4 million, North Stonington at $3.8 million and Salem at $3 million. Stonington could receive an estimated $1.9 million, Bozrah $1.6 million, Waterford $1.1 million, Old Lyme $900,000, Lyme $350,000 and the city of Groton $73,000.

Lamont touts big tax cut 

Beckham said during a news conference with Lamont on Monday that among the $600 million in tax cuts is an extension of the gas tax holiday through Dec. 1, a child tax credit, a cut in the car tax rate across 75 towns and two property tax changes that will provide tax relief for homeowners who qualify, among other measures.

The budget allocates $1.45 billion in new initiatives under the federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for fiscal years 2023-25. That leaves $200 million in reserve in such funds, which Lamont said is because the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t over yet. 

The proposed budget adjustment pays down $3.5 billion in unfunded pension liabilities on top of $1.6 billion last year, something Osten and Lamont are particularly pleased with. The state's unfunded pension and medical care liabilities for employees is estimated at $100 billion.

“There’s never been a great appetite to pay down our unfunded pension liability,” Lamont said. “Usually during a campaign everybody’s talking about it. My last campaign I remember them talking about, ‘It’s so big, we’re not going to be able to honor our state employees, let’s tear up the contract, let’s file for bankruptcy, let’s walk away from our obligations.’”

Paying down this debt “says to state employees that we honor the commitments we’ve made,” and with the more than $5 billion going toward unfunded pension liability in a two-year span, “that’s going to save over $440 million a year … Those are reduced contributions that we no longer have to make on the backs of taxpayers right now.” 

Beckham and Lamont also highlighted $300 million in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 for mental health, $100 million going toward child care, $97 million for various K-12 initiatives and organizations, $15 million for special education and $275 million for the state’s colleges and universities. 

Beckham said the state is adding a tax break on unemployment insurance taxes worth about $40 million. 

Rep. Holly Cheeseman, R-East Lyme, ranking member of the Finance Committee, led off questioning for House Republicans during debate on the budget Monday.

“There’s a lot to like in terms of this tax relief package, but I remain disappointed. I remain disappointed that, even as I see proposals that my caucus advocated for, we were never included in the room when those decisions were made,” Cheeseman said. “As heartened as I am that some of the changes my side of the aisle wanted to see in this revenue package, I’m disheartened and disappointed that we were not part of the process.” 

Cheeseman added that she thought too much of the tax relief offered in the proposed budget is temporary.

State Rep. Mike France, R-Ledyard, ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, said before debate began Monday that while he has a good working relationship with committee co-chair Rep. Toni Walker, D-New Haven, Democrats have essentially shut Republicans out of the negotiating room, noting that there’s been no communication with Democratic decision makers beyond what happened in committee.

“The challenge is, we haven’t really been involved in the discussion with the other side since we finished up with appropriations,” France said Monday.

Lamont’s Chief of Staff Paul Mounds said that he doesn’t know what legislative leaders do in terms of speaking to colleagues across the aisle, “but I know on a staff level we’ve spoken to them.” 

“I will say overall that this budget represents ideas that have been supported by other side of the aisle,” Mounds said. “I personally find it very hard to find ways to vote against this budget the way it is presented.

France went on to say he would not be supporting the budget adjustment.

“We’re codifying a more than six percent increase year over year in spending, and that does not include the ARPA money or the carry-forward money, which is approximately another $2 billion,” he said. “It’s unknown, frankly, how much of that is recurring expenses and how much of that is one-time expenses.” 

In April that state projected about $1.2 billion in tax revenue. As of today, the state now expects to receive an additional estimated $850 million in revenue. That makes for a forecasted $4.8 billion surplus this year.

In reacting to the budget announcement last week, House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, and Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, said in a statement that it doesn’t contain enough tax relief, noting, “Democrats have no intention of returning the overcollection of taxes to Connecticut families.” 

“What's irresponsible is keeping the overtaxation of residents to bolster government itself, instead of returning it to the people who have been pickpocketed by government,” the GOP leaders continued in their statement. 

s.spinella@theday.com