State employees received final approval Tuesday for pay raises of roughly 4.5% for the next fiscal year, prompting approval from Democrats and sharp skepticism from many Republicans.

The contract covers 46,000 employees and includes a 2.5% general wage increase, plus an annual “step” increase of about 2% for a total of 4.5%.

The state House of Representatives approved the union deal by 106 to 44 with all negative votes coming from Republicans, although nine other Republicans voted for the agreement. The Senate voted one hour later in a similar manner on strict party lines, approving the measure by 24-12.

The increase is part of a wage reopener in the fourth year of a four-year contract that was negotiated with the administration of Gov. Ned Lamont and will cover the next fiscal year that starts on July 1.

House Speaker Matt Ritter, a Hartford Democrat, said the increase was needed as “a raise for our hard-working state employees.”

State Rep. Michael D’Agostino, a Democratic attorney who led the debate on the House floor, said, “Our state employees are the backbone of our government. They are our lifeblood. … We planned for this. We budgeted for this.”

The average salary for a state employee in Connecticut is about $75,000 per year, he said, adding that only a few coaches at the University of Connecticut earn more than $1 million per year.

“These are good middle-class jobs,” D’Agostino said. “They are the middle class here. They live here. They work here. … This is a good deal.”

But Republicans said the raise would end up increasing the state budget that would eventually lead to increasing taxes or cutting spending. They noted that many groups, including non-profits that perform state services under contracts, are still searching for additional funding as the state budget is only $1 million below the spending cap in a $26 billion annual budget. Lawmakers are scrambling to finish the overall spending plan before the regular legislative session ends on May 8.

Rep. Tammy Nuccio of Tolland, who serves as the ranking House Republican on the budget committee, said that one of the aspects that bothered her is that more state employees need to travel to the office, rather than working remotely at home.

“I have a really hard time supporting any agreement that does not address work-at-home,” Nuccio said. “That weighs heavily on me with this contract.”

Senate

In the Senate, which was debating simultaneously with the House, Republicans said they need to keep perspective by comparing the salaries of those working for private companies and the state.

“In the private sector, raises are not automatic,” said Sen. Eric Berthel of Watertown, who serves as the ranking Senate Republican on the budget committee. “We do not make Connecticut more affordable, but less attractive to businesses and families.”

Sen. Ryan Fazio, a Greenwich Republican, said Connecticut must avoid “too high a bill” at the same time that officials are recruiting employees who can provide services in a wide variety of positions.

Citing labor statistics, Fazio said private sector workers have seen roughly 3.9% annualized increases, meaning an increase of 16% to 17% over four years. For state employees, the annualized increase of 4.5% plus two bonuses of $3,500 and $1,000, the overall pay increase is more than 30% over four years, Fazio said.

“That is an earnest and fair accounting of the last four years,” Fazio said. “If this is fair, then I don’t know what isn’t.”

Fazio added, “This agreement is a raw deal for the taxpayers. … We have other vital needs that are competing for these monies. … This isn’t fair by any measure.”

But the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, known as SEBAC, which has more than 30 bargaining units, hailed the agreement as necessary.

“As an adjunct faculty member, I am a part-time state employee, with no healthcare benefits and a very small pension,” said Sara Berry, an adjunct professor at CT State Manchester. “We make up between 60 and 70% of faculty in Connecticut’s community colleges, which means the vast majority of our most at-risk students are being taught by our most at-risk employees. This wage increase is particularly important to part-time state employees like myself who are largely living in financial precarity.”

Nonprofits

While state employees will be paid additional money, some lawmakers questioned the fairness for the nonprofits that hold contracts to provide essentially the same services as state employees. At the moment, less than 30 group homes are run by state employees, said Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, a former correction officer as a state employee.

She said she is concerned that workers in the nonprofits are often paid less than their counterparts with fewer benefits.

“I regret having to work two jobs,” Osten said of her earlier days in the workforce. “We should change the dynamic. That is my philosophy. That is not everybody’s philosophy.”

Sen. Tony Hwang, a Fairfield Republican, agreed with Osten that legislators need to help the nonprofits before the spending plan is finalized over the next two weeks. Nonprofit employees are expected to rally Wednesday outside the state Capitol in Hartford as they seek more money.

“Where’s the fairness?” Hwang asked on the Senate floor. “They are nonprofits who employ people. Where is their fairness? My state employees have worked hard. So have my nonprofits.”

Sen. John Kissel, the longest-serving Senate Republican who has more prisons in his district than any other legislator, noted that he has voted for numerous labor agreements in the past.

“I admire organized labor,” Kissel said on the Senate floor. “I certainly don’t want to say anything disparaging about our state employees. … Some of these jobs are just incredibly difficult.”

As a Tier II state employee, Kissel noted that he has a far better pension plan than employees hired recently with a hybrid 401 (k) plan under Tier IV.

“It’s hard to get fired from a state job,” Kissel said. “I am saying it’s a little more Wild West or jungle-like in the private sector, and it’s not getting better. It’s getting worse.”

Lamont described the deal as “reasonable” for workers and taxpayers.

“State employees deliver many vital services to the residents of Connecticut, such as educating our children, protecting our families, ensuring the roads on which we drive are safe, and taking care of our most vulnerable residents,” Lamont said. “This wage increase helps ensure that we have a top-quality state workforce that can fill these important roles.”