The state House passed the 2022-23 budget on a bipartisan basis Wednesday after debate persisted past midnight.

Reps. Holly Cheeseman, R-East Lyme; Kathleen McCarty, R-Waterford; Devin Carney, R-Old Lyme, and Greg Howard, R-Stonington, joined more than 20 Republicans in voting for the budget, which was passed 116-31.

The proposed $46.4 billion, two-year budget has been praised by Democrats as one investing in racial equity as well as Connecticut municipalities, nonprofits and schools without accessing the rainy day fund. Republicans generally have opposed the budget, arguing that it includes hidden taxes and finds a way around the spending cap. But in recent days, some Republicans came around on the budget, noting that it does not raise or incorporate new taxes.

In all, Lyme, East Lyme, Old Lyme, New London, Norwich, Ledyard, Groton, Waterford, Montville, Stonington and North Stonington are set to receive more than $320 million during the next two years. That money is spread throughout PILOT funding, annual revenue from the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, Education Cost Sharing and adult education.

New London, Norwich and Groton are the largest beneficiaries.

New London will receive almost $15 million in PILOT funding as well as about $60 million in ECS funding over two years. In addition, the city will be getting more than $1 million from the tribes, from the municipal stabilization grant and for adult education.

Groton can expect to see more than $3 million in PILOT funding in 2022 and 2023 as well as more than $50 million in ECS funding. Groton also should see more than $2 million from the tribes over two years, almost $1 million from the municipal stabilization grant and more than $200,000 for adult education.

Norwich should see almost $6 million in PILOT funding over two years, as well as more than $80 million in ECS funding. The city is slated to see almost $5 million from the tribes, almost $700,000 for adult education and more than $400,000 from the municipal stabilization grant.

For total funding from the biennial budget, East Lyme could get almost $16 million, North Stonington almost $7 million, Old Lyme about $1 million, Waterford about $1.3 million, Stonington about $2.7 million, Ledyard almost $27 million, Lyme almost $250,000 and Montville almost $32 million. Most of the money will be in the form of funding for education.

The budget was approved after another significant delay caused by Republican filibustering on a truck mileage fee measure. The threat of going to special session looms as the legislative session ends at midnight on Wednesday with marquee legislation related to voting rights and legalizing marijuana still outstanding.

House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, acknowledged the Republican strategy of running out the clock with talk.

“People can talk, Democrats can call special session. Everyone has leverage here,” he said, adding that if the legislature can’t get everything done before the session ends, “and we have to spill into special session, the world’s not going to end. The budget will be done ... and I think the marijuana bill will happen.”

Progressive lawmakers have lobbied for the state to access at least a small amount of its rainy day fund to assist with the negative educational, societal and financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic rather than focusing only on paying down pensions. Analysis from the Connecticut Center of Economic Research advised the state to spend federal money and reach into its rainy day fund to stimulate the economy.

Lamont's office has sought to avoid alarming would-be wealthy newcomers to the state. The governor has stayed solid on his refusal to raise taxes, even on the state’s most wealthy, saying that a more than $2 billion budget surplus and federal funding related to the COVID-19 pandemic negate the need for new taxes. The moderate wing of Lamont’s party, as well as many Republicans, support his goal of forgoing tax increases. But progressives and Democratic leaders seeking a more progressive income tax structure repeatedly have had their proposals shot down.

Republican House Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, said Tuesday that he feels Republicans had some input on how the budget shook out even though negotiations were primarily between the governor’s office and legislative leaders. He said it’s been a “very different” process than what led to the recreational cannabis legalization bill.

“There’s been more back and forth, many of our other budget provisions we have had cooperative conversation,” he said.

In southeastern Connecticut, compared to nearby towns and cities, Norwich would see the most money from the state budget at about $46 million in 2022 and $47 million in 2023.

The 2022-23 budget provides a total of $310 million in tiered payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, funding. The state sends PILOT funds to communities to partially make up for the revenues lost due to high concentrations of tax-exempt nonprofit and government properties. The General Assembly in March passed legislation promising to boost PILOT aid.

A major reason the budget didn’t make it to the House floor until the final 30 hours of this year’s legislative session is related to municipal funding. The state pays for the PILOT program via the Municipal Revenue Sharing Account, known as MRSA. The state raised the sales tax by 1% in 2015 with the intention of half of the revenue generated from that increase going to the Special Transportation Fund and the other half going to municipalities. Democrats argued for this money not to be included in the budget, as has been the case in past years, so as to stay under the spending cap, and instead mark MRSA as used for designated services. Lamont and Republicans are generally opposed to exceeding the cap, no matter any creative solutions.

"If we leave it off-budget, then it’s less likely to be diverted into the general fund of the budget," Osten said in May. "It’s not a gimmick, in my opinion it’s the right way to do it, and if we are serious about giving towns additional PILOT dollars, then we need to make sure that we’re funding those dollars."

The ultimate compromise had PILOT funding run partially through MRSA and partially through the budget’s general fund.

“This budget has also one of the biggest investments in municipal aid the state has ever seen,” Lamont said Tuesday. “That means that our towns and cities are going to have the support they need as we dig out from COVID, and it will hopefully make sure that our towns and cities have the foundations they need to grow and prosper.”

s.spinella@theday.com