Special Session To Deal With Budget Woes Before Christmas
by Christine Stuart | Nov 16, 2012 4:06pm
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Posted to: State Budget, Special Session
Christine Stuart file photo
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Sen. Donald Williams, and House Speaker Chris Donovan
House Speaker Chris Donovan and incoming Speaker Brendan Sharkey emailed their members Thursday to let them know they will probably have to return to the Capitol the week before Christmas to erase an estimated $365 million budget deficit.
“Assuming the deficit certified by the Comptroller in early December is 1 percent or greater of the total general fund appropriations, the governor will have 30 days to submit a Deficit Mitigation Plan,” Donovan and Sharkey wrote in an email to their members.
Prior to the election, the General Assembly had been expected to remain in recess until the full session starts Jan. 9, but recent reports from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s Office of Policy and Management and the legislature’s Office of Fiscal Analysis show the deficit increasing at a rate that requires them to act.
Budget Director Ben Barnes told agency commissioners Thursday that the state faced a $365 million deficit this fiscal year and upward of a $2.13 billion deficit over the next two fiscal years. But the only issue that will have to be resolved in December with the current legislature is the $365 million deficit.
“We currently have little information about the governor’s Deficit Mitigation proposals, but as more information is provided to us by the governor’s office, we will review it and pass it along to all of you,” Donovan and Sharkey wrote.
Malloy has the authority to cut 5 percent of any appropriation and 3 percent of any fund in a financial crisis without legislative approval, but to make the $365 million in cuts it’s likely he will need legislative approval. Asked whether the $365 million target is within reach under his authority to cut specific appropriations, Malloy administration officials opted not to commit to an answer.
Republican lawmakers called upon Malloy to issue a deficit mitigation plan last week when they saw the revenue data. They also accused the Malloy administration of being less than transparent about the current fiscal situation.
On Thursday, the governor said information was released as it became available and pointed out that the fiscal year doesn’t end until July, making the current budgetary gap a shortfall rather than a deficit.
“It’s not going to be a deficit. It’s going to be addressed,” he said.
On Wednesday, Barnes said it was too soon to say what would be on the table for potential cuts.
“Government spending. State government spending. That’s about as specific as I’m going to get,” he said. “... You act as if I have in my mind a full list of what we’re going to do and I don’t yet. We’re working hard to do that. Until we get through that process and work with the governor and make sure we’re right on what the deficit is going to be, it’s way premature for me to discuss what any kind of plan in the future’s going to be.”
Meanwhile, the three other caucuses have already notified their members about a potential session.
“Senate leadership has spoken with our caucus members, and they understand there is a possibility that they will be coming in to special session before the end of the year,” Democratic State Senate Deputy Communications Director Lawrence Cook said.
No specific date for the special session has been set, but it’s expected to be held the week of Dec. 17.
Hugh McQuaid contributed to this report.
Tags: deficit mitigation, Christmas, special session, budget deficit, dh
(12) Comments
posted by: JamesBronsdon | November 16, 2012 4:49pm
” . . . keep Connecticut on the path to economic growth.” Sharkey and Donovan must be delusional. We lost sight of that path long ago.
posted by: christopherschaefer | November 16, 2012 5:17pm
“Connecticut’s Tax Freedom Day is now May 5, the latest in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation. Even before the record-breaking tax hikes, Connecticut ranked third in the nation for highest combined state and local tax burden. Now, the state’s debt per capita is $27,540, surpassed only by Alaska’s, Hawaii’s, and New Jersey’s, according to a report released last month by the non-partisan State Budget Solutions Project. And the Tax Foundation ranks Connecticut 40th in the nation for the tax climate for business… All this adds up to an unsustainable situation.” Solution? Get rid of ALL incumbents, at both federal and state level: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/333519/connecticut-s-fiscal-mess-jillian-kay-melchior
posted by: Noteworthy | November 17, 2012 8:03am
Last year, Malloy denied that unemployment was going up; that the deficit last year was real and he and the Democrat controlled legislature alleged the budget was balanced. All of that was false. All of it.
Malloy hid the current deficit as long as he could. The goal was to get past the election. Now Brother Barnes is estimating that the deficit will be $365 million. Prediction? That’s not enough.
Sadly, this deficit is largely self-inflicted. It’s what happens when you shrink the number of people contributing to the budget; fail to jump start jobs; give away tens of millions to corporations who don’t need it; fail to get significant reductions in employee concessions and be orgasmic over unverified rosy savings from the magic suggestion box; add more than a billion in new spending and new, expanded welfare payments.
Who is seriously surprised with the results of this formula? More importantly though, this growing deficit and those projected into the future speak directly to the fiscal lies and blatant dishonesty foisted on Connecticut people in the first two years of Malloy administration. Malloy and legislative leaders promised us that even though the budget savings claimed could not be confirmed or verified, we had to share the pain. We had to hurt our family budgets in adddition to flat to declining wages and higher prices for gas, for food, insurance and other necessities.
We didn’t need the gimmicks, the dishonesty, the outright lies. What we needed was the truth and a budget that reflected that reality - not some pie in the sky, mythical spending plan whose chance of success started to unravel within just a couple of months of being passed. Will this special session be real or just another big lie?
posted by: oliviahuxtable | November 17, 2012 12:50pm
See the photo above? Those are the architects of the destruction of state employees. We know what is going to happen…..most certainly the plan is hatched out already and ready to go. They will threaten us with a bill to end binding arbitration, just like they threatened last year, and they will make us open up the SEBAC agreement and demand a billion more in concessions. At what point do state workers just decide being in a union just isn’t worth it, that the paper the agreements are written on is useless? The union thugs who call themselves our leaders care about one thing only…...our dues. So what will the billion dollar concessions produce? What they are intended to produce, of course…..they will make employees who are able to retire (55 or older), retire, and those jobs will be filled by young folks at starting salaries. So Dannel & company achieve savings, plus every employee forced to remain because they are not old enough to retire will have to accept draconian concessions. And our union bosses will smile, because their concern is union dues, regardless who pays them. And Dannel and the.legislature will come off as heroes for standing up to the unions…..the bloodthirsty public will eat it up. That is Dannel’s plan. Bet on it, folks.
posted by: Christopher55 | November 17, 2012 8:38pm
Williams, Donovan, and Malloy…and these are they guys that are going to solve this mess????? They got us into it!!!! When will the voters of the ST of CT wake up and vote these bums out of office…
posted by: turbotennis | November 18, 2012 10:14am
What is clearly absent in the photo above and the story that follows is ANY real reference to what Larry Cafero and the House GOP have been laboring to do for over a year now. Public sector unions are different from private sector. When negotiating as a private union, the concessions are made from corporations who realize a profit. They can reduce costs, reorganize or live with lower profits as the case may be. Shareholders have the option to sell! This is as it should be. But, Public Sector Unions are government employees. Concessions made to these union members transfer directly to the taxpayers of our state. Unless we move (which has been the trend for businesses and individuals), we are stuck with whatever deal agreed upon with these unions. I don’t fault these union members. Who wouldn’t want more? My problem is that the Democrats for years have offered sweeter deals to these unions, without regard to the long term consequences. If I am not mistaken, Rep. Cafero is quoted as “spend what is needed, but no more than what is needed.” Will the ulimate resolution to this fiscal deficit reflect this guiding principle? Or, will the Dems continue to try and reward their voting base for re-election assurance?
posted by: Michael | November 20, 2012 1:10am
To oliviahuxtable: Union state employees are pretty safe until 06/30/15. Management state employees have no such protection, but they seem to be popular with the governor, elected officials and the public. Whether it’s a Governor Malloy or Governor Foley, come January 2015, look for more concessions. As you gave up your 2011 pay raise, you are likely to also give up your 2015 pay raise with more cost-of-living and step freezes embedded in the out years. Look for an assault on seniority rights. Look for tougher rules in computing overtime in pension calculations. As for the new Retirement Health Insurance Trust Fund, Ben Barnes already has hinted that he wants that to be deducted throughout the employees full career. If you think that your union is weak now, wait for 2015. Good luck, kiddo.
posted by: oliviahuxtable | November 20, 2012 10:42am
Douglas M. Tobey, writing in the Wall Street Journal, has it right:
Public-service unions such as the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees came about because, just as in the private sector, working people fought for the right to negotiate with their employers over basic issues such as wages, benefits and workplace conditions. Born 75 years ago, AFSCME was also a direct response against political patronage in government.
Public-employee unions and the entire labor movement play a vital role in broadening the middle class in our nation. It is no coincidence that workers’ wages have risen when unions are strong and have fallen when unions and workers’ rights are weakened.
When unionization was at its height in 1955, the wealthiest Americans took in a third of the nation’s income. But by 2007, after decades in which employers honed the cynical art of union-busting, 12% of workers were unionized and the wealthiest 10% took in half of the nation’s income.
Labor unions don’t only fight for our members; we have been at the forefront of all social justice movements because workers’ rights and civil rights are connected. Martin Luther King Jr. joined the striking sanitation workers of AFSCME Local 1737 in Memphis in 1968 and ultimately gave his life in service of the workers’ struggle because he understood their fight was about more than pay. It was about equality.
Our nation’s recession was not caused by unions or union members. It was Wall Street’s recklessness that brought us the worst recession since the 1930s. It is unfair and incorrect to blame public-sector union members for a crisis we did not create…public unions do well in “flush times… In truth, unions help usher in those “flush times” for working families and the middle class.
posted by: oliviahuxtable | November 20, 2012 10:43am
Michael,
Who is going to pick up the billion + dollars of deficit next legislative session?
posted by: Michael | November 20, 2012 12:12pm
To oliviahuxtable: In 1928, the 1 percenters owned 24% of the U.S. economy. With unionization, a broad middle class and higher tax rates, by 1973 the 1 percenters had 7% of the U.S. Currently, we are back to the 1 percenters owning 24% of the U.S. economy,and picking up speed. Robert Reich says that the 1 percenters are pocketing 80% of the expansion. If the 1 percenters are stopping money from flowing downwards (known as trickle down economics), this is why you and the masses are increasingly fustrated with economic conditions of diminishing returns. Remember the O’Bama commercial with Bill Clinton warning that if Romley wins, there will be deregulation that will hurt people? Bill Clinton was the biggest deregulator of all agreeing to NAFTA and getting rid of Roosevelt’s Glass-Steagall. Clinton is perhaps the #1 person responsible for this mess, while making 50M for himself, since leaving office. While the Republicans complain about the 47 percenters (having no Federal income tax liability), there are over 4000 millionaire households ($5M average) who zero out their income tax. Still, the 47 percenters have a bigger personal Federal/State/Local tax burden than most 1 percenters. The message that I came away with from these elections were, unless you are wealthy, the Repubicans think that you are a drag on their economy.
posted by: Michael | November 20, 2012 1:41pm
To oliviahuxtable: This may be a paradox, but the rich pays big dollars but have a modest state/local tax burden (expressed as a percentage of income), while people like you and I pay small dollars but have a high state/local tax burden. The wealthy complain about the dollars they pay, but I wish that I could have their modest state/local tax burden. To answer your question, most of the tax burden falls on the working poor.
