As the 2019 State Legislative session drew toward a close at midnight June 5, a review of specific initiatives saw Newtown’s delegation — Senator Tony Hwang (R-28), and Reps Mitch Bolinsky (R-106), JP Sredzinski (R-112), and Raghib Allie-Brennan (D-2) — had each fought hard and contributed their personal due diligence to a diverse array of proposed bills.

And in many cases, the local lawmakers landed on the side of victory.

Such was not the case in regard to perhaps the most important initiative before elected statehouse leaders: the biennial state budget.

According to a release from Governor Ned Lamont’s office, the governor and Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz are applauding both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly for voting to approve a biennial budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year that their administration developed with legislative leaders, which closes the inherited $3.7 billion deficit ahead of schedule.

According to the governor, the budget:

*Begins to stabilize the state’s fixed costs;

*Does not increase income or sales tax rates on anyone;

*Invests more money into education and workforce development; and

*Does not cut municipal aid to towns and cities.

Following a nearly eight-hour debate, the Senate voted 20-16, largely along party lines, to send the budget to Gov Ned Lamont. In the House, where Democrats also hold an edge, the measure passed 86-65 late Monday night June 3.

Majority Democrats hailed it as a historic plan that averts a big deficit without raising income tax rates, makes key investments in education and health care, and promotes long-term fiscal stability.

But Republicans painted it as a sloppy blueprint that overtaxes businesses and consumers, spends and borrows recklessly, leaves Connecticut with no viable long-term transportation building program, and skirts the legal requirement of a balanced budget.

Rep Bolinsky stood with his Republican colleagues to oppose the Democrat budget. He said legislators were given less than 24 hours to review the document before the Speaker called for a vote.

The Newtown lawmaker lamented the budget, which he said is comprised of $865.1 million in new taxes in Fiscal Year 2020 and $921.3 million in new taxes in Fiscal Year 2021.

“The Governor had promised a new way of doing business in Hartford. I believed his promises because he was a political outsider. He sounded like he’d work to bring a softer edge to the Capitol and stimulate a culture of mutual respect,” Rep Bolinsky said. “When his partisan rhetoric began, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, still hoping his promises and ‘open door policy’ would play out. But, his door was open only to those who might trade favors in return for supporting his tolls.

According to Rep Bolinsky, the most hypocritical piece of this budget is that it literally does nothing to address the state’s transportation and infrastructure problems. Rep Bolinsky cited that the continued misplacement of state funds makes the public distrustful of the state government and its overall ability to serve.

The Republican amendments, all of which failed, included the following:

*Preserve the property tax credits businesses receive operating as LLCs. The Democrats, just a year removed from implementing the credit, reduced it, costing taxpayers $50 million in income taxes;

*Block the refinancing of the teachers’ pension fund that will cost the next generation of taxpayers $27 billion more because the payments will be stretched out for an additional 14 years;

*Block the diversion of $171 million over the next two years in new car sales revenue from the Special Transportation Fund to the general fund.

Rep Sredzinski said his top budget priority this year was restoring education funding to Monroe and Newtown that had been cut by former Governor Dannel Malloy.

“What we can’t plan for are the new and increased sales taxes and fees included in this budget,” said the Monroe lawmaker, whose district includes several neighborhoods in southern Newtown. “These bad economic policies are hurting businesses and making Connecticut less and less affordable.”

Neither Sen Hwang nor Rep Allie-Brennan had submitted reactions to the budget vote at press time for this week’s Newtown Bee print edition. Any specific remarks will be added to online or subsequent print coverage of the 2019 session.

Sen Hwang did remark to CTMirror, however, saying, “This has to be, in my entire ten-year legislative career, the most regressively taxed budget I have ever had the displeasure to vote on.”

In the coming weeks, The Newtown Bee will continue covering the local delegation’s work this session, including deeper reflections on the passage and implementation of the biennial budget.

Read the full feature in this week's print edition of The Newtown Bee - on local newsstands or subscribe by calling 203-426-3141 or by clicking HERE.

CTMirror content was used in this report.