State Budget Deal In Doubt

By Susan Haigh Associated Press

HARTFORD –– Some legislative leaders and the governor’s budget chief are questioning whether a bipartisan budget agreement will be ready for next week’s special session.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin Sullivan, D-West Hartford, said Tuesday that Democrats, Republicans, and Gov John G. Rowland’s administration remain tens of millions of dollars apart from one another.

“It was a somewhat difficult day for all of us,” said Mr Sullivan, who joked how, at this point in the talks, a sunny weekend could be seen as a sign that a budget vote is possible next week.

“We don’t want to underestimate for you the depth of disagreement between the three sides,” he added.

A special legislative session is scheduled to begin on Monday, but rank-and-file lawmakers are not expected to trek to Hartford if there is no deal for a new two-year budget in place.

Tuesday’s meeting was the first time that Democratic and Republican legislative leaders, as well as Mr Rowland’s budget director, have met to talk about specific spending reductions. All sides compared different lists of possible cuts.

Mr Rowland has said he will veto the Democrats’ two-year, $27.7 billion proposal that was passed in the final days of the regular session. He claimed their plan relied too heavily on taxes and would violate the state cap on spending in the second year.

Republicans, who were not involved in earlier talks, offered a proposal that cuts spending more than Mr Rowland, a fellow Republican. Their plan reduces the governor’s budget by another $141 million in the first year of the budget.

That $141 million includes many of the additional $24 million in reductions the Democrats put on the table.

Both sides were hesitant to offer any details of what they planned to cut.

Sen William Aniskovich, R-Branford, the deputy Senate minority leader, said the GOP focused on areas that have experienced the greatest growth in recent years. That could include Medicaid programs and pharmaceutical spending –– two areas that Republican legislators have targeted in the past.

Democrats said they welcomed the Republicans’ budget suggestions, but acknowledged it will be tough for them to accept those cuts when many legislators in their caucuses dislike Mr Rowland’s budget.

“We took a few steps forward but, more than likely, we took a giant step backward,” Speaker of the House Moira Lyons, D-Stamford, said.

Bipartisan budget talks will resume on Thursday. Marc Ryan, Mr Rowland’s budget chief, was obviously frustrated by the delay. The longer the legislature waits, he said, the less likely they will reach a deal by mid-June or possibly later in the month.

The new fiscal year begins on July 1. Mr Ryan said the state needs a budget by the middle of the month to avoid interruptions in state services. He said many contracts with private providers, such as group homes and health care agencies, expire with the new fiscal year.