It’s Time for State Employee Benefit Reform

The state’s financial crisis is getting worse.

A couple of weeks ago the upcoming two-year deficit was about $3.5 billion dollars. Now it’s over $5 billion dollars, and, our bonds have been downgraded by all three major rating agencies just in the past few days.

House Republicans proposed an updated budget recently that includes no tax increases. With no good answers, this is a budget with significant cuts including department consolidation, union concessions, program elimination, and less borrowing.

Governor Malloy has struck a deal with leaders of SEBAC, the state employee union bargaining agent, which simply does not go far enough. This Hartford Courant Editorial makes an excellent case laying out the shortcomings of this arrangement.

There are still two weeks left of the legislative session and I want to assure you that I will continue to advocate for a budget that forces government to live within its means, preserves services to those who need them, and does not impose another tax hike on our over-taxed residents.