40°
Kicking the can down the road for the next legislature to solve. This was Rep. Larry Caferos description of the $19 billion budget that passed in Hartford on Wednesday night. The House Minority Leader held a press conference on Thursday where he said Gov. Jodi Rell and the Democrats in the state legislature refused to solve the long-term budget crisis facing Connecticut.
While Democrats were pointing to the budget as one of their partys accomplishments this session, Cafero said the Republicans had succeeded in alerting the public to the seriousness of the budget crisis facing the state. Cafero said state deficits could total $15 billion over the next four years. While the new budget does not raise taxes, he said it funds the state through borrowing and one-time revenue sources that cannot be sustained.
Republicans had offered their version of a budget fix, what they called their alternative Common Sense principles for addressing the state deficit. Last Saturday, Cafero announced Republican caucuses had bowed out of budget negotiations when neither the Republican Governor nor the Democratic legislators agreed to discuss the alternatives they had suggested. Among the Common Sense suggestions was the privatization of Bradley International Airport.
The budget for the 2011 fiscal year was along party lines with no Republicans voting in support. This was Gov. Rells final budget vote. She retires from office at the end of this year.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.
