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Gov. Lamont signs 2022-2023 CT state budget

Gov. Lamont signed House Bill 6689, which is commonly known as the state budget, and Senate Bill 1202, which is commonly known as the implementer.
Credit: FOX61

HARTFORD, Conn. — Governor Ned Lamont signed the legislation that will enact the two-year budget for Connecticut, which was approved by both chambers of the General Assembly with bipartisan support. 

The $46.3 million budget will invest in several areas across Connecticut like increasing state Earned Income Tax Credit for working families and expanding access to affordable childcare. 

“When I took the oath of office two years ago, Connecticut was facing a $3.7 billion deficit. Today, I’m proud to say that not only have we closed that deficit, but we did it while making an historic investment in our pension obligations, we left the rainy day fund untouched and at its largest amount ever, and we did it while not raising taxes,” Governor Lamont said. “For more than two decades, Connecticut’s fiscal instability left us economically vulnerable, resulting in slow growth and volatility in our economy. Connecticut is making a comeback. We are on stronger ground than we’ve been in decades, and businesses are taking note, including a major Fortune 500 company that just this week announced it will be relocating its headquarters to Connecticut. The changes we’ve made over these last two years will lift our state up for generations to come. I applaud the bipartisan legislators who have worked with our administration to move our state forward with this strong, sensible, and progressive budget.”

The state will also invest $110 million over the next three years in short-term workforce training programs, which were created to help unemployed and underemployed residents get well-paying jobs. 

“This is a budget full of wins for families across Connecticut,” Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz said. “With record investments in early childhood education, childcare, K-12 education, and reductions in healthcare costs, this budget will be transformational in our state. And critically, we did these big things on a bipartisan basis, on time, and without raising taxes. In the past year, thousands of families have bet on Connecticut, choosing to come to our beautiful state, and this budget will only continue that momentum. I applaud Governor Lamont for his leadership crafting a historic budget.”

Connecticut Republicans also counted the passage of the bill as a win for their camp as they prevented more proposed taxes for residents. 

“This budget is a testament to Republican efforts to beat back billions of dollars in new taxes proposed by Democrats. Democrats all started out seeking tax increases," said Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford.) "Governor Lamont proposed $630 million in new taxes. Democratic lawmakers proposed over $3.2 billion in new taxes. And progressives wanted over $4 billion in new taxes. But Republicans pushed back and went out to the people with our message calling for no new taxes. Connecticut is already too unaffordable. We energized the public, and they made their voices heard, bringing us to the compromise budget before us today. This budget represents an important response to the pandemic and makes needed investments in education, child care, municipal aid, and core services.  While not perfect, this budget includes important measures focused on rebuilding our state. The major shift away from new taxes is a win for Connecticut families.”

Gov. Lamont signed House Bill 6689, which is commonly known as the state budget, and Senate Bill 1202, which is commonly known as the implementer. 

   

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