Bacchiochi Disappointed with Budget Inaction

HARTFORD — State Rep. Penny Bacchiochi today renewed her call for much-needed action a day after super-majority lawmakers raised eyebrows by ignoring the state’s financial troubles. Bacchiochi was among minority lawmakers who drove to the Capitol on Tuesday morning to tackle a projected $466 million state deficit, which could grow to a billion by the fiscal year’s end. But Bacchiochi, who represents three small communities affected by the fiscal crisis, was on her way home within an hour or so of arriving in Hartford: Majority lawmakers postponed work on the budget.

Even worse, they provided no clear idea of when they would mop up the red ink.

“If a contractor found a leak in your roof you’d fix the problem before it got worse, right? We know we’ve got structural problems in state government, problems that cost taxpayers a lot of money,” Bacchiochi said. “Yet here they go again—ignoring an issue that has ‘collapse’ written all over it.”

It was a year ago that super-majority legislators ignored warnings from Bacchiochi and her minority party colleagues about a lasting fiscal crisis, an attitude that led to record levels of borrowing and fresh taxes on some of Connecticut’s largest employers in order to mask the state’s financial troubles.

Bacchiochi and her minority party colleagues have repeatedly offered alternative budgets, including a deficit mitigation plan two weeks ago that doesn’t raise taxes, restores proposed funding cuts to municipalities, eliminates public money for political campaigns while protecting against special interest influence, and closes the budget deficit mostly through fair spending cuts across all agencies.