Budget Summary FY 2019 Compromise Budget
May 9, 2018
Financial Polices and Taxes:
- Contains no new tax increases.
- Maintains new retiree tax breaks contained in last year’s bipartisan budget for pension & social security income.
- Rejects governor’s proposal to eliminate $200 property tax credit which supports elderly and working families.
- Reduces the tax on sales and storage of boats and marine dyed diesel to 2.99% to boost the boating industry in CT.
- Restores $10 million to the Energy Efficiency Fund.
- Maintains $7 million savings target for a hard hiring freeze.
- Provides $16 million to the Retired Teachers’ Healthcare Fund to provide a full statutory contribution of 33%.
Funding for Core Services:
- Restores funding for the Medicare Savings Program in full to all 169,450 seniors. Cost of $130 million.
- Restores funding for HUSKY A coverage for 13,000 low income working parents who otherwise would lose coverage beginning August 1.
- Provides a 1% private provider COLA to all non-profit providers effective July 1, 2018 and incorporates I/DD wage contract changes passed by the legislature earlier this month.
- Increases funding for the Judicial Branch court support staff.
- Increases Vocational Agriculture per pupil grants by $1,000 per slot.
- Provides $5 million for Emergency Placements for those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
- Restores $18.5 million to magnet schools.
- Provides $1 million for Connecticut Valley Hospital and Whiting Forensic Institute.
- Restores funding for Elderly Nutrition Program and makes a separate line item to better protect this funding in the future.
- Preserves grants for substance abuse treatment and mental health care.
- Funds the Connecticut Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) with $5 million needed in the fund.
- Fully funds aid to disabled adding in $1.4 million.
- Fully funds Old Age Assistance with an additional $1.8 million.
- Protects funding for fire training schools and eliminates governor’s cut.
- Restores funding for the Hispanic Programs in DSS providing funding to nonprofits.
- Provides funding for Puerto Rico evacuees in housing and provides municipalities with a significant influx of evacuees with increased Education Cost Sharing Grants.
- Continues tourism and cultural programs funding.
- Does not implement any cuts to Care 4 Kids.
- Continues enhanced reimbursement rate for primary care providers.
- Provides needed funding for dairy farmers
- Funds the Honor Guard
- Provides $16.2 million to the Board of Regents for fringe benefit support.
- Restores $2 million to fully staff the Connecticut state veterans hospital’s critical care unit.
Protects Municipal Aid:
- Restores full funding for Municipal Aid. $28.4 million more than appropriated in FY 2019 as originally enacted. $70.5 million more in municipal aid than FY 2018.
- Fully funds the FY 2019 enacted Education Cost Sharing grants.
- Fully funds Renters Rebate program, protecting 48,000 people. No longer shifts the expense onto municipalities.
Funds Transportation:
- Fully funds the Special Transportation Fund resulting in surpluses in the fund in each of the next 5 years (accelerates the diversion of sales tax from sale of automobiles at car dealerships into FY 2019 at 8%). This allows us to fully fund transportation infrastructure projects.
- Fully funds rail and bus operations.
- Enacts “Prioritize Progress” in part, a long-term plan to support infrastructure improvements without taxes or tolls.
Implements Recommendations from the Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth as follows:
- Study on pro-growth rebalancing of state taxes.
- Study on revenue and expense optimization.
- Study on reforming of the Teachers’ Retirement System.
- Implements municipal relief by allowing schools to have volunteers perform work such as buildings and grounds maintenance.
