The legislative session is just a few weeks away. It's a time where lawmakers make adjustments to the biennial budget and right now, many state agencies and nonprofits are hoping when they do that, more money will be heading their way as a result.
It means some tough choices ahead in the state capital. So what gets priority and what doesn't?
NBC Connecticut's Mike Hydeck spoke with Republican leader Sen. Kevin Kelly about it.
Mike Hydeck: So first up, as you look forward to the next legislative session in February, what's the priority for you to get done?
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
Kevin Kelly: Well, I mean, what we've got to focus on is the struggling working middle class families of Connecticut that are just really having a tough time making ends meet, living paycheck to paycheck. And you know, inflation has really been difficult on their household budgets. And so we have to look at affordability across state services and wherever we can reduce that burden. And also to help people in need, I think, is one of the focuses that we have to stay sharp on because far too many families are struggling today.
Mike Hydeck: And talking about looking for a workaround, Martin Looney, one of them, to get around the budget spending cap, so you can put more money into things like education, childcare initiative. Both sides have been talking about that. What are your thoughts on that? CSCU is also trying to close a $140 million budget gap on the education side. How do you manipulate all those things and still stay true to the spending caps?
Kevin Kelly: Well, here's the fact of the matter, Mike. Connecticut taxpayers, if you talk to them, are not going to say we're not taxed enough. I think they're going to tell you that they're overtaxed. And the whole reason that we had the guardrails, that have actually worked exceptionally well, for the last seven years, they've placed and positioned our state to have now its largest rainy day fund, we have spent billions of dollars down on debt taking burden off our children. And also by doing that, it's freed up $600 million in the general fund. That's a lot of money that could go to a lot of good causes. Now, what you have is a governor who, like us, believes we need to keep these guardrails. And those guardrails for seven years have worked really well. And I think that's the issue that came out this week when we heard both Pratt and also Webster Bank say that that stability is what's really good signal to job creators that Connecticut is a place to do business. But what becomes concerning is when you hear the majority Democrats start to talk, as their old usual playbook is, to continue to tax and spend. And they want balance on these fiscal guardrails. And quite frankly, when they say balance, that's code for let's spend the money today, then put that burden on our children. Republicans don't subscribe to that. I think we have far too much debt. I think we have a spending cap and a revenue cap and the bonding cap for a reason. And that's to respect taxpayer sacrifice. And make sure that the dollars that they do send to Hartford goes to the programs that we promised that they will. And all too often, the majority doesn't see through on those promises.
Face the Facts
Face the Facts with NBC Connecticut goes beyond the headlines, asking newsmakers the tough questions, giving an in-depth analysis of the big stories.
Mike Hydeck: Will there be, do you believe, any adjustments regarding education or childcare however they're done?
Kevin Kelly: Well, I think, you know, obviously, education and you saw the Dalio report, there's a link between education and success and crime. So I think that's an issue that we need to look at, is not only to look at education as something that helps you for a career, but also look at the root causes of crime in the first place, and what we can do to start alleviating that and giving the kids the tickets to opportunity that they have a right to and they deserve.
Mike Hydeck: Governor Lamont's proposal on the electric vehicle mandate was met with quite a bit of opposition; he pulled back on it. What happens this session to one, reducing carbon emissions. Do you think that should be the alternate route since the mandate is not going to happen, it seems like. And then how do we continue to try to measure if we're doing a good job on reducing carbon footprint?
Kevin Kelly: Well, there are a few different avenues that you can take. Obviously, the majority wanted to look at California emission standards, that ban, in 2035 and thereafter, the sale of gas-powered cars, which would in unbelievable hardship on working and middle class families. And basically urban and rural families to where we don't have the infrastructure or the ability to charge your vehicle overnight. So that was a problem in the policy. Republicans do not dispute that we need to work on our air quality and to improve it and to have a greener and cleaner environment. And so that can be done on the EPA standard platform. You have to be one or the other. But if we do the EPA standard, you can then plus up. And that's our proposal is to look at initiatives, to plus up and to continue to work on reducing greenhouse emissions. You know, the only polluter in our economy is not cars and trucks. There's a whole host of other areas that we can look at to reduce those emissions. And we believe that the prudent way is not to put a ban and take choice away from our families, but to actually work across all sectors and achieve the savings there.
