Letter: State needs to come together to pass a budget

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To the editor,

Last month, I remained hopeful that the speaker of the house would call a budget for an up or down vote by the end of the fiscal year June 30, but he failed to do so. After not passing a budget by the end of the fiscal year, the speaker set a new target deadline July 18. To no one’s surprise, the speaker failed to gavel in on July 18 to vote on a budget.

Prior to July 18, the House Republican caucus held an open budget presentation for all lawmakers and the public to receive a comprehensive review of our no-tax-increase budget proposal, the fourth one produced this year. But, only a handful of Democrats attended the informational session, and the speaker continued to ignore our proposal.

Since July 1, Connecticut has been run through executive orders by Gov. Dan Malloy. The governor is using his authority to cut services to people that need it the most and continuing his attack on municipalities and hospitals. In addition, the governor has now struck a deal with state employees, which will prevent layoffs and keeps over time as part of their retirement calculations until 2027.

Now, just like with the budget, Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz controls whether or not a vote by lawmakers will take place on the concession package. A vote on all state employee union contracts is something that should always take place and will prevent future governors, regardless of their political affiliation, from making backroom deals with union bosses.

In the coming days and weeks, the speaker will hopefully call a vote on not only the concession deal but also on a state budget proposal. I look forward to having the opportunity to debate and vote on the current budget proposals before us, and the concession package. We need to come together to pass a budget that will not put more strain on businesses, more mandates on municipalities, and higher taxes on hard-working Connecticut residents.

Lezlye Zupkus

Prospect

The writer is the state representative covering the 89th District.