Community Corner

Gov. Malloy Signs State Budget With "No New Taxes"

Malloy says the biennial budget makes major investments in job creation and education

A Press Release from Gov. Dannel Malloy

Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that he has signed the fiscal year 2014/2015 state budget into law, which continues to invest in public education and job creation, and does it without any new taxes. 

“This budget makes historic investments in growing jobs and improving our public schools,” Governor Malloy said.  “It makes the state’s finances more transparent and honest by complying with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.  It properly funds our state pension obligations, saving us billions over the next twenty years. This budget does all that, and contains no new taxes.

“Connecticut is making itself competitive again.  It’s making the critical investments needed to attract employers and spur growth.”

Funding for towns and cities is maintained, and many municipalities will actually see a slight increase under the adopted budget.  Governor Malloy explained that his administration worked with lawmakers to keep municipal aid as whole as possible so as to not pass the property tax burden to towns and cities.

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In particular, the Governor said that the investments he is most proud of are the ones that continue efforts to reform the state’s schools to ensure that students receive an education that prepares them for success in the workforce.

“At a time when it would have been easy to cut and run on education, we went in another direction and invested nearly half a billion dollars into our public schools, most of it going to chronically struggling districts,” the Governor said.  “Connecticut used to lead the world when it came to innovation – we had more patents, more groundbreaking discoveries than anywhere else in the world.  Somewhere along the way the world caught up.  This is about to change.”

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He continued, “During the past two years, Connecticut has experienced the highest rate of private sector job growth over a two-year period since the late 1990s.  It’s progress, even if we still have a long way to go.  But rest assured, we are moving our state forward.”

Senate President Donald E. Williams (D-Brooklyn) said, “We have delivered a budget that is balanced, does not raise taxes and includes $2.6 billion in cuts.  At the same time, we were able to protect funding for critical investments in education and help towns maintain services and hold the line on local property taxes.”

“This budget reflects what the public expects – no new taxes, no cuts to our cities and towns, and getting every possible Connecticut taxpayer dollar back from Washington,” Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey (D-Hamden) said.  “This budget also sets the stage for more efficient government at both the state and local level, which is critical to encouraging future economic growth.”

That's the official take on the budget. What's yours? Tell us in the comments!


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