Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy is unveiling his proposed changes to the two-year state budget enacted last year.
The Democrat addresses state lawmakers during the opening day of the General Assembly on Wednesday.
Watch below on CT-N:
State agencies must recommend potential layoffs as the governor’s budget proposals cut nearly six percent of spending across the board.
Budget chief Ben Barnes says it’s time for a new way of doing business. "We will be reducing the number of funded positions by several thousand," said Barnes. "How that breaks out between attrition and layoffs is unknown."
The cuts come as the state again contemplates a substantial budget deficit – current estimates say this year’s gap is $570 million and next year’s will be around $700 million.
Barnes was frank that while employers in Connecticut have created jobs in the last few years, many have been low wage positions that don’t yield enough tax revenue.
"Clearly wages are driving our withholding taxes, they’re driving our sales and use taxes," Barnes said. "If wage growth is slowed, then growth in our tax bases will slow, and that’s what’s driving our revenue shortfall."
The proposal contemplates changing the way spending is governed, giving state agencies a lump sum to allocate to services at their discretion, and taking line-item control away from the legislature.
This report includes information from the Associated Press.
