The state Senate may vote later Wednesday on a bipartisan budget agreement finalized by legislative leaders in the last few days.
Connecticut has been operating without a biennial budget for almost four months.
House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz said what's finally emerged is a true bipartisan document. “We’ve changed the dynamic of the Connecticut General Assembly with this budget," he told reporters at the Capitol, "and all parties, all parties - Senate, House, Republican, Democrat, should be proud about that.”
There’s no certainty that Governor Dannel Malloy will agree to sign the budget, which he hasn’t yet seen, so the legislature hopes to achieve veto-proof majorities.
Senate Republican leader Len Fasano said he hopes to have the votes.
“You have to cut a deal that you’re comfortable with, that protects your principles, moves the state forward - that’s what we think we were able to come to an agreement," he said. "I suspect that I will have a sufficient number to more than pass the budget.”
The full details have yet to be released, but it looks as if money for UConn will be cut by $65 million in each year of the budget.
The budget caps the car tax at 39 mills in the first year. Lawmakers floated the idea in recent days that the tax might be abolished in the second year of the budget, but municipalities, which raise hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from the tax pushed back on that idea.
The plan raises some new revenue, raising the cigarette tax, and putting a fee on ride-sharing services. There will also be a surcharge on vehicle registration to fund state parks.
