CT Democrats call for Gov. Ned Lamont to declare fiscal emergency in wake of lost $200 million

CT Insider – Wednesday, April 9, 2025
By Ken Dixon

HARTFORD — The Democratic Leaders of the House of Representations on Wednesday, pointing to hundreds of millions of dollars in funding cuts from Washington along with a prevailing atmosphere of uncertainty from the Trump White House, asked Gov. Ned Lamont to declare a statewide fiscal emergency.

Such a move would allow the diversion of at least part of the projected $5.6 billion in state budget reserves – called the rainy day fund – to pay for operating expenses rather than investing in the state’s under-funded pension programs for state employees and public school teachers

To Speaker of the House Matt Ritter and House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, the Trump budget slashing is raining on Connecticut.

In response, Lamont took a wait-and-see stance on Wednesday.

“Look, there are some storm clouds out there, absolutely,” Lamont told reporters outside his Capitol office Wednesday afternoon. “I see what’s going on out there. We are able to manage what’s going on right now. This is no time to panic. But we are ready. We’ve got reserves. We have a couple of months left in the session. We’ll have much-better visibility in the next month or two.”

Republicans charged that little effects from federal orders has actually occurred in Connecticut. But Democrats, the GOP lawmakers said, are using it as a flimsy excuse to break through the so-called fiscal guardrails, including spending caps, developed back in 2017 that are credited with the robust budget surpluses of recent years.

The fast-moving events started during a pre-session meeting Ritter, D-Hartford, and Rojas, D-Hartford held with Capitol reporters.

“I think our counsel to the (House Democratic) caucus and to the governor would be to hit the pause button, so we can get a better handle or where we’re going to be, whenever that is,” Ritter said in his Capitol office. “Is it May, June, July or August. So that would mean declaring a fiscal emergency if the governor was agreeable. You may need that money to backfill things. It’s not an alarmist approach. It’s not promising an outcome. If anybody has a better idea about what Washington is going to do, I’d like to know.”

The state’s new biennial budget cycle starts starts on July 1, but the legislature’s statutory deadline to agree on a budget is June 4, although special sessions on uncompleted spending packages have occasionally drifting further into the calendar year, such as 1991 when the state’s personal income tax was finally approved in late August of that year.

“We really don’t know what’s going to happen,” Ritter said. “If it was Joe Biden in the White House, I’d say the same thing.” He said that $200 million has been deleted from the state Department of Public Health, with other cuts to public schools, libraries and museums.

“I think it’s being able to prepare for a level of uncertainty that I don’t think that we’ve ever seen before, at least that I’ve ever seen in all my time in this building,” said Rojas, a member of the House since 2009. “We have a responsibility to respond to federal elections and they’re causing a great deal of uncertainty, which leads to uncertainty for us in terms of how we do our work here.” Ritter and Rojas said they expect that the General Assembly’s budget committees, with deadlines later in the month, will continue to craft budget plans as usual.

Without an emergency declaration, when the current budget ends June 30th, the potential transfer of $1.4 billion would be blocked, Ritter said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney said the chaotic fiscal landscape is concerning.

“The economic turmoil and federal cuts handed down by the Trump administration have begun to create a cascading emergency for Connecticut’s budget,” Looney said in a statement. “I will continue to work closely with Speaker Ritter and Gov. Lamont to take whatever action is necessary to best protect Connecticut families.”

But House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford told reporters earlier that there is little in actual budget cuts that have reached Connecticut, according to the General Assembly’s non-partisan fiscal staff.

“Those cuts are zero right now, so Connecticut should be able to move forward and do a budget,” Candelora said. “What I’m hearing from the speaker is, they want to dismantle the guardrails first and then begin operating a budget because it gives them free license. I think it’s a mistake. We should not be dismantling the guardrails that have protected Connecticut from over spending, protecting us from tax increases.” He said that money taken from the DPH was left over from the pandemic relief.

Lamont is prepared to use his emergency powers, but not yet. He said that the state gets about $12 billion from federal sources. “We have lost money and it’s directly impacting folks each day,” he said. “Maybe there will some more sense coming to the folks in the White House. I don’t think we should be scaring people.” He noted that there are a number of court cases challenging the Trump cuts. Something’s got to be coming and we need to prepare for it right now.”

But House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford told reporters earlier that there is little in actual budget cuts that have reached Connecticut, according to the General Assembly’s non-partisan fiscal staff.

“Those cuts are zero right now, so Connecticut should be able to move forward and do a budget,” Candelora said. “What I’m hearing from the speaker is, they want to dismantle the guardrails first and then begin operating a budget because it gives them free license. I think it’s a mistake. We should not be dismantling the guardrails that have protected Connecticut from over spending, protecting us from tax increases.” He said that money taken from the DPH was left over from the pandemic relief.

Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding agreed with Candelora. “Connecticut’s Senate Republicans unanimously support the preservation of Connecticut smart, bipartisan fiscal guardrails,” he said in a statement. “Gov. Lamont: The focus is on you now. Stand strong against your fellow Democrats who want to break the guardrails. Stand strong against the job crushing tax hikes that this will cause. Gov. Lamont: Connecticut needs you to lead. No more historic tax hikes.”

Access this article at its original source.