CT’s spending cap battle was years in the making

CT Mirror – Friday, February 28, 2025
By Keith M. Phaneuf

The showdown between Gov. Ned Lamont and the General Assembly over the budgetary spending cap seemingly sprang up in the last two weeks around a growing crisis in special education.

But the seeds of that conflict were planted at least four years ago when officials, flush with federal COVID grants and record-setting surpluses, began dedicating hundreds of millions annually to circumvent the cap.

And now, with pandemic aid nearly exhausted and Congress weighing cuts that could take hundreds of millions more in federal aid away from Connecticut, state officials’ efforts to re-embrace the cap is coming at the worst possible time for many politicians.

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