Tax cuts, credits and rebates: CT gov, Dems have differing plans on financial relief

Hartford Courant – Sunday, February 8, 2026
By Christopher Keating

As the 2026 legislative session moves into full swing, Gov. Ned Lamont says he is flexible on a variety of budget issues but draws the line on spending the state can’t support on a continuing basis.

In his multi-faceted budget, Lamont is proposing tax rebates of $200 per person to pay for high electricity bills and other expenses, along with spending an additional $12 million for free school breakfast for all public school students statewide from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Known for his flexibility in negotiations, Lamont needs to reach compromises in the coming months with Democrats who control the state House of Representatives and Senate by veto-proof margins. But he is closely following the state’s finances as the rebates alone would cost $500 million in a giveback to taxpayers in an election year.

“I’m not flexible on a budget that leaves a hole next year,” Lamont said when asked by The Courant. “It’s going to be an honestly balanced budget that is balanced this year and next year and years going forward. I had my idea for a one-time $500 million [rebate] to help out folks who are getting hit by energy costs or otherwise, but now I listen to the legislature. Maybe they say that’s not what they want to do, but don’t leave me a hole next year.”

Based on solid tax collections, Lamont proposed a $28.7 billion budget last week that he says the state can afford as Wall Street continues making gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached an all-time high Friday as it passed the 50,000 mark for the first time in history.

“We have very strong capital gains this year, so we can afford to do $500 million on top of what we’re doing for Trump [to cover federal budget cuts],” Lamont said. “But you can’t count on that with the volatility. That’s where I’m not flexible. Don’t leave me an unbalanced budget next year. … Give me an honestly balanced budget. Let’s not go back to the way we were 10 years ago, 20 years ago.”

Since Connecticut had years of tax increases in the past, some lawmakers say that any tax cuts are a step in the right direction. Others, though, have dismissed Lamont’s proposed $200 tax rebate as being too small to have an impact on someone’s life.

Senate Republican leader Stephen Harding of Brookfield blasted the rebates as too little, too late.

Lamont has spent seven years in office with high tax collections, “and all he has to show for it is 200 bucks in a rebate?” Harding asked. “Are you kidding me? Give me a break. What family is going to live on this? We have the third highest taxes in the country. We have the third-highest electric rates in the country. … And this governor’s answer to all this is a $200 energy rebate. I mean, really?”

Harding added, “This governor is so completely out of touch with the middle and working-class of the state. It’s ridiculous. I don’t know how someone could possibly vote for him after hearing that [State of the State] speech.”

Lamont’s supporters, however, say that he is highly popular in Connecticut. A recent poll by Morning Consult showed he is the country’s fourth most popular governor. The survey showed Lamont with an approval rating of 63%, compared to a disapproval rate of 30%.

A previous poll by the University of New Hampshire showed Lamont with a favorable rating of 69% among likely Democratic primary voters, while 79% of those polled said they did not know enough about his Democratic opponent, state Rep. Josh Elliott of Hamden, to form an opinion. The survey in late November showed Lamont with a wide lead over Elliott of 55% to 7%.
Other possible tax cuts

While Lamont is pushing for rebates, Democrats who control the legislature have some other ideas.

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, known for supporting additional taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents, said it remains to be seen whether couples earning as much as $400,000 per year should be eligible to receive Lamont’s proposed rebate as he has proposed.

“He is committed to $500 million in relief,” Looney said of Lamont. “We will have negotiations about what form that will take. We’re very interested in a child tax credit. We’re interested in other forms of relief. His proposal is one way to approach it. We welcome the fact that he put that figure on it so we have a context in which to work. … That’s the opening gambit on the discussion.”

Under Senate Bill 1, which is named to indicate that it is a high priority for Democrats, the caucus is calling for a wide range of relief. That includes that clothing items under $100, school supplies, and appliances should be exempt from the state sales tax.

Like Republicans in the past, the Senate Democrats are seeking elimination of the extra 1 percent sales tax on prepared meals that are sold in grocery stores. The tax had been enacted by Lamont and the Democratic legislature in 2019 on items like rotisserie chickens as a budget-balancing measure that increased the sales tax on certain prepared items to 7.35%.

Democrats are also exploring increasing the property tax credit for homes and cars and creating a new credit for expenses to help an elderly parent. All tax ideas are subject to public hearings and a vote by the tax-writing finance committee, along with approval by the full House and Senate. The final budget negotiations are not expected to be held until early May because negotiators traditionally wait until after the April 15 tax deadline to get a clearer picture of the state’s financial health.
School breakfast, lunch

One of Lamont’s signature proposals centers around school meals. The plan calls for free breakfast for all public school students from kindergarten through 12th grade regardless of their ability to pay at a cost of $12 million. This would cover about 500,000 students in all corners of the state.

In addition, any student who currently qualifies for reduced-price lunch would receive it for free under the proposal at a cost of an additional $523,000. That would cover about 13,000 additional students.

“I like it,” said House Speaker Matt Ritter, a Hartford Democrat who will be a key player in the final budget negotiations in early May. “It’s a good idea. I think we can make that work.”

During a visit to a cafeteria at a West Hartford public school during lunch time, Lamont asked the students to gather around him during a news conference by asking, “Who wants to be on TV?”

While West Hartford has a reputation for strong economic development and upscale restaurants, 29% of all public school students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, officials said. At the Florence E. Smith STEM School on St. James Street where Lamont held the event, 65% of students qualify, they said.

Some lawmakers want to go even further so that all students could receive free lunch, as well as breakfast. That proposal will depend on the final negotiations before the legislature adjourns on May 6.

While noting that his breakfast plan has support from many families, Lamont added, “It didn’t pass last year when we proposed it.”

Rep. Gary Turco of Newington and Rep. Moira Rader of Guilford are pushing for the same idea as Lamont with 100 co-sponsors, compared to 60 co-sponsors last year. Nationwide, nine states offer free school breakfast, including New York, California, Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont.

Rep. Kate Farrar, a West Hartford Democrat who attended the news conference with Lamont and others, said, “When we have kids who are fed, we have kids who are healthy.”

“Connecticut now has the highest rate of food insecurity in New England and one of the highest rates in the Northeast,” Turco said. “At a time when federal nutrition assistance programs face uncertainty and proposed cuts, it is critical that we act at the state level to ensure no child is trying to learn while hungry.”

Homeschooling regulations

Looney, the highest-ranking senator, predicted that there will be changes enacted this year for regulations for homeschooling after two cases made major headlines. In Waterbury, an emaciated man was rescued from a fire and said that he had set the blaze in his bedroom to attract attention because he had been imprisoned there after being pulled out of school as a child.

In a second case, an 11-year former Farmington girl, who was found dead behind an abandoned house in New Britain, weighed only 27 pounds at the time of her death and died of starvation, according to the chief medical examiner’s office.

The cases placed a spotlight on homeschooling, but some advocates said that homeschool parents are largely highly diligent about educating their children and should not be penalized for the other cases. Instead, they say the Department of Children and Families, which had interactions with both victims before they were taken out of school, should have ensured the children’s safety.

“The problem right now is we have one of the lowest levels of homeschool regulations in the country,” Looney said. “We are way behind in terms of regulation.”

The 2026 session, he said, will be a time of action.

“Last year, there wasn’t really time,” he said. “It was too late for the committee process last year. The children’s committee is really going to be on it this year. I hope to see the strongest bill possible, but whatever we can get support for, I’m for.”
Beware of Bears

In recent years, a growing problem in various suburbs has been an increase in the sightings of black bears in congested areas where they had been rarely seen in the past.

The overall increase in the state’s bear population led West Hartford to have the most bear sightings statewide last year with 1,093 reports. Historically, West Hartford was not an area with many sightings, but that has changed in recent years. Based on statistics from the state’s environmental protection department, the next highest reports of bears last year were in Simsbury with 671, Farmington with 522, Torrington with 521 and Avon with 517.

The records, which depend on reports from residents, are not complete because many residents who see bears on a semi-frequent basis do not bother to call the local police department or DEEP.

In order to avoid problems, Lamont is calling for spending $200,000 to launch a “Bear Aware” marketing campaign. DEEP had conducted a similar campaign in 2024 that was deemed highly successful with 10.2 million impressions across multiple sites in a three-month period.

Residents are told to never feed the bears and avoid placing meat scraps in compost piles because they will be found by bears. Bears have a spectacular sense of smell, and officials say they can smell a pizza box from a quarter mile away.

Decades ago, bears were not seen as a major problem statewide. Only seven bears, for example, were reported as entering homes in 2015, but that number tripled to 21 in 2018, according to DEEP. That total increased to 67 in 2024, and that does not include attempted entries that were unsuccessful when the bears could not get inside the home.

“As bear numbers rise and interactions increase, all Connecticut residents are urged to remain vigilant, adopt preventive actions, and help ensure the safety of both communities and wildlife,” Lamont’s team said in its budget summary.

ICE IN’ on jacket

While the legislature convened on opening day last week to hear the details of the second year of the two-year budget, some of the biggest attention went to Lamont’s remarks on the tactics of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. ICE has come under severe criticism nationwide after the shooting deaths of two American citizens by federal agents during protests in Minneapolis.

In his State of the State Address, Lamont received a standing ovation from Democrats when he ripped into ICE.

“ICE, everywhere you go uninvited, violence follows. Go home. We’re keeping Connecticut safe without you,” Lamont said.

During Lamont’s speech, state Rep. Cara Pavalock-D’Amato, a Republican from Bristol, stood up and turned her back to Lamont to show that her jacket was emblazoned with the words “ICE IN.” She told The Courant that she had first-hand experience with the system as a sponsor because she completed the application for her first husband who immigrated from Venezuela.

The move in the House chamber by Pavalock-D’Amato outraged House Speaker Matt Ritter, who is known for his mild-mannered handling of the 151-member House chamber. But Ritter delivered a brief but direct speech from the dais on the following day regarding decorum in the chamber, saying that the House rules prohibit overtly political displays by either legislators or the general public in the upstairs gallery.

“Look, this is the historic House of Representatives,” Ritter told his colleagues. “It’s not an elementary school, and I’m not a hallway monitor. … I don’t want to see signs. I don’t want to see placards. … If you’re wearing an American flag, no one is going to complain. … You’re lucky to be one of 151 people that can engage in debate and pass laws. … Don’t turn this place into a circus.”

Ritter sternly added, “Do I make myself clear that we’re not going to have tomfoolery and riffraff ever again this session? Don’t test me.”

Outside the House chamber hours after Ritter’s remarks, Pavalock-D’Amato said she was concerned that she had received a death threat through a text message on her cell phone and was going to speak to the Capitol police, which investigates incidents involving legislators.

When asked by The Courant if she would do it again, she responded, “I don’t have any regrets whatsoever. Look, I respect the chamber. I also respect the Speaker. … I’m supporting ICE. I’m supporting those officers who support us, who protect us, protect our children. For the governor to come after ICE like he did, I’m sorry. I don’t have any regrets. I just don’t.”

Republicans, she said, knew in advance of the speech that Lamont would be speaking at times about immigration enforcement.

“We were told that the governor was going to be commenting about ICE, and not in a positive way,” she told reporters at the Capitol. “There is a First Amendment right. I do it in a respectful way. You don’t see me throwing things in the chamber or getting up and screaming. … I support the Constitution, and I’m not going to apologize for that. I’ve been getting a lot of support. In Bristol, we support our law enforcement. We support our men and our women in blue, and I’m never going to be sorry for that.”

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