Senate Leadership
April 19, 2006
Williams, Senator Harp Welcome Governor Rell's Support of Appropriations Committee's Plan to Fully Fund Teachers' Pensions for 2006, 2007
Governor's budget adjustment contained $0 for teachers' retirement
State Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) and Sen. Toni N. Harp (D-New Haven), co-chair of the legislature's Appropriations Committee, today said they were pleasantly surprised that Governor Rell has had a change of heart and now supports fully funding the state's obligation for the teachers' retirement fund. In a news release today, the governor said funding the teachers' pension fund "is the fiscally and morally responsible thing to do."
"Democrats have been calling on the governor to use some of the budget surplus to pay down the state's debt since the Appropriations Committee released its budget adjustments which did just that by including the $245.6 million for the teachers' retirement fund," Sen. Williams said. "We saw it as a chance to pay down the state's debt. Until today, the governor wanted to put the debt relief money into the Rainy Day Fund. The governor did not include any money for this purpose in her budget adjustments. We're glad she's on board."
"While the governor's omission of a fully-funded teachers' retirement fund seemed unreasonably naïve and short-sighted in February, it's gratifying to know she's come around at last to the portion of the Appropriations Committee-approved budget calling for a $245.6 million deposit into the teachers' retirement fund, acknowledging the financial and moral obligation we have to the state's educators, and honoring that commitment," Sen. Harp said. "Teachers across the state should be reassured by this appropriation because it fully funds the state's responsibility to this account through FY 07, and residents statewide should be reassured because compounding this good news, the non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis reports a rate of return on this fund fully twice what the Budget Reserve Fund is earning, which means this decision clearly pays dividends in that sense, too."
Added Sen. Williams, "We hope this is a sign the governor is willing to consider other Democratic initiatives such as cutting taxes on the middle class by expanding the property tax credit, eliminating the property tax on manufacturing equipment, and returning funds to cities and towns to keep local property taxes down. So far, she has not embraced any of these, but we remain hopeful."
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Senator Williams’ Larry Cook |
Listing of Leadership’s recent press releases. |
Senator Looney’s Larry Cook |
