Senators Looney and Winfield Deliver State Budget with $637 Million for New Haven

HARTFORD – Today, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and State Senator Gary Winfield (D-New Haven) gave final approval to a Democratic state budget that provides significant increases in state aid for New Haven.

“This budget delivers unprecedented support for New Haven, ensuring our city has the resources it needs to thrive,” said Senator Looney. “From funding PILOT to making major investments in education, infrastructure, and core municipal services, this funding reflects our deep commitment to equity and economic stability for our city and its residents.”

“New Haven faces unique challenges, and this budget recognizes that by investing in the people and programs that make a real difference in our community,” said Senator Winfield. “Whether it’s supporting public education, addressing local infrastructure needs, or delivering meaningful tax relief to working families, this budget brings critical resources home.”

New Haven Aid – By the Numbers:
The state budget provides an increase in state funding for New Haven of $17,844,708 in Fiscal Year 26 and $18,378,077 in Fiscal Year 27, totaling $318,689,043 in year one and $319,222,412 in year two, equaling over $637 million in the biennium budget.

The city will receive:

-$101,078,558 in Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) in each year of the budget

-$4,045,204 each year in motor vehicle reimbursement rates

-$19,421,822 each year from the Supplemental Revenue Sharing Grant

-$5,503,352 from the Mashantucket Pequot & Mohegan Fund Grant

-$1,710,403 in each year for Town Aid Road (TAR)

-$2,537,896 in Local Capital Improvements (LoCIP) each year

-$10,214,643 in Municipal Grants-in-Aid each year, an increase of $8 million

-$170,824,330 in Education Cost Sharing (ECS) each year

-$2,852,835 and $3,386,204 in Adult Education for FY 26 and FY 27, respectively

Investing in Our State

-A $250 tax refund for hundreds of thousands of workers with children through an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit program, which will benefit as many as 195,000 households – one out of every seven

-Projected state surpluses and continued investment in the state’s Budget Reserve Fund

-A total of $2.4 billion in Education Cost Sharing grant investment, with $186 million of new investments for the two-year period; this includes “holding harmless” 81 towns that would have seen a decrease in ECS funding

-$80 million in additional special education cost savings and $75 million in additional new special education funding for a total of $442 million in special education excess cost spending

-Investing $76 million in nonprofits in the second year of the budget to support worker wages

-Tax credits supporting refundable personal income tax credits for home daycare owners and farm investments

-Fully funding Medicaid, with more than $400 million in increased funding to support the program 900,000 Connecticut residents rely on

-Investing $7 million in Connecticut Foodshare, helping feed hungry Connecticut families

Investing $3 million in heating assistance as federal programs may see funding reductions

Senate to Pass Balanced Budget That Lowers Costs, Invests in Child Care and Public Schools

Connecticut Senate Democrats were expected to pass a balanced, $55.8 billion dollar budget Tuesday that has no new taxes, reduces costs, maintains fiscal responsibility, and makes transformative investments in child care and public education.

The Senate’s expected passage of the bill follows a Monday vote in the House of Represenatives and will send the budget to Gov. Ned Lamont for his signature.

The biennium plan falls under the spending cap in both years and maintains fiscal responsibility, resulting in a balanced budget, even as Congressional Republicans abandon budgetary discipline and endorse Donald Trump’s deficit-ballooning plan to cut taxes for the rich.

“While Republicans push a gimmick-laden budget that undercuts support for working families to fund windfalls for the ultra-wealthy, Connecticut Democrats have passed a responsible, balanced budget that does the opposite,” Senate President Martin Looney and Majority Leader Bob Duff. “We pay down debt instead of exploding it. We expand access to child care instead of slashing Head Start. We deliver record education aid to towns instead of dismantling the Department of Education. And we provide tax relief to lower-income working families — not billionaires. The contrast could not be more stark. Democrats are delivering for working people with smart, responsible investments. Republicans are on track to bankrupt the nation with heartless budget cuts to benefit those whose wealth is already unfathomable.”

 

Tax Relief for Struggling Families vs Handouts for the Rich

The Democratic budget creates a $250 tax refund for hundreds of thousands of lower-income workers with children through the Earned Income Tax Credit program. Meanwhile, Congressional Republicans have pushed through a budget that raises costs for Americans who can least afford it.

 

State Surplus vs National Debt

Connecticut Democrats’ budget will result in state surpluses and a flush Rainy Day Fund as the Republicans advance an irresponsible budget that relies on a historic increase in the national debt, totalling $3.8 trillion in additional federal deficit by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

 

Funding Schools vs Dismantling Education Department

The state budget includes $2.4 billion in Education Cost Sharing grants — historic funding levels of state education aid to towns that comes as Republicans try to claw back education grants and work to abolish the Department of Education. Connecticut Democrats also included an additional $40 million in each year of the budget to help towns cover the cost of special education services.

 

Expanding Child Care vs Closing Head Start

Connecticut’s budget will result in state surpluses, which will be used to support Senate Bill 1, a landmark expansion of child care, benefiting families across the state. Meanwhile, Republicans have shuttered Head Start offices around the nation and fired their staff.

 

Protecting Health Care vs Gutting Medicaid

The state budget fully funds Medicaid, including more than $400 million in increased funding to shore up the program on which 900,000 Connecticut residents rely, while Republicans attempt to cut hundreds of billions from the social safety net program, which supports Connecticut children, seniors, and persons with disabilities.

 

Funding Foodshare vs Cutting SNAP

Connecticut’s two-year budget plan invests $7 million in Foodshare, a nonprofit that helps to feed hungry families, while Republicans passed legislation cutting billions from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a food assistance program that more than 390,000 Connecticut families rely on.

 

Preserving Heating Assistance vs Eliminating LIHEAP

Republicans have proposed legislation to defund the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, a longstanding federal initiative that helps about 100,000 Connecticut families heat their homes during the winter. Democrats included an additional $3 million in the state budget to help the families Republicans deliberately left out in the cold.