Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) today criticized Republican leaders’ efforts to set an artificial budget deadline. Senator Looney pointed out that State Rep. Chris Davis (R-Ellington), the ranking Republican on the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee, has taken the opposite position and warned a panel organized by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) about rushing to pass a budget built on savings from state employee concessions before a labor concessions deal is in place.
Rep. Davis told CBIA’s Taxation and Finance Committee on February 24th in Hartford, “In 2011, we passed a budget that had labor concessions that never materialized. If we continue down that path, we’ll never get out of this hole, because that will be a continuous process where we’ll have to catch up all the time.”
Last week, Senate Republicans filed an amendment requiring the General Assembly to adopt a budget on or before May 5th.
“Rep. Davis and his Republican leaders should get on the same page. Either we need to rush to pass a budget built on assumptions of state employee concessions, or we should respect the process,” said Senator Looney. “For Republican leadership to stand in opposition for opposition’s sake on every budget-related issue is bad for Connecticut. Setting an arbitrary deadline without having an actual plan does not demonstrate the wisdom required to govern. We can work together, however both parties need to come to the table committed to a consistent process and willing to do the hard work.”