Doug McCrory

Sen. Mccrory Votes for State Budget with Half a Billion Dollars in Tax Cuts, Investments in Child Care, Mental Health, Social Services and More

State Senator Doug McCrory (D-Hartford, Bloomfield and Windsor) supported final passage of a modified second year of the two-year state budget that will bring Connecticut’s 3.5 million residents a half-billion dollars in tax savings while investing hundreds of millions of other dollars in new childcare, mental health, social service, job creation and other new state programs.

“When the 2022 legislative session began, I made a promise to the people that I serve to focus on issues affecting their pocketbooks. I’m proud to have kept that promise by voting for a state budget that delivers tax cuts and conducts significant investments that will make a difference in our communities,” said Sen. McCrory. “One of the most transformative investments, we can make as a state is in our young people. This budget will strengthen the vital infrastructure – including child care, schools, and mental health support services – needed to support a young person’s healthy development and well-being.”

With an influx of federal aid, and with Connecticut tax revenues soaring due to a rebounding state economy, strong job growth and rising incomes, the second year of the biennial state budget was reconfigured to increase state spending in the coming year by 6.5% to $24.2 billion.

The budget includes historic tax cuts for Connecticut’s citizens as well as major new investments in some of the human needs that were highlighted by the past two years of the deadly and disruptive COVID-19 pandemic.

The budget is still under the state-mandated spending cap, has maxed out our state Rainy Day Fund at $3.3 billion, and makes a massive, unprecedented $3.5 billion payment toward Connecticut’s 70 years of built-up pension debt.

The 2nd Senate District consisting of Hartford, Bloomfield, and Windsor will receive in fiscal year 2023 an increase of almost $1.5 million in ECS funding.

Sen. McCrory, Senate Chair of the Education Committee and a life-long educator, is proud of the numerous investments in organizations supporting residents of the 2nd Senate District. Over $5.5 million through the budget will be distributed among organizations including:

• Blue Hills Civic Association; Upper Albany Neighborhood Collaborative; the Brother Carl Hardrick Institute for Violence Prevention; Bloomfield Social and Youth Services; Windsor Junior Warriors; Bloomfield Raiders Youth Football; Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford; Hartford Communities that Care; Minority Construction Council, Inc; IMHOTEP CT National Medical Association Society; MPact Mentoring, Inc; Hartford Economic Development Corporation; Hartford YMCA; Greater Hartford YMCA; Legacy Foundation of Hartford; Hartford Friendship Camp; Good Works, Inc; C.U.R.E.T. Center for Urban Research, Education & Training; Hartford Knights; and Girls for Technology

Some of the $600 million in tax cuts that will help Connecticut residents include:

• Creates a new $250-per-child credit against the state income tax for low- and middle-income households, up to a maximum of $750, for single filers with earnings less than $100,000 per year and couples making less than $200,000. This saves Connecticut families $125 million
• A cap on the tax rate charged by cities and towns on motor vehicles will reduce car taxes by $100 million for residents in about 45% of Connecticut municipalities, including Hartford, Bloomfield and Windsor
• Increase the maximum property tax credit exemption from $200 to $300, saving Connecticut families $60 million per year this year and into the future
• Increasing the state Earned Income Tax Credit, a program created by former President Ronald Reagan and used by 186,000 Connecticut residents living in every town in the state. The increased tax deduction will save Connecticut families $49 million a year
• Accelerating the phase-out of taxes of certain pension and annuity income, saving Connecticut residents nearly $43 million
• The budget even eliminates the tax on movie theatre tickets, saving movie-goers $2.5 million this year

On the spending side, the budget makes major investments in the public services Connecticut residents demanded following two years of the deadly and disruptive COVID-19 pandemic: the mental health crisis impacting our children, expanded services for people with substance-use disorders, better wages for people working in our non-profits and as personal care attendants, increased funds to support survivors of domestic violence, more money for community college tuition, job-training programs, and a historic investment in child care services so parents can get back into the workplace.

Some of the hundreds of millions of new dollars that being spent on Connecticut residents include:

• $10 million for mental health services at School-Based Health Centers
• $30 million for increased 24/7 mobile crisis services
• $72 million for private-sector non-profit pay raises
• $23 million for personal care attendants
• $75 million to update school air conditioning and heating systems
• $70 million for childcare industry wage enhancements
• $15 million to renovate and construct early childhood facilities
• $1 million for minority teacher scholarships
• $2.5 million to combat gun violence
• $2.8 million for survivors of domestic violence
• $50 million for affordable housing
• $8 million to increase access to town-run summer camps
• $3 million for senior citizens’ adult day programs and Meals on Meals
• $4 million for Alzheimer’s respite care programs

To view more details and analysis of the budget, please visit: https://cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&which_year=2022&bill_num=5506