Sen. Paul Honig, D-Harwinton, voted Tuesday to approve the 2026-27 biennial state budget. The budget dedicates significant resources to education and childcare, invests in families through an increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit and provides a total of $5.2 million in additional state aid to towns and cities in the 8th Senate District.
“This budget provides real support to the towns and families of the 8th District,” Senator Honig said. “I’m proud that my efforts have helped secure more state funding for our local communities, especially in areas like education, childcare, and municipal aid. These investments will ease pressure on town budgets and give working families the tools they need to thrive.”
The balanced $56.16 billion two-year budget, which passed the Senate 25-11, does not increase taxes, reduces state costs and maintains fiscal responsibility in addition to making needed investments in Connecticut communities. It grows at a 5.4% rate in the 2026 fiscal year and 5.5% in the 2027 fiscal year.
The budget invests $200 million in early childcare education, expanding access to Early Start CT childcare programs at affordable rates for families and allowing children receive high quality childcare from birth to five years old, also funding a health care subsidy for care providers.
Important provisions of the new budget include:
-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 Rainy Day 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
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