Rep. Hamzy Votes for ‘No Tax Increase’ Deficit Mitigation Plan

The deficit mitigation plan approved by the state House of Representatives Wednesday will eliminate a projected $1.2 billion deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30th without raising taxes and should not aggravate the recession in Connecticut that is eroding family incomes, state Representative William A. Hamzy said today.
“Although the plan that passed tonight does not go as far as we would have liked, it does not increase taxes and it does not cut state aid to cities and towns,” said Representative Hamzy, R-78th District. “I would have preferred a bill that incorporated more of the proposals we have been making for several months to streamline state government and reform or eliminate failed or underperforming state programs. If more of those kinds of proposals had been included in the package, they would have resulted in meaningful spending reductions that would help eliminate the $8 billion deficit that has been projected for the next two fiscal years.”
“However, it did include $168 million in savings that we proposed in the alternative deficit mitigation plan we developed. We also succeeded in convincing the majority Democrats to remove cuts in special education aid and funding for local bridge repairs that had been included in an earlier version of the package. If those cuts had been allowed to stand, they would have made it even more difficult for hard-pressed municipalities like Bristol and Plymouth to balance their budgets and could have led to local property tax hikes,” Representative Hamzy said.
“On balance, the budget adjustments that will enable us to close this year’s deficit without tax increases, and other positive features such as a change in prescription drug coverage that will save about 30,000 Connecticut seniors an average of $1,200 a year on prescription drug costs, while saving the state money, outweighed some of the less desirable features that were left in this bill,” Representative Hamzy said.
“Under the circumstances, this package was the best we could do. While it is far from perfect, it at least offers some hope that the bipartisanship that enabled us to reach agreement on this compromise measure will continue when we have to make the tougher choices that will be necessary to close the $8 billion deficit projected for the next two years. That is why I ended up voting for it,” Representative Hamzy said.