2017 Connecticut legislative session

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge-smaller use.png
State Senate • State House • Local judges • School boards • How to run for office
Flag of Connecticut.png


Connecticut General Assembly

Seal of Connecticut.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 4, 2017
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Structure
Members:  36 (Senate), 151 (House)
Length of term:   2 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art III, Section 1, Connecticut Constitution
Salary:   $28,000/year
Elections
Last election:  November 8, 2016
36 seats (Senate)
151 seats (House)
Next election:  November 6, 2018
36 seats (Senate)
151 seats (House)
Redistricting:  Connecticut Legislature has control with optional commission

During 2017, Ballotpedia tracked notable stories from the Connecticut General Assembly. If you know of any additional events that should be added to this page, please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Overview

In 2017, the legislature was in session from January 4, 2017, through June 7, 2017. The legislature held a veto session on July 24, 2017. The legislature held its first special session on July 31, 2017. The legislature held its second special session from September 14 to September 16. The legislature held another special session on October 3. State lawmakers held their fourth special session from October 25 to October 26. The legislature met again in special session from November 14 to November 15.

Partisan control

Connecticut was one of six Democratic state government trifectas in 2017. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas and divided governments, click here.

The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Connecticut General Assembly leading up to the 2017 legislative session.

Senate

Party As of November 2017
     Democratic Party 18
     Republican Party 18
Total 36

House

Party As of November 2017
     Democratic Party 79
     Republican Party 72
Total 151

Leadership in 2017

Connecticut State Senate

Connecticut House of Representatives

Budget

In 2017, Connecticut did not have a budget in place from July 1 through October 31. This 123-day period was the longest the state had ever gone without a budget in place. Read more about the 2017 budget process below.

Background

  • Gov. Dan Malloy (D) and members of the Connecticut General Assembly failed to reach a budget agreement during the 2017 legislative session, which adjourned on June 7.[1] According to The Connecticut Mirror, House and Senate Democrats were unable to agree on a budget plan ahead of the June 30 deadline, and there was disagreement between the parties. Key issues included tax increases, funding for social programs, and labor relations with the state employees union.[2]
    • On June 30, 2017, Malloy signed an executive order authorizing reduced amounts of government funding in the absence of a budget for fiscal year 2018. This order allowed Connecticut to avoid a shutdown of government services on July 1, the first day of the 2018 fiscal year. Funding for road repairs, state aid for school districts, and nonprofit organizations were reduced under Malloy's executive order.[3]
    • On August 18, 2017, Malloy revised his executive order to change the amounts of the Education Cost Sharing payments that go to school districts. Under his revisions, the 30 lowest-performing school districts saw no change to their cost-sharing payments, 54 districts received reduced payments, and 85 districts received no state payment. The order went into effect in October because no budget was approved.[4][5]
  • Malloy pushed for lawmakers to call a special session before June 30 and pass a 90-day temporary budget. Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz (D) declined the idea, saying that he and the House Democratic Caucus wanted to first see an outline of a two-year budget before agreeing to a temporary budget.[2] Leaders in the Connecticut State Senate, including President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D), were supportive of a 90-day temporary budget.[6]
  • The budget was not passed due to disagreements between Malloy and the General Assembly, disagreements among members of the Democratic caucus, and disagreements between Democratic and Republican legislators.[7] According to The Hartford Courant, House Democrats were divided between a faction trying to prevent cuts to social services and a faction trying to prevent tax increases.[8] When talking about the divisions within the Democratic caucus, State Rep. Vincent Candelora (R) said, "I think everybody in this building realizes a budget cannot pass without Republican support."[9]
  • As of July 6, 2017, Connecticut faced a $5.1 billion budget deficit during the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years. The spending provisions in Malloy's executive order resulted in a $2.1 billion spending reduction during the 2018 fiscal year.[1] On July 31, the General Assembly passed a labor concessions deal negotiated with state employees unions that was designed to save $1.57 billion in fiscal years 2018 and 2019. With the concessions deal approved, the budget deficit decreased from $5.1 billion to $3.5 billion.[10]

Timeline of key events

  • On October 31, Gov. Malloy signed most of the budget that passed on October 26. He vetoed a portion of it dealing with the state's hospital tax, also called a provider fee. The tax was increased from six percent to eight percent in the budget, although the hospitals would have received millions in Medicaid funding from the federal government due to the tax increase. According to Malloy, the wording of the hospital tax contained issues and would have cost the state $1 billion. Malloy said, "I strongly urge my colleagues in the General Assembly to convene as soon as possible to pass a legal alternative to the illegal hospital tax and troublesome supplemental payment and rate language presented in the bill."[11]
    • With Malloy's signature, Connecticut ended a 123-day period without a budget. This was the longest period of the time the state had ever went without a budget. The second-longest period was in 1991 when legislators debated whether to create a state income tax.[11]
    • On November 15, the Connecticut House voted 123-12 to approve a bill that proponents said fixed flaws in the state budget signed on October 31, including a provision dealing with the state's hospital tax. The Connecticut Senate voted 34-0 on November 14 to pass the bill. Gov. Malloy said he would sign the bill into law. Opponents of the budget fix said that it would require towns to assume $8.5 million in costs from a renters’ rebate program and that the costs would not be equitably distributed based on a community's income level.[12][13]
  • On October 26 at around 2:00 AM ET, the Connecticut State Senate passed a budget deal by a 33-3 vote.[14] Later that day, the Connecticut House passed the budget by a 126-23 vote. Both margins were sufficient to override a gubernatorial veto.[15] After the budget passed, Kelly Donnelly, Gov. Malloy's communications director, said that the budget contained an error related to the tax on hospitals that would cost the state $1 billion. Legislative leaders in the state House said that the chamber would reconvene the following week if an issue in the budget needed to be addressed.[16]
  • Here are some of the details of the budget that was agreed to on October 26:[14]
    • Revenue: The budget deal made no changes to Connecticut’s sales or income taxes. It increased the cigarette tax, put a $10 surcharge on motor vehicle registrations, and required a $0.25 fee for Uber and Lyft rides. It also required teachers to contribute one percentage point more toward their pensions and increased the hospital provider fee from six percent to eight percent (although the tax the hospitals pay was reimbursed by the federal government in Medicaid funding).
    • Spending: The budget included up to $40 million to help the city of Hartford avoid bankruptcy. It also restored most of the education and municipal funding that was reduced by the executive order Gov. Malloy used to fund government programs during the stalemate. For the 2018 fiscal year, 136 of 169 municipalities had their education funding decreased by five percent. For the 2019 fiscal year, 88 municipalities had the same amount or less education funding than they did in 2017, while 81 had an increase in funding compared to 2017. The budget included $65 million in cuts per year for the University of Connecticut and it scaled back several tax credits, including the property tax credit and the earned income tax credit. Moreover, it put caps on spending and borrowing by the state and required the state legislature to vote on all state employee union contracts.
  • On October 23, Republican and Democratic leaders announced that they had agreed to the specifics of a budget deal. Senate Republican Minority Leader Leonard Fasano said the deal included some of his party’s priorities such as a cap on spending and borrowing and the establishment of an independent panel to recommend changes to the state’s pension program. The deal also increased the taxes on cigarettes and decreased taxes for Social Security and pension recipients.[17]
  • On October 18, Republican and Democratic legislative leaders announced that they had reached an agreement on the major provisions of a $40 billion two-year budget plan. The deal was negotiated without input from Gov. Malloy.[18]
  • On October 13, Standard & Poor's notified Connecticut that it was changing its outlook for the state's general obligation bonds from stable to negative.[19] On October 16, Moody's Investor Service announced that it was considering credit downgrades for 26 Connecticut municipalities and three regional school districts, all of which saw funding reductions as a result of the budget stalemate. Twenty-five other municipalities and three other regional school districts were assigned negative outlooks.[20][21]
  • On October 3, the Connecticut House chose not to vote on a veto override of the Republican budget plan that passed on September 16.[22]
  • On October 1, education payments to cities and towns were reduced or eliminated under an executive order signed by Gov. Malloy. The funding cuts went into effect because a budget had not been agreed to.[23][24] On October 11, the Connecticut Education Association—the state’s largest teachers’ union—filed a lawsuit claiming that education cuts would prevent schools from providing an adequate education for students. Connecticut’s school funding had previously been challenged in the courts for being too low.[25][26]
  • On September 28, Gov. Malloy vetoed the Republican budget plan that passed on September 16. Senate Republican Minority Leader Fasano called for the General Assembly to override the veto. A veto override requires 101 votes in the state House and 24 votes in the state Senate.[27]
  • On September 16, the Connecticut General Assembly approved a budget plan drawn up by Republican legislators. The budget included $40.7 billion in spending over the FY2018-2019 biennium. Gov. Malloy said he would veto the budget because of its spending reductions for higher education and other state programs. The budget also included changes to relations with state employees labor unions.[28]
    • The budget passed due to defections from Democrats in both chambers who joined with the Republican minority. Their defections came after Malloy and Democratic legislators had apparently reached an agreement on September 14. Their budget plan included new taxes on cell phone bills, vacation homes, hospitals, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and hotel rooms.[29] The Democratic legislators who voted for the Republican plan said the reason they defected was because of tax increases in the Democratic plan.
    • The Connecticut House passed the budget on September 16 at around 3:00 AM EST by a 77-73 vote. Democratic Reps. Pat Boyd, Lonnie Reed, Daniel S. Rovero, John Hampton, and Kim Rose defected from their party.[30]
    • The Connecticut Senate passed the budget on September 15 by a 21-18 vote. Democratic Sens. Paul Doyle, Gayle Slossberg, and Joan Hartley defected from their party. Their defections were unexpected and were not announced prior to a floor speech by Doyle where he said he would vote for the Republican plan.[31]

Labor relations

  • On July 31, the Connecticut General Assembly passed a labor concessions deal that was negotiated with state employees unions. The concessions deal was designed to save $1.57 billion in the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years. The Connecticut State Senate passed the deal on July 31. The chamber vote split 18-18 with all Democrats in favor and all Republicans opposed. Lieutenant Gov. Nancy Wyman (D) cast a tie-breaking vote to pass the deal.[32] The Connecticut House passed the deal on July 24 by a 78-72 vote, with all Republicans and Democrat John Hampton opposed.[33]
  • The concessions package was announced in June 2017 by Gov. Malloy and state employee union leaders. It amended the existing labor agreement by extending its end date from 2022 to 2027 and achieving $1.57 billion in savings in the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years. The provisions in the agreement that increased savings included a three-year wage freeze for some state employees and increased contributions for health and pension benefits.[2] On July 18, unions announced that rank-and-file members approved the concessions package by a margin of 83 percent to 17 percent. Concessions packages can be approved by the General Assembly, although it is not required for them to take effect. If a concessions deal is not approved by the General Assembly, it goes into effect the following year.[34][35][36]
  • According to The Hartford Courant, Republican legislators proposed a plan with $2 billion in savings for the state in the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years.[34] Republican leaders expressed interest in changes to collective bargaining and other ways that state employees were compensated. House Republican minority leader Themis Klarides said that the state should end collective bargaining and instead allow the General Assembly to craft wages and benefits for state employees.[37] Senate Republican minority leader Leonard Fasano said that the state would save money by changing aspects of collective bargaining, eliminating two state holidays, and prohibiting meal and clothing allowances.[38]
  • Compensation levels for members of state employee labor unions in Connecticut, including wages, pensions, and health benefits, were reached through collective bargaining. As of January 2017, about two-thirds of government workers in Connecticut, including teachers, professors, and prison guards, belonged to a labor union.[39]

Budget process

The state operates on a biennial budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:[40]

  1. Budget instructions are sent to state agencies in July.
  2. State agencies submit their budget requests to the governor in September.
  3. The governor submits his or her proposed budget to the state legislature in February.
  4. The legislature adopts a budget in May or June. A simple majority is required to pass a budget. The fiscal year begins on July 1.

Connecticut is one of 44 states in which the governor has line item veto authority.[40][41]

The governor is legally required to submit a balanced budget. Likewise, the legislature must adopt a balanced budget.[40]

See also

Elections Connecticut State Government State Legislatures State Politics
Ballotpedia Elections Badge-VOTE-no shadow-Square.jpg
Connecticut State Flag-Close Up.jpg
State Houses-Tile image.png
State Courts-Tile image.png

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wall Street Journal, "Connecticut Budget Deal Unlikely Before July 18, Governor Says," July 5, 2017
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Connecticut Mirror, "House, Senate Democrats unable to agree on provisional budget," June 27, 2017
  3. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "Budget Stalemate Causes Pain For Cities And Towns," July 30, 2017
  4. ↑ The Hartford Courant, Malloy's New State Education Aid Plan Cuts Or Eliminates Funding To 139 Municipalities," August 18, 2017
  5. ↑ The Connecticut Mirror, "State school aid: How would your town fare under Malloy’s plan?" August 18, 2017
  6. ↑ CT News Junkie, "General Assembly Fails To Convene To Pass 90-Day Budget," June 29, 2017
  7. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "Malloy Says Budget Could Be Delayed Until Fall," July 26, 2017
  8. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "Malloy Urges House Leaders To Approve Temporary Budget Plan As Deadline Looms," June 28, 2017
  9. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "As House Republicans Present Budget Plans, Democrats Hopeful Of Deal By Late July," July 11, 2017
  10. ↑ CT News Junkie, "Up Next? A $3.5 Billion Budget Deficit," August 1, 2017
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Hartford Courant, "With Deadline Looming, Malloy Signs Portions of the Budget Bill," October 31, 2017
  12. ↑ The Connecticut Mirror, "House gives final approval to CT budget fix," November 15, 2017
  13. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "Connecticut State Senate Approves Changes To State Budget," November 14, 2017
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 The Hartford Courant, "Senate Overwhelmingly Backs Bipartisan State Budget, House Votes Later Thursday," October 26, 2017
  15. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "House Approves Bipartisan Budget With Veto-Proof Majority," October 26, 2017
  16. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "Gov. Malloy Says Newly-Adopted State Budget Contains $1 Billion Error," October 26, 2017
  17. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "Connecticut Legislators Announce Another Budget Deal That General Assembly May Vote on Wednesday," October 24, 2017
  18. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "Republicans, Democrats Agree On Compromise Budget, But Malloy Hasn't Seen It," October 18, 2017
  19. ↑ CT News Junkie, "Wall Street Sends Connecticut A Warning," October 13, 2017
  20. ↑ CT News Junkie, "Wall Street Issues Connecticut Another Warning," October 16, 2017
  21. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "Moody's: State Budget Crisis Threatens Financial Health Of Dozens Of Connecticut Municipalities," October 16, 2017
  22. ↑ U.S. News and World Report, "House Chooses Not to Bring Budget Veto Override to a Vote," October 3, 2017
  23. ↑ NBC Connecticut, "Schools Bracing for October 1 After Budget Vetoed," September 29, 2017
  24. ↑ Reuters, "Connecticut's deep spending cuts in effect as new deadline passes," October 1, 2017
  25. ↑ Fox Business, "Connecticut's Biggest Teachers Union Sues State Over Spending Cuts," October 11, 2017
  26. ↑ Education Law Center, "Connecticut," accessed October 12, 2017
  27. ↑ The Connecticut Mirror, "Malloy vetoes budget, seeks ‘honest dialogue’," September 28, 2017
  28. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "Both House and Senate Approve GOP Budget; Malloy Vows Veto," September 16, 2017
  29. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "Senate Votes In Favor Of Republican Budget Proposal, Bill Sent To House," September 15, 2017
  30. ↑ CT News Junkie, "With 5 More Democrat Votes, House Forwards GOP Budget to Malloy; Veto Expected," September 16, 2017
  31. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "Connecticut At A Turning Point As Republicans Gain Upper Hand In Budget Crisis," September 17, 2017
  32. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "Wyman Casts Tiebreaking Vote To Approve Union Concessions Deal," July 31, 2017
  33. ↑ The Hartford Courant, "House Narrowly Approves State Worker Labor Concessions," July 24, 2017
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 The Hartford Courant, "Employee Unions Endorse Concession Deal by Huge Margin, 83 to 17 Percent," July 18, 2017
  35. ↑ CT News Junkie, "Unions Ratify Labor Savings, General Assembly Up Next," July 18, 2017
  36. ↑ CT News Junkie, "Wage Contracts Released To Republicans," July 19, 2017
  37. ↑ CT News Junkie, "Malloy Says Lawmakers Need To ‘Check Their Egos At the Door’," July 17, 2017
  38. ↑ CT News Junkie, "Down To The Wire, Republican Leader’s Request For Contracts Is Ignored," July 18, 2017
  39. ↑ The Hartford Courant "Connecticut 4th Most Unionized State," January 27, 2017
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 National Association of State Budget Officers, "Budget Processes in the States, Spring 2021," accessed January 24, 2023
  41. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Separation of Powers: Executive Veto Powers," accessed January 26, 2024
v • e
State legislatures
Legislatures
Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S)
SLP badge.png
2025
2024
2023
Historical elections
2022 •  2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000
Features of
state legislatures
State senates
State houses
Leadership positions
Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=2017_Connecticut_legislative_session&oldid=8586596"