After legislative committees failed to fully close a projected $922 million deficit for next year, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Tuesday proposed a mix of cuts and layoffs he said would close the gap without a tax increase.
Compared to his original budget proposal in February, Malloy cut an addition $347 million from general fund appropriation.
Many of the cuts were from social services and health care, as well as revenue sharing with municipalities.
The $17.8 billion general fund proposal calls for a reduction in the state’s municipal revenue sharing account of $101 million, or a cut of 41 percent.
The Department of Social Services would see a $77 million cut, much of it in the Medicaid program. That includes the elimination of nearly $50 million in inpatient supplemental funding and the closure of a DSS office in Torrington, as well as the elimination of 26 jobs there.
Malloy is also proposing to eliminate the Commission on Aging, which would have seen $563,000 under the governor’s original budget proposal two months ago.
There would be $11 million in savings from the Judicial Department consolidating detention center operations to Hartford, which would mean 130 lost jobs in Bridgeport.
Non-union state employees would also be required to increase the portion of their health insurance premiums they pay, to 20 percent, savings $5 million.
The proposal would also eliminate $15 million for tourism and arts funding, which had already been reduced in Malloy’s original proposal.
Click here to read the governor’s revised budget proposal.
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