CT legislature voting Monday on tax cuts, spending plans in two-year, $51.1 billion budget

State legislators are expected to vote Monday on a two-year, $51.1 billion budget that provides the largest state income tax cut in Connecticut history and funds hundreds of programs across the state.

Lawmakers and lobbyists were still pouring through the massive, 832-page document that has another 258 pages of analysis by nonpartisan legislative employees to explain various provisions.

The bill includes Gov. Ned Lamont’s signature income tax cut that he has touted for months to help the middle class. The 5% rate would be reduced to 4.5%, which represents a 10% rate cut. The current 3% rate would be reduced to 2%, which amounts to a 33% cut in the amount of taxes paid. The rate cuts would show up automatically in paychecks, rather than having taxpayers fill out any forms or applications.

The state would spend $25.1 billion in the fiscal year starting July 1 and $26 billion in the following year. The proposed spending is below the state’s mandated spending cap, which was a key provision that Lamont demanded in the closed-door talks.

In a move to help working families, the earned income tax credit would be 41% of the federal credit. The state had no credit at all until 2011, and families who met the qualifications received only the federal credit. Now, the credit would be boosted to the highest level in state history.

For months, legislators had been battling over the best way to help working families. The enhanced federal child tax credit of $3,600, which was boosted for one year during the coronavirus pandemic, has been dropped back to its original level of $2,000 per child. The credit could fall further to $1,000 when former President Donald Trump’s tax cuts expire in 2025.

Republicans received the final document at about 10 p.m. Sunday night and were still reading it as the state House of Representatives was debating other bills Monday.

Early voting

Legislators are providing $1.8 million to the Secretary of the State’s office to implement early voting, which would allow residents to cast ballots for 14 days before the traditional Election Day. Cities and towns would receive an additional $1.3 million to fund one polling place per town, which would usually be at town hall.

Advocates argued that the towns would need substantial funding to keep the polls open for 14 days before the general election in November.

Based on the calendar, early voting would not start until April 1, 2024, before the Republican presidential primary that is currently scheduled for April 30, 2024.

Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas, the state’s chief elections officer, says the funding falls short.

“You get the elections that you pay for, and this budget shortchanges Connecticut’s voters, pushes the burden of paying for early voting on to our towns, and removes funding to educate Connecticut’s citizens of how they can register and vote to participate in our democracy,” Thomas said. “I’ve said from the beginning of this process that the state shouldn’t pass early voting if we weren’t willing to pay for it, and that is, unfortunately, exactly the path the legislature has chosen. This budget only funds roughly half of the bare minimum that municipalities will need to successfully implement early voting. We will continue to advocate for additional funding next fiscal year. We can’t afford to underfund our elections. We can’t afford to get this wrong.”

School meals 

School meals has been an issue after a large influx of federal money during the coronavirus pandemic allowed free lunch and breakfast in all public schools. Since then, advocates have been trying to continue the 100% availability as the one-time federal money was never intended to be permanent.

“We appreciate that the budget agreement recognizes the financial pressures facing families across Connecticut with $16 million to provide more school meals,” said Lucy Nolan, a longtime advocate who serves as policy director for End Hunger CT! and representative of the School Meals 4 All CT coalition. “We remain concerned that language requiring families to apply for that support will negatively impact the goal of equal treatment of all kids in the cafeteria, and we will continue to advocate for the least complicated access.”

Numerous proposals were discarded and do not appear in the final budget.

Despite requests by both Democrats and Republicans, there are no child tax credits or deductions. Lamont had not included those ideas in his plan — saying that the best way to deliver tax relief is a broad-based income tax cut that would reach the highest amount of taxpayers possible.

Republicans have traditionally opposed the tax deduction, saying they wanted the Connecticut income tax to be as simple as possible and not include the myriad of deductions available at the federal level. But Republicans this year proposed a $2,000 deduction, saying that it would help struggling families.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com.