Voices from the Capitol

HARTFORD — In an attempt to help families, senior citizens and restaurants, state legislators debated a panoply of tax proposals Monday as they try to find the right mix as they balance the state’s budget. With the state rolling up surpluses in recent years and another surplus of $1.3 billion p...

After New Jersey raised its credit to 35% last year, CT advocates want to go further. “My phone would be ringing off the hook.” Lawmakers are weighing competing proposals to change Connecticut’s tax credit program for the film and media industry as local producers, crew and actors say they’r...

LISTEN • 49:00 This hour on Disrupted, we’re taking a look at Connecticut fiscal policy. Connecticut State Treasurer Erick Russell is the first openly gay Black person to be elected to statewide office in the country. We talk to Russell about his take on Connecticut’s finances and th...

Connecticut legislators will look through a different lens Wednesday when Gov. Ned Lamont proposes the next state budget. For the first time in state history, the governor must demonstrate what that plan will do to address longstanding inequalities in education, health care, housing and economic opp...

When it comes to taxes, the question state officials are trying to answer this year isn’t whether to cut them. For Gov. Ned Lamont and the General Assembly, the larger issues are how deep to cut — and who should benefit. Even as the national economy flirts with a recession, state government cont...

Programs that produced billions in budget surpluses will be tested as pressure for big tax cuts grows Two days after winning reelection, Gov. Ned Lamont made no secret of his top priority for state finances. A controversial savings program that helped Connecticut end deficits, build reserves and whi...

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Sept. 26, 2022. Read more of CT Mirror’s “Best of 2022” stories here. In the five years since state officials legally tied their own hands when it comes to spending, Connecticut has amassed more than $3 billion in budget reserves and used...

With Connecticut soon to join 18 other states with a minimum wage linked to inflation or labor costs, Connecticut lawmakers have yet to signal whether they are considering any additional increase to the base rate for 2024 or beyond. Connecticut’s minimum wage is scheduled to rise a dollar next...

2017 legislative leaders Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, and Senate Republican leader Len Fasano in 2017, before they reached an agreement on a “volatility adjustment” that would be key to the state’s ...

Instead of focusing solely on renewing the child tax credit, Connecticut Voices for Children want the state to stop making additional payments to the underfunded state pension system because they say it increases income inequality. In its annual budget presentation, done this year via Zoom, the gro...