Passage of the budget: This session’s grand finale
June 9, 2021As we approach the end of our 2021 Regular Legislative Session, I couldn’t be prouder of the work we have been able to accomplish as we all learned new and unprecedented ways to stay connected with each of you.
I am grateful for your input, participation and recommendations throughout the last few months as we worked together on issues and priorities that you care about and that I adopted as my own.
This session, we passed a $46.4 billion biennium budget with a $2.3 billion surplus that is strong on taxes, offers relief from the ravages of COVID-19, helps jumpstart our economy, and invests in our cities and towns, nonprofits and working families.
We also kept our commitment to funding local schools – ensuring we give towns predictability by honoring our formula for state grants, and ensuring no town receives less than it got the year before.
- Rejects tax hikes on gasoline, insurance policies and large Connecticut home properties
- Includes tax relief for restaurants and allows certain businesses to keep 13.6% of the 7.35% sales tax they collect on sales of meals and beverages for FY 22
- Increases the state's earned income tax credit to 30.5% of the federal credit
- Eliminates the admissions tax as of July 1, 2021
- Maintains our historic balance in the state's $3.5 billion Rainy-Day Fund
- Increases town aid and fairly funds Education Cost Sharing (ECS)
- Expands healthcare for 40,000 residents and families
- Supports small businesses and minority-owned businesses
- Expands workforce training so that we can get people back to work
- Fully funds debt-free community college
- Includes relief for arts, culture and tourism
As we recover emotionally and financially from the pandemic, adopt a balanced state budget, and move forward with a wide variety of accomplishments this session, I am optimistic that Connecticut is coming back stronger than ever before.