We made it to the final day of session, and that means the final day of 7 Days, 7 Bills! It's been great to walk you through some of the great legislation passed this year, and I look forward to keeping you up to date on the work I do for our district.
The final bill I want to highlight is HB 5523, a bipartisan spending stabilization plan that will ensure our two-year state budget's historic tax cuts are protected, and we invest in the priorities that matter to you.
Remember, the two-year budget includes:
The Largest Income Tax Cut in State History
Investments in Public Education
New supports for the IDD community
Expansion of Debt-Free Community College
A Strong and Vibrant Safety Net of Programs
We used remaining federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to provide support to some important priorities such as:
Higher Education - $160 million
Early Childcare - $21.8 million
Mental Health - $24 million
Nonprofits - $50 million
I’m also excited to share that together with my Children’s Committee Co-Chair, as well as other Reps and Senators, we rallied to formulate a plan to feed our reduced-lunch students for FREE next school year, providing extra help to children and families who need it most. In my district, that breaks down to:
162 Cheshire children!
466 Hamden children!
318 Wallingford children!
Additionally, the federal ARPA funding includes $350,000 allocated to rehab the Cheshire Health District building, eliminating that burden from local taxpayers.
All that PLUS we are putting more than a billion dollars into the state's Rainy Day Fund andpaying down pension debt!
I am proud to report that Connecticut is set up to succeed financially in the present as well as the future.
