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06/10/2019 12:00 AMState Representative Christine Palm (D-26) has just wrapped up her first legislative year with the close of the legislative session on June 5. Looking back, she said she’s learned a lot and was able to see “a lot of wins.”
“I am focusing on the positives,” Palm told the Courier the day after the legislative session closed and she was back to sleeping in her own bed instead of on a makeshift blow up mattress in her Hartford office.
“There were a lot of late night hours and it was all very collegiate,” said Palm, who likened the experience over the last couple of weeks to an intellectual frat party with everyone crashing on couches and blow-up mattress because they were working non-stop. “There was a lot of passion for the work being done, and we were all working around the clock. Whether we agreed or not, we were all there to do the right thing by the state.”
A high point for Palm was her climate change education bill, which passed the house. Though it was never called in the Senate, Palm is taking it as a positive.
“It’s hard for a freshman legislature to get a bill passed, so the fact that it went as far as did is something I am very proud of,” she said. “I’m just going to stay at it and work even harder next session.”
She explained that because the bill was deemed “talker” it was most likely not called in the Senate because discussion about it would have chewed up too much time.
“I think the biggest thing that was revealed is that there is a deep vein of climate change denial and it broke open the resistance in acknowledging that climate change is man-made,” she said. “We definitely have our work cut out for us, but the fact that the bill got through the first chamber this time around will give it a better shot next year.”
“This was progress,” said Palm with a smile. “There were a lot of wins this year and overall I think we got a lot accomplished. Some senior voices said this was the most productive session we have had in recent history.”
She pointed out some positives such as the increase in the rainy day fund, the passing of the increase in minimum wage, as well as the paid family leave program and “monumental positive changes for higher education with the establishment of debt-free community college for all Connecticut residents and increases funding for the University of Connecticut by $9.7 million in 2020 and $20.6 million in 2021.
“Although I am exhausted, I am energized by what we did accomplish and what we need to do next. I’m ready now, to be back at it again next February,” said Palm. “This whole experience has been invigorating and educational.”
One of the things of which she’s most proud is that fact that she was contacted by a legislator in Colorado who was interest in her climate change education bill and asked her for the language so they could propose the same bill in that state.
“That’s enormous! It’s nice to know that people across the country are looking at this,” said Palm. “I want to be part of protecting our earth.”
As for the most-discussed vote of the session, she said the biennial state budget passed was “fiscally responsible and well within the spending cap. This budget boosts our investment in the state’s future through workforce development and job creation, averts burdening municipalities with the teachers’ pension liability, retains school ECS funding, continues cuts to income taxes for seniors on social security and pensions, protects our environment, does not raise tax rates, and significantly builds the Rainy Day Fund to an unprecedented level.”
“No budget is ever perfect, and while I am disappointed in a few aspects of the plan, most notably the fact that we did not ask the super-wealthy to pay their fair share, this failing should not undermine all the accomplishments it contains.”
The full budget can be accessed through the General Assembly website www.cga.ct.gov.
Highlights of the Budget at a Glance
• Maintains the same sales tax rate, income tax rates, and capital gains tax rate as the bipartisan budget
• Increases education funding as promised in the bipartisan education funding formula
• Adheres to the spending cap, expenditure cap, bonding cap, and volatility cap from the bipartisan budget
• Continues our commitment to fund support for the developmentally disabled, including emergency placements and employment and day services
• Continues to bolster the Rainy Day fund which will now have over $2.6 billion as promised in the bipartisan budget
Investing in Job Creation and Workforce Development
• Funds several job creation and workforce development programs, including:
• Jobs Funnel Programs (Over $1 million each year)
• Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative ($2 million each year)
• Healthcare Apprenticeship Initiative ($500,000 each year)
• Connecticut’s Youth Employment Program ($5 million each year)
• Cradle to Career ($100,000 each year)
• Pilot Re-Entry Program ($800,000 each year)
• Veteran Machinists Training ($250,000 each year)
Holding the Line on Taxes
• No increase in the sales tax rate
• Sales tax modernized to cover digital downloads, dry-cleaning, parking, and interior design
• No increase in the income tax rate
• No increase in the capital gains tax rate
• Cuts income taxes for seniors on social security and pensions
• Eliminates the business entity tax to help new companies start-up and remove a nuisance tax on all businesses
Fiscal Responsibility
• Over $2.6 billion in the “Rainy Day” fund
• Only 1.7% growth in state spending in 2020
• Only 0.3% growth in non-fixed cost state spending in 2020
• Agreement with Connecticut’s hospitals to avoid a potential $4 billion liability to the state
• 1,000 fewer Connecticut state employee positions
Funding Our Pensions and Paying Down Our Debt
• Over $1.7 billion toward the state’s pension costs
• Over $1.5 billion goes toward paying down last generation’s unfunded pensions
• Only $229 million or 13% is for current employees in 2020 and $220 million in 2021
• Funds 100% of pensions and benefits for current state employees and teachers
Advancing Connecticut’s Top Tier K-12 Education
• Increases funding for K-12 education by tens of millions of dollars over 2019 levels
• $42 million education funding increase in 2020
• $80 million education funding increase in 2021
• Fully funds the state education formula as required under the ten year phase-in adopted by the bipartisan budget in 2017
Monumental Positive Changes for Higher Education
• Establishes debt-free community college for all Connecticut residents
• Increases funding for UConn by $9.7 million in 2020 and $20.6 million in 2021
Supporting Connecticut Families
• Includes funding to support the implementation of an increase in the minimum wage
• Funds the creation of a Paid Family Medical Leave program
Safeguarding Seniors
• Increases funding for nursing home workers, avoiding a potentially dangerous statewide strike of workers ($11 million more in 2020 and $18.5 million more in 2021)
• Provides funding for the Center for Medicare Advocacy ($300K in each year)
• Increases funding for Meals on Wheels ($475K in each year)
Other Investments
• Fully funds Passport to the Parks program
• Includes funding for Juvenile Justice ($11.7 M in FY 20 and $10.2 M in FY 21)
• Funds services for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities including employment and day services for new high school graduates ($6.3 M in FY 20 and $14.6 M in FY 21) as well as individuals aging out of the Department of Children and Families and residential schools ($3 M in FY 20 and $5.7 M in FY 21)
• Preserves funding for mental health and substance abuse grants ($1.6 M in each year)
• Provides funding for caseload growth in the Birth to Three program ($1.4 M in FY 20 and $2 M in FY 21)
• Includes funding for a new State Trooper Class in FY 20
• Provides $500,000 each year in new funding for the Connecticut Diaper Bank
• Funds the Foreclosure Mediation Program $1.8 M in FY 20 and $2 M in FY 21.