Much Work Remains To Address Deficit

State Rep. David Scribner (R-Brookfield, Bethel) today said much work remains to address the projected $300 million state deficit. The General Assembly met in a Special Session on Monday, November 24 to approve legislation to reduce the deficit by approximately $71 million.

Rep. Scribner voted in favor of a series of amendments to further reduce the deficit during the session that were rejected largely along party lines, including:

· Combining six commissions within the Capitol into one to save an estimated $4 million;

· Reducing by half the taxpayer-financed political campaigns to save $8 million;

· Offering state workers early retirement to save $130 million in the next fiscal year.

· Doubling the amount of spending cuts the governor can make without legislative approval

“It would be a sham to tell our constituents we took decisive action on Monday,” said Rep. Scribner. “The worst aspect to me is that the longer we delay actually dealing with this, the more it is going to cost taxpayers in Brookfield and Bethel. In the five weeks since Governor Rell presented her proposal to address the deficit, the figure has more than doubled. That situation will clearly only worsen and in unilaterally voting down each proposal to actually reduce spending more significantly, the majority party has shown how little interest they have in doing so. ”