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Connecticut Senate passes $55.8 billion biennial budget after extended floor debate
Summary
After nearly seven hours of floor debate and multiple roll‑call votes, the Connecticut Senate approved House Bill 7287, the state’s $27.1 billion (FY26) / $28.6 billion (FY27) biennial budget. Sponsors said it expands child care and special education funding while holding a reserve for potential federal cuts.
The Connecticut Senate approved the two‑year state budget on June 3, sending to the governor a spending plan intended to expand child care, boost special‑education funding and increase support for health‑care providers.
Senator Joan Austin, a co‑chair of the Appropriations Committee, summarized the bill on the floor as the state’s “biennial budget,” telling colleagues it includes an ‘‘investable trust’’ to sustain child‑care seats and what she called “historic new funding for special education” and federally qualified health centers. “We have included an investable trust to provide sustainable funding for child care programs,” Austin said, urging passage.
Senators who opposed the measure described it as a return to earlier spending habits and said it weakens fiscal guardrails put in place in 2017. Senator Richard Fazio, the finance ranking member, led an amendment asking the Office of Fiscal Analysis to model longer‑term impacts of policy changes on pensions and debt; that amendment failed on a roll call. Opponents also criticized what they called tax and accounting maneuvers that, they said, reduce the amount of one‑time revenue set aside for debt paydown.
Lawmakers who defended the plan said the package balances immediate needs and future risk, and that it is written to leave funds available should the federal government cut programs that Connecticut currently relies on. Senator Austin and other sponsors pointed to specific investments: a new child‑care endowment funded from surplus revenues to expand subsidized seats; an increase in state support for special‑education excess costs; additional dollars for nursing‑home and private‑provider rate increases; and an expansion of the state Earned Income Tax Credit bonus for families with dependents.
The budget also carries health‑care provisions and a hospital provider tax structure that leaders said they would continue to negotiate with hospital systems to avoid unintended harm to providers. On the floor, Senator Austin noted the first year of the biennium would operate under current hospital contracts while the second year may reflect negotiated adjustments.
Opponents repeatedly flagged changes to the state’s fiscal guardrails — notably adjustments to the volatility cap and how one‑time revenues are used — and argued the moves make future tax increases more likely. Proponents replied the budget is balanced, preserves a rainy‑day reserve and invests in long‑standing priorities ranging from municipal aid to workforce training.
The bill cleared the Senate on a recorded vote after multiple amendment votes and was placed on the consent calendar with related property conveyances and technical bills. The final roll call and clerk’s announcement in the transcript record the bill’s passage and next procedural steps.
What happens next: The bill goes to the governor for signature. Legislative leaders said they would continue talks with hospitals and other stakeholders about implementation and expected to revisit any unanticipated federal funding cuts when those details become clearer.
