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Connecticut Senate passes $2025 deficiency bill including emergency Medicaid funding; amendment to avoid spending-cap breach fails
Summary
The Connecticut Senate on May 19, 2025 passed House Bill 6863, a deficiency appropriations bill that includes emergency authority to cover an approximately $284 million Medicaid shortfall and multiple agency gaps. A Republican-led amendment (LCO 8761) that would have covered Medicaid without exceeding the state's spending cap failed on a roll-call vote.
The Connecticut State Senate on May 19, 2025 voted to pass House Bill 6863, an act making deficiency appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, sending the measure immediately to the governor.
Senator Melissa Austin, the bill's proponent, told colleagues the largest driver of the requested funds is Medicaid, citing higher-than-budgeted hospital and pharmacy costs, Part D clawback payments and coverage costs for undocumented children. Austin said agency shortfalls also reflect increased staffing and overtime, utilities and contracted services. "Most of [these deficiencies] are relative to other expenses and personnel services," Austin said in summary of the bill.
The bill drew sustained floor debate over whether the Medicaid shortfall constitutes an "emergency" that justifies exceeding the state's spending cap (the guardrails adopted in recent years). Opponents argued the shortfalls were known months ago and that the Legislature should reallocate existing surpluses and lapses rather than break the cap. Senator John Fazio said breaking the guardrails in the same budget cycle the body reaffirmed them was "a broken promise," and urged colleagues to seek alternatives.
Senator Christine Summers offered Senate Amendment A (LCO 8761), a targeted proposal to cover the approximately $284 million Medicaid deficit by shifting $136,762,000 drawn from identified lapses (split between the general fund and the Special Transportation Fund) and by using roughly $164,000,000 of remaining room under the spending cap. Summers summarized the change as a way to "take care of the Medicaid deficit ... without having to violate the spending cap." That amendment was defeated in a roll-call vote.
Supporters of the underlying deficiency bill, including Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney and Senator Duff, said the timing was urgent: they cited Office of Policy and Management and Office of Fiscal Analysis warnings that Medicaid vendor payments and checks could be delayed if the Legislature failed to act. "We have people who are literally depending on checks being put in the mail right now," Senator Duff said, noting that more than 900,000 Connecticut residents rely on Medicaid.
The bill also contains provisions tied to workers' compensation in response to a state Supreme Court decision, including expanded lists of injuries eligible for permanent partial disability and the creation of a working group to study related issues with a preliminary report due by Feb. 1 (date given on the floor) and a final report by Jan. 1, 2027.
Roll-call and procedural record: Senate Amendment A (LCO 8761), offered by Senator Summers to avoid breaching the spending cap, failed on a roll-call vote. The Senate then voted on House Bill 6863 (as amended by House Schedule A); the clerk recorded the vote totals and the chair declared the legislation passed. The Senate ordered immediate transmittal of the bill to the governor.
What remains clear from the floor debate is the tradeoff that animated the votes: a majority deemed an immediate, multi-agency deficiency measure (and the governor's emergency declaration covering Medicaid) necessary to avoid payment delays, while dissenters said the same problem could be resolved within existing fiscal guardrails by reallocating lapses and surpluses. The Senate adjourned after transmitting the bill to the governor.
Votes at a glance - Senate Amendment A (LCO 8761, Summers) — Result: failed (roll-call); tallies announced by the clerk on the floor. - House Bill 6863 (as amended by House Schedule A) — Result: passed (roll-call); transmitted immediately to the governor.
Next steps The measure was sent to the governor for signature or veto and will take effect according to its provisions and state law once acted upon by the governor.
Sources: Connecticut State Senate floor proceedings on May 19, 2025 (floor remarks by Senators Austin, Summers, Fazio, Duff, Looney and others), clerk roll-call announcements, and Office of Fiscal Analysis references made on the floor.
