Connecticut House creates Federal Cuts Response Fund, despite objections it cedes spending power to governor

HARTFORD — The Connecticut House of Representatives voted on Thursday to extend and rebrand a contingency account into a Federal Cuts Response Fund, approving Emergency Certified Bill No. 83 by roll call after heated floor debate.

Chairman Christine Horn moved passage of the measure, calling it an extension of a fund created in November and “for the purpose of responding to the policy impacts of HR 1 … and mitigating any action or inaction by the federal government that results in reduction in funding for any program in the state.” The clerk announced the final tally as 97 Aye, 48 Nay, 6 not voting, which met the three-fifths threshold of 91 votes required for an emergency certified measure under Conn. Gen. Stat. §2-33(a). The speaker ordered the bill transmitted immediately to the governor.

Supporters said the fund is a necessary tool to protect state programs and vulnerable residents from sudden federal funding changes. “For those who have already lost or face losing their SNAP benefits and cannot feed themselves or their children … their emergency is not over,” Representative Goff said, arguing the state must be ready to act quickly to restore services.

Opponents countered that the measure delegates too much spending authority to the executive and bypasses established appropriations and public-hearing processes. “This process skips all of that. Every little single piece of it,” Representative Nuccio said, warning the move would “abdicate [the legislature’s] responsibility” to appropriate funds and risk using one-time money for ongoing expenses.

Appropriations Chair Tony Walker said the bill is designed as a mechanism for accessing funds set aside from volatile revenues and described the proposal as clarifying how the state could respond in an emergency while the regular budget process continues. "The bill before us is how we are going to access the funds," Walker said, and added that expenditures would come with notice to the legislature's leadership as outlined in the bill.

Debate also focused on whether the money would count toward the state’s spending cap and how quickly previously authorized portions of the account had been spent. The chair said the fund was constructed from revenues outside the usual budget process and would now be identified specifically as a Federal Cuts Response Fund; members and staff noted that detailed spending tallies and some fiscal-note language from the Office of Fiscal Analysis remained under discussion on the floor.

Lawmakers also considered and debated House Amendment Schedule A (LCO 742) during the session. The amendment — summarized by its proponent as transferring $128 million of the fund to the general fund to cover state revenue losses from a federal change excluding tips and overtime from taxable income — was put before the House, debated and taken up during the morning roll-call procedures.

After the final roll call on the bill, the clerk announced the passage and the measure was immediately transmitted to the governor’s office for signature or further action. The speaker adjourned the House subject to the call of the chair.

What’s next: The bill becomes the governor’s to act on; if the governor signs it or it otherwise takes effect, the statute will direct the office of policy and management and the governor to notify designated legislative leaders before any expenditures, with those leaders given an up-or-down vote as specified in the emergency-certification language.

(Reporting includes direct quotes from the House floor and procedural tallies announced by the clerk.)