House Republican Press Release

April 24, 2007

Press Office: 860-240-8700

Rep. DelGobbo: House Republican No Tax Increase Budget will Help Shape Final State Budget

Alternate Budget Shows There’s a Better Way to Fund State Programs

The House Republican No Tax Increase State Budget proposal unveiled at a news conference today will help move debate on the state’s spending priorities in a different direction and will influence the development of the budget that will be adopted by the state legislature in the next few weeks, said state Representative Kevin M. DelGobbo, R-Naugatuck.

Budget negotiations between Republican and Democrat legislative leaders from the state House and Senate and the Governor’s Office will get underway Wednesday to hammer out details of the final spending package the General Assembly will consider as the 2007 legislative session draws to a close.

“As we begin negotiations on the final budget we wanted to demonstrate that there is a way to fund priority state programs without raising taxes,” said Representative DelGobbo, the House Republican Leader on the Appropriations Committee, who will be participating in the budget negotiations. “It’s my hope that the budget proposal we made today will help move the debate in a different direction – in a way that will not mean massive tax increases that would adversely affect economic growth and mean fewer jobs for the people of Connecticut.”

“Ultimately, I want our negotiations to move to staying under the spending cap, but this is the first step in moving the debate in that direction,” Representative DelGobbo said. “I also believe that one way to force the legislature to finally do its job in reviewing state spending rather than just throwing more taxpayer dollars at programs is to turn off the revenue spigot.”

“The Democrats’ budget calls for spending about $17.8 billion in 2008 and approximately $18.7 billion in 2009. Our proposal would expend about $17.3 billion in 2008 and $17.9 billion in 2009. Their proposal would require a tax increase of 15 percent for the biennium,” Representative DelGobbo said. “Our budget proposal can be funded with no increase in taxes.”

“This budget scenario shows how we can move toward drafting a budget that respects the constitutional spending cap and enables us to pay for critical programs such as education, health care, energy conservation, economic growth and job creation without major tax increases. The Democrat proposal is unsustainable and puts a vacuum cleaner in the wallets of Connecticut’s overburdened taxpayers. Their spending package is a house of cards waiting to collapse,” said Representative DelGobbo, who helped draft the No Tax Increase Alternative Budget.