STATE REPRESENTATIVE
Mary Mushinsky
Serving the 85th Assembly District
Legislative Office Building, Room 4038
Hartford, CT 06106-1591
Capitol: 800-842-8267
Mary.Mushinsky@cga.ct.gov
Dear Neighbor,
This past session, we worked to adopt a budget that represents the wide-ranging priorities of our state, and encourages economic growth. We protected middle-class families by providing property tax relief through municipal aid to our communities, and funded vital services people rely on every day by asking millionaires and corporations to pay a little bit more.
The budget is balanced, under the spending cap, and invests in Connecticut’s transportation infrastructure, which is critical to our future economy. By investing in the New Haven-Hartford Springfield rail line, and repairs to our highways, roads, bridges, and ports, we are encouraging smart growth, addressing traffic congestion, and bringing sustainable jobs to Connecticut.
Essential funding for families that need it most was protected, including social
services, libraries (which many constituents asked me to defend), before- and after-school programs, mental health services, developmental services (sought by many constituents) and state parks. We also allocated more funds for the highly successful Small Business Express Program.
I invited the Institute for the 21st Century to present their recommendations for sustainable spending to my colleagues. The Institute’s principal analyst summarized major expenditures that could be changed to achieve significant savings—about $1 billion per year after 5 years. I was able to insert the first step to incorporating these sustainable spending ideas into the budget implementer bill. One example of savings is a more rapid shift to a 50% home care model for patients who would otherwise enter nursing homes.
The Finance Committee also approved, and the legislature adopted, a more realistic Rainy Day Fund that more accurately calculates and sets aside revenues in good years to handle volatile revenue changes in economic downturn years.
This newsletter is only a brief summary. If you need more information, please contact me by phone or email me at mary.mushinsky@cga.ct.gov. Thank you.
Mary Mushinsky