Safeguarding CT's ability to pay down pension debt

Gov. Ned Lamont is asking lawmakers to temper their proposals to increase spending and cut taxes in Connecticut's next budget. Why? Because those proposals would force the state to scale back an aggressive savings program that captures a portion of income and business tax receipts. This program is responsible for more than 80% of the funds left unspent annually since Connecticut's "fiscal guardrails" budget caps were adopted in 2017. About $10 billion of those unspent funds have been used since 2020 to pay down Connecticut's hefty pension debt, which remains one of the highest pension burdens in the nation.