HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Following are highlights of the proposed $19.9 billion budget bill that cleared the Democratic controlled Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.
- Cuts funding for state employee overtime and possibly salary adjustments while imposing hiring freezes throughout state government. Committee leaders said they did not include a specific number of layoffs as part of any labor savings, saying it’s up to the administration to decide whether job cuts will be necessary.
- Expands Department of Motor Vehicles’ partnership with AAA and other automobile clubs so they can provide more services, including renewing all licenses and conducting vehicle registration services.
- Eliminates metal detectors at the state Capitol complex. Plan would reduce funding by $325,243 to eliminate six positions, including three police officers, two security technicians and an officer technician.
- Includes governor’s plan to privatize 10 Department of Developmental Disabilities group homes and a proposal to privatize an additional 20 by fiscal year 2017.
- Reduces Department of Transportation funding by $15.8 million, or about 6 percent.
- Eliminates funding for the independent Commission on Aging. State funding remains, albeit reduced, for other commissions including the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women.
- Re-establishes state watchdog agencies, such as the Elections Enforcement Commission, as independent state agencies. They were recently consolidated under the Office of Governmental Accountability.
- Maintains $1.6 million in funding for elderly renters tax relief program.
- Includes $50,738 to fund the state bee inspector at the Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven.
- Maintains funding for the Office of State Broad Band within the Office of Consumer Counsel.
- Requires the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to take over care and control of the Old State House in downtown Hartford and treat it like an historic state park. It’s currently overseen by the Office of Legislative Management.
- Reduces statewide tourism marketing campaign by $500,000.
- Maintains funding for mental health and substance abuse grants provided to nonprofit social service providers.
- Reduces cash assistance programs for the needy by 1 percent.
Source: Connecticut Office of Fiscal Analysis
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