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Gov. Malloy Open to Labor Savings to Address Budget Crunch

Chion Wolf
/
WNPR
Governor Dannel Malloy.
Gov. Malloy has been under fire for his recent rescissions to the state budget just three months after it was passed by the legislature.

Governor Dannel Malloy has not ruled out making savings in labor costs to help balance the state’s budget. Speaking on WNPR’s Where We Live, the governor said his administration will look for realism in upcoming negotiations with state labor unions.

"Every contract is up but the state police," he said. "I think everybody understands that America, the United States is in a slow growth mode, and has been for many years and is likely to continue in that regard. So those things that we may have become accustomed to the past, or that other administrations became accustomed to the past are obviously up for examination and discussion."

Malloy has been under fire for his recent rescissions to the state budget just three months after it was passed by the legislature. But he again rejected the idea of a special session to reconsider the budget.

He also rejected calls to rein in his planned massive investment in transportation, saying one of the reasons for slow growth in the state is the fact that its infrastructure is aging and inadequate. Malloy said he is prepared to consider road tolls as one funding mechanism, under certain circumstances. 

"Twenty-seven percent of the people use our interstate highway system we know are foreign-registered vehicles, so we're not getting revenue from those folks. And every other state up and down 95 from Maine down to Florida is getting some amount of tolls, so we are the outlier in that regard," said the governor.

But he emphasized discussion of that measure, and other funding mechanisms, must wait until the legislature enacts a constitutional lock box to safeguard transportation funds.

"I'm happy to have [tolls] on the table; it's not the only way to do it. What I have always said is, let's get a lockbox, and then let's have a discussion which involves the public," Malloy said.

Some legislators say they’re unwilling to create a lock box for transportation when other priorities, like municipal aid, remain at risk.

Harriet Jones is Managing Editor for Connecticut Public Radio, overseeing the coverage of daily stories from our busy newsroom.

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