Sen. Berthel Votes “No” on Budget, Calls Affordability Claims a “Shell Game”

State Sen. Eric Berthel (R-Watertown), member of the Appropriations Committee, today opposed the 717-page biennium state budget adjustment, warning that the plan increases spending by billions while claiming to make Connecticut more affordable.

“We established fiscal guardrails in 2017 to prevent the kind of reckless spending that once led to massive tax increases, and today we are on the verge of abandoning those lessons,” Sen. Berthel said. “This budget adjustment is nothing but a shell game. It shifts costs rather than reduces them. This is more spending. When we increase state spending for education or otherwise, it still comes from the pockets of my constituents.

“You can move the money around, but you can’t pretend it appears from nowhere. Families are still paying the bill one way or another.”

Senate Republicans called for the continued adherence to the so-called financial guardrails and spending caps implemented in 2018 and reaffirmed in 2023. These budgeting policies have kept Connecticut out of new deficits, have allowed for paydown of pension liabilities and were respectful to the taxpayers.

Sen. Berthel added that rising costs continue to drive residents out of the state and warned of continued Connecticut out-migration. “If we keep going down this path, Connecticut will only become less affordable for the very people we’re trying to keep in this state, and these people will find more affordable living elsewhere.”