Budget-less July 1 looming

State Senate Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, left, and House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, differ slightly on an overall budget package. But majority House Democrats will not sign on to meet this week, so Gov. Malloy will be forced to enact a bare-bones executive order to keep government in operation after July 1. less State Senate Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, left, and House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, differ slightly on an overall budget package. But majority House Democrats will not sign on to meet this ... more Photo: Jessica Hill / Associated Press Photo: Jessica Hill / Associated Press Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Budget-less July 1 looming 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

HARTFORD — It’s more likely that Connecticut’s new fiscal year will begin July 1 with an executive order from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to fund bare-bones state services, after House Democrats on Tuesday admitted they won’t approve a spending plan this week.

While Republicans and Democrats in the Senate inched closer to accepting Malloy’s so-called three-month mini-budget, with about $317 million in new revenue, House Democrats said they would not vote this week, but will hold a closed-door caucus Thursday.

“We’re not going to have a full year’s budget between now and July 1,” Malloy said during a mid-afternoon news conference in the Capitol. “I think putting forward a plan that allows the state to continue with a budget in place is preferable to not doing it. Doing nothing will make things worse. These aren’t threats. They are hopes.”

Under an executive order, millions of dollars in summer-jobs’ funding would be terminated, while millions in pre-approved raises for state judges would go forward. While most municipal aid does not flow in the summertime, come Sept. 1, town and city support including payments in lieu of taxes and education funding would stop until lawmakers can adopt a new two-year budget.

Malloy’s executive order also would eliminate elderly housing assistance; supplemental hospital funding; funding for private social service providers; business assistance program through the Department of Economic and Community Development.

In addition, since the state’s Education Cost Sharing Program expires July 1, $515 million in anticipated local school aid ends.

“Clearly it’s painful and it’s not anything that any of us want to happen,” said House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby. “I agree that something should be voted on Thursday.”

Klarides told reporters she hadn’t yet brought the mini-budget to her caucus. She blamed Democrats for first missing the June 7 deadline, then, apparently, the June 30 end-of-the-fiscal year.

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney said he is prepared to bring the Senate into session on Thursday, but Democratic House leaders have him stymied. “No one wants the governor to run the state by executive order. I am disappointed by these developments and hope that the Speaker reconsiders his position.”

He called Malloy’s mini-budget “the only plausible and acceptable measure short of universal agreement on a comprehensive two year budget.”

Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, Republican Senate Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said he was in communication with Democratic leaders over possible acceptance of Malloy’s mini-budget, which was much-more acceptable to an executive order that would necessarily plan for more than $2 billion in cuts over the course of a year.

Fasano’s preference, however, is to bring to a vote the Republican budget that was debated for two hours on the last night of the regular legislative session, June 7. “We want to make our case on the floor,” said Fasano.

The Senate is evenly divided, 18-18, but Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, a Democrat, has broken 14 ties this year. And Malloy has promised to veto the GOP budget.

“I will not sign the GOP budget but I never said I was opposed to something debated or called,” Malloy said, stressing that Republicans in the House and Senate have major disagreements over issues including changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income residents.

“I believe that he wants to move forward and believe there will be and should be Republican votes as well,” Malloy said of Fasano. “I think that everybody knows that the mini budget would be better than an executive order. It’s kind of a perplexing situation to find ourselves in.

The governor called for Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz and Klarides to sit down and work together to gather enough support for the mini-budget and give themselves some breathing room for further negotiations this summer.

“I’m a little bit frustrated,” Aresimowicz told reporters after Malloy’s remarks. “All of them are blaming me. I wanted to see the parties from both sides of the aisle come to the basis of a compromise. I appreciate everybody’s work.” Aresimowicz said he would not sign off on bringing legislation to a vote this week.

“I haven’t seen enough movement in the budget process,” Aresimowicz said, stressing he isn’t convinced that he should call his diverse, 79-member majority to meet in the Capitol until there is a final budget to debate.

He called Malloy’s mini-budget “another Band-Aid on a situation that requires us to do surgery.”

kdixon@ctpost.com; Twitter: @KenDixonCT