“More and more the perception of the state budget being crafted behind closed doors is becoming a reality,” said Sen. Herlihy. “As we sit here and wait to see if there are enough votes in favor of one of the largest tax increases in Connecticut’s history, it’s quite amazing to me that there has been absolutely no say from the residents who will subjected to these taxes.”

According to Sen. Herlihy, under the terms of the constitutional amendment, such a referendum would be held in conjunction with a general election. It is the hope of Sen. Herlihy that the issue merits a hearing before the GAE committee.

“Lawmakers have shown little consideration to the taxpayer when the ratio of tax increases to spending cuts has been could be as high as 7 to 1. The authors of the budget have shown no effort to consolidate departments, agencies and services, while completely minimizing the need for state employees to provide concessions,” said Sen. Herlihy.

Sen. Herlihy acknowledges that a recent poll has shown that taxpayers are willing to pay their fair share providing there’s been an effort to balance tax increases with spending cuts and union concessions. He believes this budget fails to meet that standard and the greatest burden falls squarely on the backs of taxpayers.

“We are supposed to have a process here in the legislature that requires public hearings for all legislation, from the most trivial issue to the most important. Why the state budget, with significant tax code adjustments, doesn’t fall under that process is very disconcerting and in my mind not fair to the people we represent,” said Sen. Herlihy.