HARTFORD – In response to the exploding state deficit, Republicans will convene an informational forum on Thursday Sept. 25 at 10 a.m. in Room 2-C of the Legislative Office Building and have budget experts and lawmakers from both parties examine ways to address Connecticut’s fiscal health.

The two Republican leaders have invited all Republican and Democratic lawmakers to attend the forum that was called in response to the deficit projections that have now doubled to an estimated $300 million in the last few weeks. Republicans say that the state cannot wait to come up with ways to balance the budget and allow the red ink to flow higher.

House Republican Leader Lawrence  F.  Cafero Jr., of Norwalk said, “We do not have the luxury of sitting back and waiting for things to get worse. We must gather the facts now and if we all work together in bipartisan fashion, we can weather this storm as we always have. Connecticut expects us to make the right decisions.’’

Senate Republican Leader John McKinney of Fairfield said, “Governor Rell and the legislature are going to face a number of difficult decisions as our state’s budget deficit increases.  Fundamentally there are two ways to address a budget deficit: reduce spending or raise taxes.  At a time when wages aren’t keeping up with expenses and personal investments are vulnerable, we owe it to the people of Connecticut to do everything we can to balance this budget without raising taxes.  Thursday is an opportunity for legislators to hear from the state’s leading budget experts, so we can begin working on solutions now.”

Representatives from the governor’s budget and revenue offices as well as non-partisan fiscal analysts and legislative researchers are expected to make presentations and field questions from both Republicans and Democrats.

Republicans said they hope Democrats will attend because this session is intended to get the clearest picture to date of the status of the state’s fiscal condition. They pointed out that Democratic leaders have stated publicly that they will wait until after the Nov. 4 elections to address the mounting fiscal problems and some have even doubted that they exist.

“Revenues from every sector – income taxes, sales taxes, slot machines – are falling fast and we simply cannot ignore it. It is irresponsible to say we’ll take a look after the elections,’’ Cafero said. He said the projected $300 million deficit does not even take into account the Wall Street melt down that will have a major impact in coming years.