The State of Connecticut has several budget controls, commonly referred to as “fiscal guardrails,” which it has committed to bondholders to maintain through at least fiscal year 2028. These budget controls include the bond cap, revenue cap, spending cap, and volatility cap.
Enacted in 2017 during a period of declining revenues and fiscal instability for the state, the budget controls were part of a bipartisan compromise after the General Assembly failed to pass a biennium budget before the start of the fiscal year. The budget controls were renewed by the legislature in 2023.
This document provides a brief summary of the history of the budget controls as well as an overview of each budget control and their impacts on the state budget.
Citation
School and State Finance Project. (2024). Connecticut's State Budget Controls. Southington, CT: Author. Retrieved from https://files.schoolstatefinance.org/hubfs/Reports/Connecticuts%20State%20Budget
%20Controls.pdf.