Tax relief for working families; investing in education and special education; historical funding for childcare and early childhood education; and strong support for our nonprofit service providers are all pillars of the new two-year state budget which will take effect July 1.

The new state budget comes in under the spending cap and is fully in balance, giving a stable roadmap that residents, businesses, and our cities and towns can count on. It also allows us to continue to pay down long-term debt and pension obligations while respecting the "fiscal guardrails" to help ensure we maintain a robust "rainy day" reserve fund.

“While we are unable to fund everything we’d like to, we do invest in the things that matter to people. This is a budget that values the health and well-being of families, that values education and early childhood education, that values the needs of children with special needs, that values child care," explained House Majority Leader Jason Rojas.

For example, this budget is the single greatest investment in children in state history including:

• Establishing an investible trust to provide sustainable funding for new childcare programs.

• Providing historic new funding for special education

• Improving access to better health care and nonprofit community providers

Our social services safety net is protected, including an increase in support for the health of our most vulnerable residents who receive Medicaid.

Overall, the budget reflects our shared values, marked by historic investments in children and tax relief for working families.

It is a budget that affirms and reinforces the vital role we all play in building a stronger, more inclusive community for everyone.

Read more about the new state budget in this article from CT Mirror.