Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont’s fiscal discipline has contributed to the state’s extraordinary run of budget surpluses. He has wrapped seven consecutive years in the black, using $11 billion of those unspent funds to wipe out pension debt. No other governor in modern history has made one such payment.

Foundation Laid by Malloy

Lamont owes some of his success to hard things done prior to his election in 2018, much of it by Dannel P. Malloy, the Democratic predecessor who left office with one of the lowest gubernatorial approval ratings in the U.S. Malloy and the legislators who served with him between 2011 and 2018 ordered two major tax hikes — centered on Connecticut’s wealthy — that have generated billions for the state’s coffers throughout Lamont’s administration.

Malloy used reports, contract negotiations, and a cross-state promotional tour to force a new fiscal culture and end the longstanding practice of inflating pension costs while pushing them onto future generations. Lawmakers from both parties wrote aggressive budget caps in 2017, when Republicans held half the seats in the Senate. One of them limited how revenue spikes from volatile sources could be used, a favorite tool employed by Lamont, who has insisted that increased spending be matched by sustainable revenue growth.

Lamont’s Fiscal Dedication

Over the past seven years, Lamont has dedicated an average of nearly $1.6 billion in surplus to offset Connecticut’s unfunded pension obligations, a burden that still exceeds $30 billion and likely won’t be paid off until well into the 2040s. But without all those extra deposits, the required contributions that already consume a hefty chunk of the state budget would be $800 million to $900 million greater each year.

Original reporting: The Connecticut Mirror — read the source article.