Tooker: Before Connecticut Weakens Its Fiscal Guardrails, Show Taxpayers the Bill

Scanlon once urged lawmakers to “reinforce” the fiscal rules. Now he says they should be changed. Tooker proposes independent fiscal analysis before any guardrail changes.

WESTPORT, CT — Republican candidate for State Comptroller Jen Tooker today called for the Comptroller's office to independently calculate and publicly disclose the long-term cost of any proposed changes to Connecticut's fiscal guardrails before lawmakers vote on them.

The proposal comes after Comptroller Sean Scanlon called for changes to the state's budget caps to free up additional resources for special education and other priorities.

Tooker said the position represents a significant shift from Scanlon's own warning shortly after taking office.

In February 2023, Scanlon credited Connecticut's fiscal guardrails with helping the state weather economic volatility and urged lawmakers not to retreat from them, saying: “I urge the legislature to reinforce them.” He later highlighted the guardrails' role in accelerating pension debt reduction.

This month, Scanlon argued that Connecticut is now in a different fiscal environment and that the budget caps “need to be adapted to meet the moment that we're in.”

“I have no problem with a public official changing his - or her - mind when the facts change,” Tooker said. “But if Connecticut is going to change the rules that govern billions of taxpayer dollars, and that have been doing a good job so far, the fiscal watchdog should show us the math first. What does the change cost next year? What does it cost five years from now? What happens to our pension debt? What happens when revenues fall? Taxpayers deserve those answers before the legislature votes, not after.”

Connecticut's fiscal guardrails have helped produce budget surpluses, reduce pension debt by more than $11 billion and build a roughly $4.5 billion Budget Reserve Fund. Connecticut nevertheless continues to carry more than $30 billion in pension debt.

Tooker said those results make independent analysis more important as policymakers debate whether the rules should change.

“The guardrails didn't fail,” Tooker said. “They did what they were designed to do: force Connecticut to save during good years and begin to pay down the massive financial obligations the state has accumulated over decades. That doesn't mean the rules can never change. It means anyone proposing to change them should show Connecticut taxpayers exactly what we gain with those changes, what we give up and what risk we're taking on.”

Tooker proposes a Fiscal Guardrail Transparency Standard

As Comptroller, Tooker said she would establish a permanent public reporting framework around Connecticut's fiscal guardrails:

●     Price changes before lawmakers vote. The Comptroller would publish a multi-year analysis of any proposed material change to the volatility, expenditure or bond caps, including its projected effect on available spending, pension payments, reserves and long-term liabilities.

●     Publish an annual Guardrail Scorecard. Taxpayers would see how much revenue was captured by the guardrails, where those dollars went, how much debt was reduced and how the state's long-term financial position changed.

●     Put deferrals on the books in plain English. When Connecticut postpones or underfunds an obligation, the Comptroller would report the amount deferred and its estimated future cost rather than allowing today's budget to appear less expensive by shifting costs forward.

●     Stress-test Connecticut's finances. The Comptroller would publish scenarios showing what happens to the budget, reserves and long-term obligations if revenues decline or underperform for consecutive years.

●     Apply the same standard every year. Tooker said the fiscal watchdog's analysis should be based on transparent financial standards rather than whether a particular budget year has more or less money available.

“It's not the Comptroller's role to decide which programs deserve funding more than others,” Tooker said. “The Comptroller's job is to tell taxpayers the financial truth. If lawmakers want to spend more, make the case. If they want to change the guardrails, make the case. My job will be to independently show Connecticut taxpayers what those decisions cost.”

Tooker said the issue reflects the approach she would bring to the office after a career evaluating long-term financial risk in the reinsurance industry.

“In my business, you don't remove the protection because nothing bad happened while it was there,” Tooker said. “You measure the risk first. Connecticut should do the same thing.”

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