Comptroller: Conn. faces $40 million deficit

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut's comptroller says the state is on track to end the fiscal year with a budget deficit of $40 million.

The estimate released Wednesday by Comptroller Kevin Lembo reflects cuts that were made last month after officials revealed a $365 million deficit in the current $20 billion state budget.

Lembo said in a letter to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy that the projected deficit is now far below the level at which additional reduction efforts would be required automatically.

Malloy ordered $170 million in spending cuts, and further cuts were approved in a law signed by the governor last month.

Lawmakers are scheduled to return to the state Capitol on Jan. 9 for a new session, when they'll have to grapple with a projected deficit in the new two-year fiscal year.