Lawmakers to be briefed on Conn. budget picture

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A senior official in Gov. Dannel Malloy's office will brief members of the Connecticut General Assembly's two budget committees on the state's budget picture.

Budget Director Ben Barnes is scheduled to present the Office of Policy and Management's annual Fiscal Accountability Report to the General Assembly's Appropriations and Finance Revenue and Bonding Committees on Tuesday.

The report examines major issues and trends over the next four fiscal years.

It comes on the heels of a recent update from Barnes, who confirmed the current fiscal year faces a $365 million shortfall and the next fiscal year, beginning July 1, is nearly $1.2 billion in deficit.

Last year, Barnes reported that the state's budgetary picture had stabilized due to higher taxes, reduced state spending and concessions from state employees. But he warned the economic recovery was slow.