AGO 1993-011.

• Court: Connecticut

Connecticut Attorney General Opinions 1993. AGO 1993-011. 1993Opinion No. 1993-011Representative Thomas D. RitterSpeaker of the HouseLegislative Office Building, Room 4100Hartford, CT 06106-1591 Dear Mr. Speaker: By letter dated February 26, 1993 you have asked for our advice as to whether an increase in the amount of money appropriated to municipalities under the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant program (Conn. Gen. Stat. e10-262h) which has been recommended by the governor for SFY 1993-94 is properly counted as a "general budget expenditure" for the purposes of determining whether the authorized expenditure limitation imposed by Conn. Gen. Stat. e2-33a, commonly known as "the spending cap", will be exceeded. It is our opinion that any increase in the amount allocated to municipalities pursuant to the ECS must be considered a "general budget expenditure" for the purposes of determining whether the expenditures which may be authorized by the General Assembly for SFY 1993-94 fall within the limit on authorized expenditures contained in e2-33a. Section 2-33a imposes a limit on the amount by which the General Assembly may authorize an increase in state expenditures in any particular fiscal year. The "general budget expenditures" authorized by the General Assembly may not exceed the "general budget expenditures" for the previous year plus a statutorily prescribed amount which is keyed to the increase in personal income of state residents or to the rate of inflation, whichever is greater. Certain expenditures are excepted from the computation of the "general budget expenditures" by subsections (1) and (2) of e2-33a. Among the items of expenditure which are not counted toward "general budget expenditures", and thereby not subject to the e2-33a cap on authorized expenditures, are certain expenditures related to court orders. According to subsection (2) of e2-33a "expenditures for the implementation of ... court orders shall not be considered general budget expenditures for the first fiscal year in which such expenditures are authorized, but shall be considered general budget expenditures for such year for the purposes of determining general budget expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year." Your specific question is whether the proposed increase in the amount of money to be appropriated to municipalities through the ECS grant...