How does an extra $300 a year in your paycheck sound? It’s about to happen.

Early Tuesday morning, the Connecticut House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the biggest tax cut in state history, but some groups say the new state budget shortchanges critical services.

The two-year budget proposal unveiled Monday morning cuts income tax rates for the first time in almost 30 years. The bottom two tax brackets would drop by 1% and 0.5%, respectively – although the cuts start phasing out for six-figure earners.

The working poor get even more relief. Thanks to a bigger Earned Income Tax Credit, most families making less than $50,000 per year would no longer pay any state income tax at all.

“It's the largest income tax reduction in, I think, state history, since the institution of the income tax,” said House Speaker Matt Ritter (D-Hartford).

But not everyone is getting a break. Lawmakers dropped Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposal for business tax relief, and the budget also doesn’t include a child tax credit that some Democrats pushed for, or a child tax deduction favored by Republicans.

“Look, I didn't get everything I wanted in terms of, you know, tax cuts, but we are having the biggest middle-class tax cut in the history of the state,” said Lamont.

Taxpayers may be happy, but nonprofits say the new spending plan short-changes critical services when people need them most.

There's some money to end a group home strike across the state, but most nonprofits are only seeing a 2.5% increase.

“This budget will hurt residential and outpatient addiction and mental health programs, worsen the workforce crisis, force the closing of programs, and create longer waiting lists,” said Gian-Carl Casa, President & CEO of CT Community Nonprofit Alliance. “We’ve warned of this for months. None of this should be a surprise.”

The most noticeable cut is Metro-North, which will be trimmed back to 86% of pre-pandemic service in Year One, but restored to full service in the second year. “This is just when everybody is coming on to trains, so why?” asked Wilton commuter Laura Nisenbaum. Shore Line East, which serves areas east of New Haven, is only funded at 44% service. With many people still working from home, top lawmakers said ridership remains well below pre-COVID levels.

“That would be the worst thing to cut the trains, trust me,” said Monique Guilford, of Norwalk.

The budget also includes $3.1 million to implement 14 days of early voting next year – including $10,500 grants for towns – but many voter registrars say it's not enough.

Connecticut’s top election official is frustrated, too.

“You get the elections that you pay for, and this budget shortchanges Connecticut’s voters, pushes the burden of paying for Early Voting on to our towns, and removes funding to educate Connecticut’s citizens of how they can register and vote to participate in our democracy,” said Democratic Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas.

It's not just taxes; state government is shrinking, too. Hundreds of unfilled state jobs won't be funded, saving nearly $500,000,000.

“Aligning agencies to what they really spend,” said state Rep. Vin Candelora (R-North Branford), the House GOP leader. “So what we've really done is, gotten rid of the slush funds, and there's no more money in the couch cushions.”

Some groups came out ahead, but only after pushing back against Lamont’s original budget plan.

Public schools will get $158 million more than the governor proposed, the largest increase in the past decade.

More students will also get free school meals, thanks to one-time federal relief money. But advocates wanted all kids to get them, like they do now.

“We appreciate that the FY24-25 budget agreement recognizes the financial pressures facing families across Connecticut with $16 million to provide more school meals,” said Lucy Nolan, policy director with End Hunger CT! “We remain concerned that language requiring families to apply for that support will negatively impact the goal of equal treatment of all kids in the cafeteria, and we will continue to advocate for the least complicated access.”

Higher education fared well too – for now.

After University of Connecticut students protested at the State Capitol in February, public universities are getting around 13% more than Lamont originally proposed. But it's unclear if that's enough to prevent a tuition hike, or to keep regional campuses like Western Connecticut State University in Danbury open.

And in a surprise move, Lamont's plan to wipe away medical debt is getting partially funded.

Dennis Thomas of Rocky Hill knows the struggle well. He racked up more than $10,000 in expenses after a heart transplant.

“It is overwhelming at times,” said Thomas. “Do you get this medication, or do you keep the lights on?”

The program will spend $6 million buying residents’ unpaid debt for pennies on the dollar. Lamont had sought $20 million.

Connecticut is racking up record surpluses this year, but lawmakers are limited by strict “fiscal guardrails” they recently renewed. Although they carried forward almost $400 million from the surplus, most of the money will help pay off the state’s massive, multibillion-dollar pension debt.

Lamont insisted legislators not use “gimmicks” like diverting spending off-budget, a common practice in past years.

“Do I wish we could have spent a couple hundred million more? Yes, I do,” said Ritter. “We thought there were ways to do it.”

In addition to taxes and spending, the 892-page budget includes major policy changes, including:

 In a potentially controversial move, the budget directs towns and cities to pay firefighters who develop cancer “workers' compensation-like benefits,” then get reimbursed from the state. The chronically under-funded Firefighter Cancer Relief fund would get a $5 million cash infusion, but towns have argued they can’t afford the number of claims.

WHAT’S NEXT? The budget now heads to the state Senate for a vote later on Tuesday. Lawmakers’ 2023 session ends Wednesday.

House Democrats released this summary of the budget proposal:

Bottom line

FY24 $25,114,806,026

FY25 $25,999,681,931

A balanced budget

Deposits $3.3 billion into Rainy Day Fund

Under the constitutional spending cap in both years – following the financial guardrails that we reauthorized at the beginning of session

Allows us to pre-pay an additional $2.072 billion in unfunded pension liability

Pays off outstanding debt from 2008, which will save future taxpayers $22 million

Includes the largest Personal Income Tax Cut in CT history ($190.6 million in fy24/$421.7 million in fy25)

Cuts the 3% and 5% marginal income tax rates

Eliminates even more retirement income taxes by smoothing the benefit cliff for those with pension, annuity, and IRA income - giving relief to those making more than $75K (single filers)/$100K (joint filers) to up to $100K/$150K

Freezes scheduled increases on the diesel tax

Cuts fuel taxes on airlines

Continues last year's tax cuts

The Earned Income Tax Credit at its highest historic level – helping our lowest-earning workers and families

Combined with personal income tax cuts, families of four with incomes up to $50,000 will not pay state income taxes

Continues car tax cap (32.4 mills)

Continues property tax credits for homeowners

• $135 million more than the governor over the biennium for state colleges and universities

• Expands debt-free community college

• Increases funding for special education to local schools

• Increases childcare provider rates

• Invests over $240 million in public education for the 2024-25 school year: $158 million in new funds to local boards of education

$9.3 million in new funds for Charter Schools

$53.3 million in new funds Magnet School

$11.4 million in new funds for Open Choice

$7.2 million in new funds for Vocational Agriculture programs

• Provides funding to our nonprofit providers – 2.5% cost of living increases

• Provides funding to striking group home employees – roughly a 4.5% pay increase

• Expands assistance to

• Medical Debt Erasure ($8.5 million) will wipe out up to $1 billion of medical debt

• Assists people who no longer qualify for Medicaid by providing two months of premium assistance to enroll on the exchange

• More funds for local schools, special education, and choice tuition assistance

• Increases PILOT payments by 3%

• Provides grants to implement early voting ($1.8million)

There is no funding in the budget for waste but HB6664 provides up to $500 million in bonding through the Green Bank for new trash facilities.