Published: January 14, 2009

HARTFORD -- As the General Assembly Wednesday night worked to whittle down the budget deficit, members were expected to transfer $274,000 from the general fund so 600 janitors who clean state buildings can keep their families on their health insurance plans.
The janitors include contracted employees who clean the Stamford campus of the University of Connecticut, the Stamford train station and Norwalk Community College.
The Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ said that unless the money is found, janitors and their dependents will lose their insurance Feb. 1.

But House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, and state Sen. John McKinney, R-Fairfield, said they were shocked by the transfer.

"In 72 hours, we're going to hear this state is facing an $800 million to $1 billion deficit in this fiscal year," Cafero said. "How can we in good conscience put additional spending on the table?"

McKinney said his office has been looking for ways janitors' families can keep their health care, but the janitors do not work for the state. They work for a private company that is responsible for their health coverage, McKinney said.

The situation arose because the state's so-called standard wage law has not kept pace with rising health care costs, the union said. Under the law, workers employed under private contacts with the state receive benefits equal to 30 percent of their wages.

But that amount no longer covers the cost of providing insurance for a family, the union said.

The House and Senate were expected to vote on the transfer Wednesday night as part of a package of cuts to help the state manage the budget shortfall.

Proponents of the transfer, including Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy, said it is cheaper for the state to budget the money than for janitors' families to sign up for state health programs such as HUSKY or seek treatment in emergency rooms.

House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden, said the change would cost the state $400,000 in public health services, according to the Office of Fiscal Analysis, .
"So this is a way of saving money," Donovan said.

But McKinney said that using Donovan's logic, the state should pay directly for the insurance of every private employee whose employer can no longer afford their plans rather than relying on HUSKY and other state programs to address that problem.
Lynsey Kryzwick, a union spokeswoman, said the union is pleased with the $274,000 but "it's not a long-term fix. Obviously, it saves the children from being uninsured or going onto the HUSKY program immediately, but July 1 the situation starts again."
That's because "this is for this fiscal year," Kryzwick said. "That's all we're dealing with right now."

Donovan made no commitments.