HARTFORD - For Democratic legislators, the state's $3.2 billion deficit for the next fiscal year was caused by an economic recession and declining revenues. For their Republican counterparts, it's primarily excessive spending that's finally caught up with state government.

After recent passage of a state budget, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and state employee union leaders announced last week an agreement which would cover $1.6 billion of the $2 billion in labor savings sought by the governor to balance Connecticut’s deficit. The deal means avoidance of Malloy’s “Plan B,” in which thousands of state workers would have lost their jobs.

House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, said the budget recommended by Malloy and passed with some modifications by the General Assembly's Democratic majority spreads the pain of dealing with state deficits among taxpayers, state employees and state programs.

"We want to make sure it's fair, shared sacrifice," Donovan said. The state provides roads, services and education -- all of which have costs. "Everyone pitches in, everyone benefits," he said.

While Donovan lauded his party for passing one of the earliest budgets in Connecticut history, Republican Sen. Leonard A. Fasano, of North Haven, said that's nothing to applaud, because Democrats control both legislative bodies as well as the governor's seat.

"I hope, when [Malloy] controls the whole building, he can do that," Fasano said. "There's no hurrahs or flags that can be raised for that statement."

Republicans were given the "cold shoulder" by the governor and hadn't been consulted in a meaningful way, said Fasano, whose 34th district includes Wallingford.

Donovan said Republicans were present at committee meetings on the budget but didn't help work to solve the financial problems.

"They took themselves out," he said.

Fasano said Democrats were only interested in new ideas for raising taxes. He called the tax increases passed "historic" spending and said spending should have been addressed to balance the budget.

"If we're going to do this budget right, we need to take a look at each line item in the budget and justify each line item," Fasano said. "I don't think there's a willingness to do that."

A state program which teaches people how to use food stamps was used by Fasano as an example of a program that could be eliminated. The Democrats' budget increases taxes by $1.4 billion in the first year and by $1.2 billion in the second year. Included are new taxes on goods and services, including clothing, facials, hotels, cigarettes, alcohol, diesel fuel and yoga studios.

A budget proposed by Republicans and rejected by the Democratic majority would have cut state spending by 10 percent over two years. The Democratic budget cut spending by between 3 percent and 5 percent over the same period.

"I don't think government has shared the sacrifice yet," Fasano said.

Donovan said income tax adjustments help shift more of the tax burden onto those with higher incomes.

"We pushed it more on the wealthier residents of the state" who can better afford higher taxes, Donovan said. "It really sees the shift towards the upper income."

He criticized the Republicans' budget as "out of balance" for cutting health and education services needed by the poor and middle class.

"It would have been devastating to many people in Connecticut," Donovan said. "We have cut spending -- their cuts hurt people in the district, it hurts the recovery."

Donovan also faulted the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives for cutting federal aid to states and contributing to Connecticut's deficit. State tax increases have been avoided for the past three years, he said, thanks to federal dollars. Cutting government spending would put more people out of work and further the economic distress.

"We need jobs -- we don't need to have cuts to jobs," Donovan said. "We're very precise about where we cut."

Even without the governor's contingency plan, the Democrats' budget includes closing or scaling back various state programs. The budget also reduces dental services for seniors and consolidates agencies to reduce the number of administrators.

According to the governor's office, Plan B's proposed 4,742-job-cut figure could have risen to more than 5,000 positions if concessions were not achieved. Reductions would have affected both union and nonunion workers.

Fifteen Democrats in both the state House and Senate broke with their party to vote against the budget. Donovan said that, while it was a tough budget, it still passed with eight more votes than were needed in the House.

"I'd like to concentrate on the people who did the right thing and who voted for it," Donovan said. "The political thing is to say, 'No taxes.'"

Fasano said those new taxes, including a doubling of the corporate surtax, would work to drive business from the state.

"People, businesses, can't afford new taxes," he said.

Jesse Buchanan reports for the Record-Journal, Meriden. Contact Mr. Buchanan at jbuchanan@record-journal.com and (203) 317-2230.