Another key component of the statute involved a series of rules governing when state agencies can hire the private sector. … Still, as long-neglected pension funds pushed overall state finances into crisis over the past decade, Malloy and his budget director, Ben Barnes, argued the system made it too difficult to privatize government services and cut costs. And Lamont inherited the same fiscal challenges that plagued Malloy. Pension and other debt costs already consume nearly 30 percent of the annual operating budget.