Social progressives applauded Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday at a celebration of a shared political victory: a once-controversial paid family and medical leave program that has been used 190,000 times and paid out nearly $1 billion in benefits as it closes its third year of existence. In three weeks, when the 2025 session of the General Assembly convenes, those same advocates will be lobbying Lamont to reconsider his resistance to revisions to a volatility cap and other spending limits they say is diverting too much money to budget reserves and debt reduction at the expense of social programs. Lamont’s relationship with the left has been defined by two contradictory impulses: a willingness to defy business opposition and support key labor initiatives, including paid leave and a relatively generous minimum wage, balanced against a fiscal conservatism he sees as crucial to budget stability and economic growth. The path to passage of the paid leave program illustrated Lamont’s desire to be an ally of labor — but not always on their terms. Passage came only after Lamont threatened a veto over whether private insurers would have a role, and a compromise was struck. That was overlooked Thursday when Lamont seemed eager to tweak the program’s opponents, primarily a Republican legislative minority uniformly opposed to its creation and business lobbyists who warned that the program never would be financially solvent. “Just the opposite,” said Lamont, a Democrat and former businessman from Greenwich. “We’re managing this at a good basis. People said it was going to be bad for business. Look, business has never been stronger. I heard the same complaints about the minimum wage.” The celebration Thursday outside Hartford Prints! — a woman-owned card and gift shop in downtown Hartford whose owner had urged creation of the program — came on the same day the latest job report showed Connecticut’s unemployment rate at 3% in November, the sixth consecutive month the state has posted a jobless rate lower than the national average. Bills creating the paid leave program and raising the minimum wage both passed with Lamont’s support in 2019, his first year in office. The hourly minimum wage increased in annual increments from $10.10 to $15 in 2023, then was pegged to an economic index that raised it to $15.69 last year and will go to $16.35 next month. The paid leave program essentially is a state-mandated disability insurance program funded by a tax on workers of one-half of 1%. No benefits were paid until January 2022, allowing the fund backing the benefits to accrue. It provides up to 12 weeks of replacement wages, payable on a sliding scale ranging up to a maximum of 95% for minimum-wage earners, capped at $900 a week. Workers incapacitated by pregnancy could get an additional two weeks. Benefits would be cut if the revenue proves insufficient to meet demand. [RELATED: CT Family and Medical Leave vs. Paid Leave: Here’s what to know] That has not been necessary: The program, which is administered by a quasi-public agency whose membership is dominated by gubernatorial appointees, has collected about $1.6 billion and has a current reserve of nearly $600 million. Contributions have increased 3.6% in this calendar year. “So with the continued expansion of the program and success, Connecticut really is leading the nation,” Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said. “It’s so clear that our paid medical leave program serves our state and is a powerful tool for economic stability, for gender equity and for family support.” About half the claims have been for the applicant’s own illness, about 13% for caregiver leave, 13% for pregnancy or child birth and 24% for bonding with newborns or adopted children. Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, a retired union executive and leading liberal voice who disagrees with Lamont’s fiscal policies, said the relationship with the governor is one of mutual respect. She expects to have reasoned discussions with him over fiscal policies in 2025. In an appearance Wednesday on WNPR’s Wheelhouse show, Lamont made clear his focus remains on fiscal discipline and economic growth. “I think the priorities for the state is to keep it growing. You know, we were a shrinking state. Young people were leaving the state. Companies were leaving the state, and we were going from deficit to deficit,” Lamont said. “It was a pretty tough time. I’d like to think that that is turned around, but you can’t take it for granted.” Connecticut has posted five straight years of strong revenue growth and budget surpluses, but the governor’s repeated references to population growth have been undermined by a revision made to estimated in-state migration. Census Bureau has corrected its state-to-state migrations estimates for Connecticut, turning a net gain of 57,000 into a loss of 13,500 people from 2021 to 2022. Lamont has one more public event before take off for the holidays: He will preside Friday over a meeting of the state Bond Commission.