HARTFORD - A Democratic plan to raise the minimum staff-to-resident ratio in nursing homes was described as historic, necessary and long overdue at a press conference Wednesday.

"Every once in a while around here, dreams come true, and this has been a dream of mine for years," said Sen. Edith G. Prague, D-Columbia.

The Democrats' plan would provide $9.5 million in fiscal year 2008-09, which begins on July 1, to increase staff-to-resident ratios from 1.9 hours to 4.2 hours of care per day at nursing home throughout the state.

There would also be accountability measures included in legislation.

The $9.5 million is included in the Democrats' budget proposal, but was not included in Gov. M. Jodi Rell's proposal.

"We want quality care to be the norm, not the exception," said House Majority Leader Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden.

Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, said the increase for nursing homes will be sustainable, adding that after the coming fiscal year, it will probably take about $30 million in subsequent years to maintain the change.

The governor's budget director, Robert L. Genuario, disagreed. He said the Democrats' proposal would require that the mandated staffing ratios in nursing homes be doubled, but adequate funding would not be provided.

Preliminary numbers estimate the mandate would cost about $157.5 million per year, Genuario said.

"It doesn't make any sense," he said of the Democrats' proposal.

Rell shares Genuario's concerns.

"The mandate has a noble goal, but their deliberate underfunding in this program will itself lead to a huge budget hole," the governor said in a prepared statement.

Staffing levels at nursing homes have not been addressed in 25 years, said House Speaker James A. Amann, D-Milford.

"We say we need to do it now," he said. "We can't wait any longer."

Williams agreed, saying that the timing is right and that Democrats are looking to tie the large amount of money the state already spends on nursing homes to a staffing requirement.

But aside from the money for staffing levels, nursing homes are not slated to receive any other big increases in 2008-09.

They have been fighting for more adequate funding, but their budget is slated to actually be less in 2008-09 than in 2007-08, and nursing homes are expecting to only receive 1 percent in a Medicaid rate increase, not nearly as much as hoped for.

Despite the absence of even a cost of living increase, nursing home advocates were elated Wednesday, cheering loudly for the Democratic leaders championing their cause.

Nursing staffing levels are a problem across the country, and Connecticut is no exception, said Toby S. Edelman, a senior policy attorney for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Medicare Advocacy.

Adequate nursing staff is critical to providing good care, she said.

"We need more staffing in nursing homes, and we believe this legislation is the best way to get there," Edelman said.

Lawmakers agree.

"We are taking a giant step forward for nursing home quality," Williams said.