Many important bills are making their way through the state legislature and several have been passed out of committee. Some of them are good, others bad. These proposed bills will have a big impact on the people of Connecticut, so we have listed some of them below with an update on what they do and what it could mean for Connecticut.
Two bills that would tax workers in Connecticut to fund paid time off for family medical needs are working through the legislature, yet the proposals don't say what the tax rate will be. Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 6212 would create a state trust fund into which employees would pay a percentage of their income and be guaranteed 12 weeks of leave with pay up to $1,000 per week.
A contentious public hearing before the Labor and Public Employees Committee went late into the night Thursday as lawmakers heard testimony on a number of bills that could have big impacts on hiring in Connecticut. Committee co-chair, Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven, told Eric Gjede of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association that “those who can afford to pay, need to pay.”
Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury and Hartford all face mounting debt, pension and OPEB liabilities, coupled with high taxes, high rates of poverty and declining services, according to a forth-coming study entitled Connecticut's Broken Cities. However, Stamford remains the one major Connecticut city that does not qualify as a “distressed municipality.”
This year, Connecticut lawmakers have the opportunity to show that they are committed to bringing jobs and prosperity back to our state. That starts with saying “no” to another tax increase, and “yes” to dismantling the barriers that hobble job and economic growth. During the 2017 legislative session, the Yankee Institute will be working with legislators, state officials and stakeholders in the following areas
Among the troubled roots is Connecticut’s inability to sufficiently reduce spending, which has hurt the state’s fiscal health. In the most recent fiscal health analysis put out by some of the nation’s most reliable economic researchers, Connecticut shows vast room for improvement. In the Pew Charitable Trust’s research titled Fiscal 50: State Trends and Analysis, Connecticut did not fare well compared to its neighbors. Of particular note is the state’s depleted reserves; Connecticut’s reserves would allow the state to operate for a projected 8.3 days.