In his State of the State Address on Wednesday (Jan 8), Gov. Ned Lamont highlighted “affordability and opportunity” as top priorities. However, just three days later, freshman Rep. Nick Gauthier (D-Waterford) is already pushing to […]
On Wednesday, Jan. 8, the 2025 Legislative Session kicked off — and lawmakers wasted no time introducing new bills. Since then, the Senate has already churned out 451 bills, while the House offered 104. With […]
Yankee Institute, one of the nation’s oldest state-based think tanks, applauds Gov. Ned Lamont’s emphasis on “affordability and opportunity” in the State of the State Address, delivered earlier today at the state Capitol. “Key themes […]
The Sierra Club of Connecticut, an environmentalist group, is pressuring lawmakers into opposing efforts to transfer the Public Benefits Charge (PBC) — which passes along to consumers the costs of the government mandates imposed on […]
As the 2025 legislative session opens on Jan. 8, Yankee Institute is a policy agenda designed to ensure Connecticut is a place where families can stay, grow, and thrive together. Yankee Institute’s priorities include securing […]
The Connecticut General Assembly will reconvene on Jan. 8, 2025, giving lawmakers an opportunity to improve the legislative process. For too long, the state’s residents have watched critical decisions unfold behind closed doors, with last-minute […]
Yankee Institute is demanding accountability from the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities System (CSCU) after a report by the Office of the State Comptroller revealed “inappropriate spending, disregard for financial practices and procedures, inadequate reporting, and misuse of […]
Council 4 of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) — one of the state’s largest labor unions — has quietly hired Hartford City Council Assistant Majority Leader Thomas “TJ” Clarke II […]
As Connecticut lawmakers prepare for the 2025 legislative session starting Jan. 8, progressive groups are demanding billions in new spending and pushing to weaken the state’s fiscal guardrails. However, a newly formed working group, tasked with […]
Connecticut For All, a coalition of unions and special interest groups, hosted a town hall discussion on Tuesday (Dec. 3), at Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford, demanding legislative action to overhaul the state’s fiscal guardrails […]
The Connecticut State Legislature will begin its 2023 session on January 4th and will adjourn on June 7th. The “long session,” as non-election years are called in Hartford, will be centered around the biennial budget. The Office of the State Comptroller reports that state government found a way to spend $47.11 billion in 2022 and, if trends continue, we can expect that number to grow even more going forward. Concerns over energy prices, inflation, and general cost of living continue to dominate the headlines and the threat of a recession hovers over economic forecasts.
What will our elected officials be working on to improve policy outcomes for Connecticut residents? What tax reform proposals will there be? What can be done to lower home heating bills? How will state and local budgets be affected by fewer federal resources? How will schools be implementing to curriculum requirements?
While we wait to see the thousands of individual and committee bills that while dominate the myriad policy debates this year, Yankee Institute is hard at work promoting free-market solutions to the problems we face from Stamford to Putnam and Mystic to Salisbury. To that end, we have produced a new edition of our Charter for Change. The Charter provides commonsense reforms to make Connecticut’s government work for its residents.
Though the list of reforms may be exhausting to review, it is far from exhaustive! And that’s why we want to work with you to build a broad-based coalition to encourage sound policy reforms to enable Connecticut residents to forge a better future for themselves and their families.
It’s also imperative that we do so. As we noted in a report and CT Mirror op-ed last year, the debate over whether we’re in a national recession really misses the point for Connecticut residents. We had more people employed in the private sector in 2007 than we do today. Our economy has grown at one of the slowest rates in the nation for the past decade, and we are getting outpaced year after year. We’re not attracting innovation and industry. We’re losing some of our best and brightest as they seek other parts of the country where it’s easier to make a living.
But together, we can reverse this trend.
At Yankee Institute, we know Connecticut is a state with boundless opportunity, and we intend to help make our state more than a place where people are just able to make ends meet! Connecticut should be a place where everyone can thrive – and with your help, it will be.