A Connecticut landscaper warned lawmakers Thursday that a proposed ban on gas-powered leaf blowers could put small landscaping businesses out of work, drawing attention online after a committee chair dismissed his testimony during the hearing. […]
Connecticut lawmakers say they want to make energy more affordable. Their latest proposal could do the opposite — starting at the gas pump. House Bill 5156 would create a state “Climate Superfund,” requiring fossil-fuel companies […]
Connecticut residents have spoken clearly: the cost of living is the top issue facing the state. According to the University of New Hampshire’s Survey Center, 26% of respondents in the Feb. 24 Nutmeg State Poll […]
The General Assembly’s Labor and Public Employees Committee has unveiled a 68-page omnibus proposal titled “An Act Concerning Workforce Development and Working Conditions in the State.” Introduced in an election year, House Bill 5003 consolidates […]
Connecticut lawmakers are set to consider three tax proposals at a Feb. 27 public hearing that would increase income taxes, impose a capital gains surcharge, and create a statewide property tax on high-value homes. The […]
Connecticut lawmakers are considering a bill that would ban gas-powered leaf blowers, and use the public benefits charges, forcing ratepayers to subsidize battery-powered leaf blowers. Senate Bill 319 would prohibit the sale of gas-powered […]
Yankee Institute President Carol Platt Liebau argues the 2017 SEBAC deal fell $537 million short of promised savings, and lawmakers must evaluate results—not narratives—before renegotiating in 2027 to ensure accountability and long-term fiscal sustainability. Read […]
The Connecticut State Senate is preparing to vote Wednesday on more than a dozen “emergency certified” bills — many of which never received public hearings — raising renewed concerns about transparency at the Capitol. The […]
Connecticut lawmakers are once again eyeing the state’s fiscal guardrails — the bipartisan reforms widely credited with stabilizing the state’s finances less than a decade ago. But many of the legislators pushing to adjust those […]
The Environment Committee will hold a public hearing on Feb. 20 regarding H.B. 5156, a proposal to create a new “climate superfund” requiring certain fossil-fuel companies to pay for climate-related projects across Connecticut — from […]
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.