In a letter to legislative leaders calling for a special session next week to extend his emergency pandemic powers until February 15, Gov. Ned Lamont cited the Delta variant, an uptick in Connecticut cases and […]
“There is no public interest that is served by extending Governor Lamont’s emergency powers, as state lawmakers reportedly plan to do next week. Our state senators and representatives are fully capable of debating and voting […]
A long-standing state statute from 1957 requires labor unions to file annual reports with Connecticut’s Department of Labor, but DOL has no record of any such reports, according to a Freedom of Information request. The […]
The Connecticut Senate has set a date for a special session on September 28, according to the Connecticut legislative website. Although there has been no formal announcement as to what the General Assembly will be […]
Kevin Brookman, who writes a blog called “We The People Hartford,” was ordered by a Connecticut Superior Court judge to turn over his laptop and cellphone so forensic analysts can seek out the identity of […]
On August 18, police officers in Westport voted 42-5 in favor of switching union representation from AFSCME Council 4, AFL-CIO, to the National Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s largest police union. And they were […]
Save the Sound, one of Connecticut’s environmental advocacy groups pushing hard for the Transportation and Climate Initiative program, is ramping up their lobbying efforts in September, according to filings with the Office of State Ethics. […]
Employees and union stewards at the Department of Correction took 69,169 hours of union leave time over the course of 2018 and 2019, costing taxpayers $2.3 million, according to a report from the Auditors of […]
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed on to the Transportation and Climate Initiative program without legislative approval, but he may soon need voter approval if Massachusetts is going to remain in the controversial cap and trade […]
Connecticut trade unions are joining environmental and social justice advocacy groups in sending a letter to Connecticut lawmakers urging them to pass the Transportation and Climate Initiative program with a greater focus on equity and […]
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.