Connecticut could potentially lease part of its tolling infrastructure to telecommunication companies looking to develop 5G wireless technology, according to emails obtained through a Freedom of Information request and forwarded to Yankee Institute. In an […]
Move CT Forward, a coalition of construction and labor associations who have thrown their weight behind Gov. Ned Lamont’s plan to install tolls on Connecticut’s highways, spent nearly $1 million on lobbying during the legislative […]
Lately, Gov. Ned Lamont has appeared like Moses descending from Mount Sinai with God’s commandments in the Mel Brooks comedy, History of the World Part 1 – except he’s carrying toll proposals. In the film, […]
The administration and legislative supporters of tolls have marketed their proposal with claims that a statewide tolling plan, including significant discounts for in-state drivers, would result in the state collecting high levels of revenue from […]
On the heels of a Yankee Institute story detailing Connecticut tolling consultant company CDM Smith’s relationship with an international tolling advocacy group, Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano issued a press release questioning the accuracy of […]
CDM Smith, the engineering consultant company that has authored two tolling studies for the state of Connecticut, is a dues-paying member of an international organization who’s stated purpose is “to create a political environment that […]
According to an email from DOT Principal Attorney Alice Sexton, the tolling report produced by engineering consultant CDM Smith cost taxpayers $2,035,000, roughly equal to $23,391 per page.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation released a new tolling study by engineering consultants CDM Smith which outlined a proposal to install 82 electronic tolling gantries on all Connecticut’s major interstates and routes 15, 8, 9, and 2.
Gov. Dannel Malloy signed an executive order on Tuesday forcing another study on how to implement electronic tolls on Connecticut’s highways and it potential effect on commuters.
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.