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 […]
Connecticut’s Senate passed a pro-union bill designed to push back against the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Janus v. AFSCME, but that legislation, if passed into law, could land the State of Connecticut in court. […]
A report to Gov. Ned Lamont on potential efficiency savings for Connecticut’s state government found that many of those savings are hindered by government union contracts. The Boston Consulting Group estimates Connecticut could achieve upwards […]
Nearly 75 percent of Connecticut’s public-sector workforce is part of a union, according to new numbers released by Unionstats.com, making Connecticut’s government workforce the most unionized in the country. The figures derived from 2020 Current […]
“As Governor Ned Lamont meets with legislative leaders tomorrow to discuss transportation funding, we hope he will remember his campaign promise to save taxpayer money by reaching a deal with Connecticut’s government unions. Connecticut’s fiscal […]
A recent survey of public-sector union members in 22 states without right-to-work laws showed more than half of them approve of their new rights under the Janus v. AFSCME ruling.
No matter who occupies the governor’s office in 2019, he will be faced with a $4.6 billion budget deficit, including 7 percent raises for state employees, and increasing costs for unfunded pension and state retirement […]
The loss of those agency fees could cost Connecticut's various government unions up to $3.4 million per year, approximately 10 percent of their annual take from state employees, according to numbers supplied by the Comptroller's Office.
Facing a $4.6 billion deficit over the next biennium, lawmakers will find themselves in the position of a political captive — hands tied, blind-folded and locked in a dingy basement.
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.