Testimony by Bryce Chinault in support of SB 135: An Act Establishing a Maximum Charge for Occupational Licenses and HB 5433: An Act Concerning Occupational Licenses and Veterans.
Gov. Ned Lamont’s push to ease occupational licensing requirements for military spouses and people moving into the state received support from the Office of Military Affairs, the American Civil Liberties Union, independent contractors and business […]
Yankee Institute is grateful to Gov. Ned Lamont and his team for their work, thus far, in trying to mitigate the economic damage being wrought on Connecticut during this time of crisis and for their […]
If legislation to construct a third casino in East Windsor passes, a blackjack dealer will have to pay more to the state for a gaming license than the developers of the estimated $300 million resort.
Connecticut has too much red tape, and this year lawmakers from both parties are taking action to cut it. Unemployment for people ages 25 to 34 in Connecticut is abysmal, one of the 10 worst […]
Many important bills are making their way through the state legislature and several have been passed out of committee. Some of them are good, others bad. These proposed bills will have a big impact on […]
In recent years, Connecticut has not been friendly to business or entrepreneurship, particularly start-up activity. In fact, in a new survey of small businesses conducted by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, more than nine […]
When Liz Wilson submitted her final test results to become a marriage and family therapist in early September, she thought she would be able to receive her license from the Department of Public Health within […]
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.