Proponents for the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) plan to use a special legislative session in September to implement the program in Connecticut, according to a key supporter. Legislative leaders haven’t yet announced formal plans […]
Language that would have given state department commissioners the ability to contract with other states was removed from the budget implementer by a voice vote in the House of Representatives. Section 221 of the implementer […]
House Republican leader Vincent Candelora, D-North Branford, said the Transportation and Climate Initiative program could be included in an upcoming special session after the two parties reached a stalemate over marijuana legalization and ran out […]
A bill that would determine prevailing wage rates for large building and highway construction based on “dominant collective bargaining agreements” will likely be voted on by the legislature during special session. Although much attention has […]
Sitting in our family room last night, my eyes fell on a pair of upholstered chairs routinely occupied by my husband and son. The arms of both have grown frayed and a little shabby over […]
Meeting in special session, the Connecticut House of Representatives yesterday voted on an eclectic range of bills, with the most controversial centering on police reform and voting changes. Protesters outside the Capitol included unionized nursing home workers and teachers; police; self-designated representatives of Black Lives Matter; and […]
As lawmakers await a drafted bill version of Gov. Ned Lamont’s new transportation plan, which would include tolls on large trucks, Senate President Pro-Tem Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said legislative leaders have not determined how […]
**Update: Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday that the Department of Revenue Services will revise its guidance to eliminate the sales tax on items from grocery store aisles** As Gov. Ned Lamont heads into meetings with […]
Connecticut deserves clean, fair, open and judicious government. That government cannot be provided by backroom deals or in the dark of night, as this session amply illustrated. We therefore call upon the governor not to call any […]
For a state facing billions in projected deficits, $11,000 may seem like a drop in the bucket, but that is what it will cost Connecticut taxpayers when lawmakers convene for a special session to override Gov. Dannel Malloy’s veto of a bill to save a popular Medicare program.
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.