(State Rep. Vincent J. Candelora is a Republican representing East Haven, North Branford and Wallingford. He is the deputy House minority leader) I believe this budget session is going to be less about party politics and more about courage.  Namely, which legislators will have the courage to stand up to the Governor’s budget proposal and […]

(Kia Murrell is associate counsel for the Connecticut Business & Industry Association) Most Connecticut lawmakers ran for office on the promise of creating and growing jobs in the state. But the legislature’s Labor Committee has approved a proposal that actually would increase business costs, prevent job growth and could result in the loss of jobs. […]

(Steve Mandel is vice-chair of the Teach for America Connecticut advisory board.) Gov. Dannel Malloy has a very difficult job on his hands. He is new to his position, needs to build a top-flight management team to help him run the state, and must close a $3.5 billion budget deficit, one of the largest in […]

(Luis Caban is president of the board of the Connecticut Association for Human Services and executive director of SINA, Inc.) Gov. Dannel Malloy’s call for a State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low-wage workers would help struggling families make ends meet and pump much-needed funds into Connecticut’s economy. The EITC is considered to be […]

In a curious coincidence, the editorial boards of two major Connecticut newspapers recently published articles on the same day calling for the closure of Riverview Hospital, our state’s only publicly-funded mental health hospital for children. I represent an organization that calls for the improvement and expansion of mental health services in the child’s natural environment […]

In proposing a merged Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) with Dan Esty as its head, Governor Malloy took a bold step toward implementing his stated vision that Connecticut’s environmental health and economic future are fundamentally and inextricably linked. Governor Malloy deserves credit for taking action so early in his tenure to pull together […]

A small, almost unnoticeable, cut in the state budget could have a devastating impact on the thousands of Connecticut residents who use public libraries. Since 1976, the state’s libraries have implemented one of the most cost-effective methods imaginable of resource sharing in a state that has turned away from formal regionalism and has 169 separate […]

At first, I was prepared to give Gov. Malloy a whole lot of rope on his budget.  I understand the need to cut spending and raise revenue, and I’m prepared to do my part. But then I read the fine print.  I still understand the need to address the State’s deficit, but to do so […]

Gov. Malloy’s proposal to trim state expenses and cut personnel costs provides a good foundation for the General Assembly to build upon. Clearly he understands that we can’t solve our fiscal crisis without growing our economy and getting people back to work, and that it must be done in a way that makes our state […]

The world is a different place in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash and the Great Recession — but not for Connecticut’s new governor, who emerged this week in his budget address as a traditional tax-spend-and-borrow Democrat. Here are Governor Malloy’s proposals for fiscal year 2012 beginning in July: $1.5 billion in new permanent […]

Governor Malloy deserves great credit for presenting the first fiscally honest budget in many years, avoiding the quick-fix gimmickry that has contributed to our current revenue shortfalls, such as a reliance on one-time revenues and borrowing.  His reforms are a first step toward a budget that improves fairness, is more adequate to the state’s needs, […]

The motto of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns is, “We’re working to keep small towns strong.” To this end, COST analyzes policies being considered at the Capital with several questions in mind: Will they make Connecticut’s 139 smaller communities, those suburban and rural towns under 30,000 in population, better places in which to live […]