CT Democrats Expanding Government!

Connecticut Democrats keep marching down the road to larger, more expensive government. Today, the State Senate debated a bill to create a new state insurance exchange. Many questions remain unanswered after nearly three hours of debate.

Senate Bill 921 creates a new “quasi-government” organization that is granted power to “charge assessments or user fees to health carriers to generate necessary funding to support ongoing operations.” The bill also allows the new organization to borrow money. The major problem with this plan is there are no clear boundaries for this new government agency’s spending and borrowing.

The new assessments or user fees proposed in this bill are paid by “health carriers” but that translates into Connecticut residents paying the cost of this new government agency. The Democrats at the State Capitol claim this proposal is required under ObamaCare. Unfortunately, the final rules from Washington are not in place and Connecticut Democrats are jumping forward to expand state government.

A lengthy debate in the Senate made it perfectly clear this plan is premature and is perhaps misguided. ObamaCare mandates states to spend millions of dollars on the expansion of new government bureaucracies – translation – more costs to state residents mandated by ObamaCare.

Can someone please tell Governor Malloy and the Democrats in the state legislature to stop spending money? PLEASE!

Connecticut Democrats Want Early Release for Violent Felons

Today in the Connecticut State Senate is painful to watch. The majority Democrats and Governor Malloy are approving a new program of early release for prisoners. The most alarming part about the program is the list of violent criminals that will qualify for this misguided idea.

Here are the crimes that qualify for the Democrats early release program:

Manslaughter
Assault
Threatening
Strangulation
Sexual assault
Promoting prostitution
Kidnapping
Burglary
Arson
Robbery
Stalking
Trafficking in persons
Employing a minor in an obscene performance
Promoting a minor in an obscene performance
Importing child pornography
Possessing child pornography
Criminal violation of a protective order
Criminal violation of a standing criminal protective order
Criminal violation of a restraining order
Act of terrorism
Contaminating a public water supply or food supply for terrorist purposes
Damage to public transportation property for terrorist purposes
Abuse in the first degree
Injury or risk of injury to, or impairing morals of, children. Sale of children.
Abandonment of child under the age of six years
Manufacture of bombs
Firearms trafficking

I am voting no and I urge you to call Governor Malloy at (860) 566-4840 and tell him to stop this bad idea with his veto of HB6650!

Legislature Resurrects Old Failed Ideas

Connecticut’s legislature has far too much time until Midnight on June 8th to continue killing jobs in our state. That is when the Connecticut General Assembly adjourns the session for 2011.

Now that the bogus budget was passed with no Republican votes and plenty of smoke and mirrors the Democratic majority legislative leadership has turned their sights on every idea that has failed in the last several years.

Let me share with you some of the legislative ideas burning the midnight oil at the State Capitol in Hartford:

Transgender Rights
Decriminalization of Marijuana
Mandate Employers Provide Paid Sick Leave – requested by the unions
Captive Audience Meetings – requested by the unions
Repeal of the Death Penalty
Provide In-State (discounted) Tuition for Illegal Aliens

Dozens of other pending bills will mandate businesses in Connecticut must spend more money to comply with new state laws. That translates into fewer new jobs created.

Dozens of pending bills mandate local government to provide new programs and services without providing state funding. That translates into higher local property taxes.

The faster the closing bell rings at the State Capitol the better. Somebody bolt the Capitol doors shut until next year so the Democratic majority leadership and the Governor can’t call the legislature into special session and create more wreckage for Connecticut.

Connecticut Democrats Ignore Reality

How ironic that today is Tax Freedom Day® in Connecticut. Tax Freedom Day measures how long Americans work to earn enough money to pay this year's tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels. Connecticut is the last state to reach Tax Freedom Day this year!

The real irony is the Connecticut State Senate is scheduled to vote today on the largest tax increase in state history. Tax Freedom Day for Connecticut residents next year will come even later in the calendar after this massive tax increase is considered.

Governor Malloy and the Democratic majority leadership in the Connecticut General Assembly are completely disconnected from the reality of our struggling residents and businesses. Everyone outside of government cut spending in their budgets to match their decreased earnings. Connecticut Democrats refuse to make the difficult decisions to reform our state government and cut spending.

Who would’ve guessed Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey would ever be more competitive than Connecticut? I hope Nutmeggers will wake up and demand change!

The No Tax Increase Budget Alternative

I joined Republican legislators this afternoon at the State Capitol to introduce a no-tax-increase budget alternative. Governor Malloy’s budget proposal includes a $1.9 billion tax increase – the largest tax increase ever proposed in Connecticut.

The Republican Alternative Budget significantly reduces the size and cost of government while protecting the social safety net and preserving state aid to municipalities. The proposal reduces the state government workforce by five percent – focusing on management positions for elimination.

Republicans are providing the tough medicine Connecticut needs to emerge from this fiscal crisis. State government is broke because our government leaders have a spending addiction. The Republican plan significantly reduces government spending by eliminating government waste and redundancy. We balance the budget by not raising taxes. This is a common sense solution which paves the way for economic recovery and will help make living and working in Connecticut affordable again.

Details of the Republican Alternative Budget available here

Governor Malloy's Train Wreck?

Governor Malloy’s assistant, Roy Occhiogrosso, released an alternative budget proposal from the Governor’s office yesterday. The Associated Press reported “Connecticut cities and towns would lose one-third of their state aid under a contingency plan Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has requested in case there is no agreement on $1 billion in union savings and concessions to help balance his budget.”

This proposal represents a 36% cut in municipal aid from the state. Danbury would lose $10.4 million in the alternative budget proposal.

This proposal is a train wreck. All Governor Malloy is doing is proposing local municipalities lay-off teachers, police and firefighters. This is pitting state government employee unions against local government employee unions.

Governor Malloy is playing politics at its worst – threatening local governments that currently run far more efficiently than Connecticut’s state government – when he has proposed no significant state government efficiency reforms or reorganization.

State government employees have a zero unemployment rate. Governor Malloy is protecting state employees at all costs while local governments struggle to balance their budgets.

Governor Malloy’s alternative budget proposal is simply passing state government’s bloated inefficiency on to local property tax payers.

I look forward to presenting the Republican’s alternative budget proposal in the next several days that recognizes the urgency of Connecticut state government reorganization.

Happy Tax-Freedom Day! EXCEPT Connecticut

Today, April 12 is the nation's Tax Freedom Day®! Tax Freedom Day measures how long Americans work to earn enough money to pay this year's tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels. This year it was 102 days.

Unfortunately, in Connecticut, Tax Freedom Day® does not arrive until May 2 - the latest in the United States of America. Yes, Connecticut is the most expensive place to live if you pay taxes.

The amazing part about Connecticut being number one Tax Freedom Day® is that "prize" is BEFORE we calculate Governor Malloy's proposed tax increases of $1,500,000,000. I guess next year we will wait until July for Tax Freedom Day® next year.....