from a press release:

Senator Toni Boucher (R-26) will be honored with the ConnCAN Tip of the Cap Award by Alex Johnston, CEO of Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now and nationally recognized educational reform advocate, at Wilton High School. He will be joined by local Board of Education members and educational advocates from local area school systems.

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Senator Boucher Joins Effort To Move Mass Transit Improvements Forward

Senator Toni Boucher (R-26) met with Governor M. Jodi Rell, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, state Transportation Commissioner Joseph Marie, and members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation to discuss high speed rail in the northeast and promote proposed improvements to commuter rail service New Haven, Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts, along with other state rail and bus projects.

“A regional approach to our mass transit needs will help keep Connecticut at the top of the federal priorities list as our state’s rail infrastructure is widely utilized but outmoded,” said Senator Boucher.

Senator Boucher commended Governor Rell and DOT Commissioner Marie for their support and leadership regarding mass transit improvement.

“Connecticut is fortunate to have the right person for the right job at the right time. DOT Commissioner Joseph Marie, along with Governor Rell, has a clear mass transit vision for Connecticut. No question, our transportation infrastructure helps drive economic growth. Finally, our state has all parties on board to advance these important regional mass transit intermodal projects. If successful in gaining federal support, Connecticut residents can look forward to a day when residents will be able to take a train from Fairfield County to New Haven, Bradley Airport and Springfield, Massachusetts,” said Senator Boucher.

The Best Social Program Is A Job

By Senator Toni Boucher

It has been said that “the best social program is a job”. �With Connecticut’s unemployment rate increasing to 9.2 %, reestablishing a fertile environment for job creation is essential to restoring prosperity to our state. It is people, not government, that create jobs.

However, the General Assembly’s Finance Committee spent its last day of work for this legislative session passing several bills that sent a hostile message to Connecticut’s business community. Among other things, these proposals call for:

• Raising the estate tax rate to between 14.8 percent and 20 percent, thus increasing taxes by $9 million this fiscal year and by $165 million next year.

• Creating a 5.5 percent Hospital Provider Tax that would impose a $207 million annual tax increase on Connecticut hospitals.

• Extending a soon-to-expire tax on electric bills for an additional 10 years, which would result in a $1.8 billion tax increase on electricity to pay off $1.3 billion in borrowing.

• Requiring Connecticut-based corporations with out-of-state subsidiaries to pay taxes on its entire net income, instead of paying taxes only on what it makes from its holdings in this state.

• Taxing the bonuses earned by those who work for companies that received TARP funding from the federal government -� but have paid the federal money back with interest. We would be the only state in the nation to do this.

I spoke against and voted against these bills in committee – and will do again if they make it to the Senate floor. However, the mere fact that a powerful committee endorsed them will have a chilling effect on business owners considering expanding,

Case in point: A woman-owned bread company that started in a Wilton kitchen moved to a small commercial space and is now looking for larger space and plans to employ up to 35 people. They may consider creating those jobs outside of Connecticut because of our unfriendly business climate. The legislature should be removing burdens from these employers, not adding to them.

Now for some good news. A competitively bid contract was recently awarded to upgrade and refurbish the rest stops along the Merritt Parkway (with guidance from the Merritt Parkway Conservancy) and I-95 over the next several years.� There is no question that it would be impossible for the state to finance debt to make these necessary upgrades during these economic times. This contract is good news for Connecticut taxpayers as the new vendor has agreed to assume the considerable expense of renovating and making improvements to these rest stops � an investment in our state that will create jobs during these difficult economic times without taxing residents further.

Another positive development – With less than 2 months left in the fiscal year, an agreement was reached to reduce the current deficit. However, we still face an $800 million deficit beginning July 1, and a nearly $4 billion for the following year.

Republican legislators presented several proposals to resolve the state budget issues we are facing:

• $58 million in line item cuts lowering spending to 2009 levels;
• $64 million in early retirement for state workers;
• $10 million in state agency consolidations;
• $6.4 million to shed state office leases;
• $20 million in privatization of state functions;
• $150 million in state worker concessions, including wage freezes, furloughs and health care adjustments;
• $3.8 million in legislative pay cuts and the elimination of franked mail and travel.

The budget also makes significant investments in job creation and retirement security:

• Appropriates $200 million in previously cancelled contributions to state employee pensions;
• Elimination of the Business Entity Tax to save companies $32 million;
• Creation of the Small Business Revolving Loan Fund of $25 million;
• Tax credits of up to $17.5 million will be available to companies that hire off unemployment rolls.

As we conclude this year’s short session legislators must keep working to close this gap without more new taxes that will further erode job creation.

As always, I encourage you to share your thoughts and concerns with me. I can be reached at my legislative office in Hartford at 1-800-842-1421 or via e-mail to Toni.Boucher@cga.ct.gov.

By State Senator Toni Boucher

Joe McGee of the Business Council of Fairfield County recently stated, “What the recession has done is unmask a structural imbalance in Connecticut’s fiscal policies that has been building for years.”��� It has been clear to employers, taxpayers and a few elected officials for some time that our state has been heading for financial ruin due to the inaction by the General Assembly to confront reality. Our current budget deficit per person is nearly twice that of any other state, $1,700.00 (Nonprofit Quarterly, February 2010.)� And, deficits continue to mount: $518 million by June 30, 2010, nearly $1 billion in 2011 and $4 billion in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

For a time, the legislative majority leadership’s reluctance to confront reality could have been attributed to their belief that the financial crisis was just a momentary blip from which we would quickly recover. Today, there is no excuse for their denial. We must stop spending money we do not have because our beleaguered taxpayers and the bedrock of our state, our remaining employers, cannot afford it. Connecticut already carries the heaviest per capita tax burden of $5,464.00 (Forbes, March 12, 2010) in the contiguous United States, along with the heaviest per capita state debt of $4,490.00� (Forbes, January 20, 2010.)

What has become apparent is a desire on the part of some in the legislature’s majority to protect state unions at the expense of private sector jobs. Their agenda calls for further increasing taxes on businesses, individual citizens and private sector bonuses. Yet longevity payments, which are state employee bonuses based on years worked rather than productivity, have been a longstanding practice. No wonder our state’s business climate is seen as unfriendly, to the extent that management for United Technologies recently voiced a desire to go “any place but Connecticut.”

Recent events at the State Capitol highlight the need to make the difficult, responsible decisions necessary to end this fiscal crisis � regardless of how politically unpopular some of those decisions are. The latest chapter in the state budget impasse saga occurred last weekend when the Senate majority pushed through a so-called deficit mitigation plan calling for raising taxes by $180 million, but cutting spending by only $65 million. Keep in mind that the Senate passed this plan 21-15 shortly before 5:30 a.m. on Saturday after defeating plans offered by Governor Rell and the Senate Republicans, both of whom called for deeper spending cuts. Later in the day, the House decided against meeting in session to take up the Senate majority’s deficit mitigation plan. Why? It became clear that the House would not be able to marshal enough votes to override Governor Rell’s promise to veto the Senate majority’s woefully inadequate deficit mitigation plan.

Remember that there are enough members of the majority in both the Senate and the House to override any gubernatorial veto and pass a budget of their own.

So, where do we stand? �So far, the only proposals taken seriously by the General Assembly’s majority leadership call for tax increases, instead of significant spending cuts. If we cannot work together to address the state’s existing $500 million deficit, how can we hope to pass a responsible, balanced budget for next year and head off the $11.4 billion deficit projected over the next three years? �Democrats and Republicans must come together to resolve Connecticut’s ongoing, dangerous, fiscal crisis. At least half of the details included in our various plans are the same. Let’s agree to meet on common ground, and build from there.

Our state has lost 101,000 jobs between January of last year and January of this year. Unemployment is at 9.1 percent; the last time it was this high was 1976. State government is the largest employer in Connecticut, and our state workers are among the highest paid government employees in the nation. It should be noted that for every one dollar in private pay and benefits a private employee earned, a state or local government worker received one dollar and forty-five cents and that salaries were 30% and benefits 70% higher than private workers were. (Wall Street Journal, March 26, 2010.)

The bottom line is that Connecticut citizens are calling for immediate responsible action, but too many legislators are not listening. So let me repeat what you have been writing to me. You are saying you want an end to tax increases. �You want the state to cut spending! �You want the legislature to pass a deficit mitigation plan and a new state budget that does not further burden taxpayers and cost Connecticut more private sector jobs.

It is my fervent hope to report soon that Hartford has heard you, that common sense has returned to Connecticut and that taxpayers can look forward to better times ahead.

Senator Toni Boucher (R-26) represents the communities of Bethel, New Canaan, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport and Wilton.

By Senator Toni Boucher

I thought you might be interested in a review of last week’s public hearings on bills regarding other issues that are of special interest to our communities.

The Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee took up the annual $250 business entity nuisance tax on every company in Connecticut, including those that make no profit. The Finance Committee is now considering proposed legislation that would partially remove this tax, but at the same time establish a new tax on certain bonuses. In my view, this legislation, Senate Bill 1, simply replaces one anti-business tax with another anti-business tax — a tax that no other state is considering imposing.

The Transportation Committee held a public hearing on Senate Bill 427, which would further restrict the use of cell phones and various other electronic devices while operating motor vehicles. Also under consideration by the Transportation Committee are House Bill 5033 which would require seat belts on school buses, and House Bill 5474 which calls for the establishment of electronic tolls at state borders. More fuel efficient cars have resulted in declining revenues from the gas tax, and so some are looking for new ways to raise money for the state. It has still not been determined if reinstituting tolls would be possible due to federal restrictions. Questions to be answered include: will the state cut the gas tax; will border towns receive additional compensation; will the revenue stream be used only for transportation projects; are there computerized alternatives to e-z passes; and will businesses in border towns lose out-of-state customers?

Topics under consideration by the Education Committee include House Bill 5425, An Act Concerning Special Educa-tion which would establish that the burden of proof lies with the party requesting a special education hearing, and House Bill 5491 An Act Concerning Certain School Districts Reforms to Re-duce the Achievement Gap in Connec-ticut which would allow parents to vote to restructure a school if they are in need of improvement.

When constituents take the time to share their concerns and propose ideas about state issues that are important to them, I have often been able to spearhead changes in state law that not only assist them but also help many others. Some of those legislative proposals under consideration this year include:

Senate Bill 363, An Act Concerning Polling Places For Primaries, would permit municipalities to save money by using fewer polling places for primaries, which generally attract fewer voters than general elections.

Senate Bill 335, An Act Concerning Justices of the Peace which would allow justices of the peace who are authorized to officiate at marriages in other states to perform weddings in Connecticut.

Senate Bill 253, An Act Concerning Proof Of Delivery Of Cancellation Notification Of Life Insurance Policies, which would require insurers to notify customers by registered or certified mail at least 15 days before terminating life insurance benefits.

The Government Administration & Elections Committee is holding a public hearing regarding House Joint Resolution 65, Resolution Memorializing Congress To Abide By The Tenth Amendment, at 10 a.m., Wednesday, March 17, in Room 2B of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

Boucher can be reached at 1-800-842-1421 or via e-mail to Toni.Boucher@cga.ct.gov.