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October 2005 — Vol. 83, No. 8

Several good bills passed,
nearly 200 antibusiness bills
fended off at legislature

 

Despite knowing that the state’s economy was producing only lackluster job growth, legislators earlier this year proposed nearly 200 bills that would have made Connecticut businesses less competitive. The pay-or-play health insurance bill, several business tax proposals, a bill restricting employers’ communication with employees, bills increasing workers’ comp costs, and several costly health insurance mandates were ultimately defeated or significantly modified in response to efforts by CBIA, its coalition partners and member companies.

The association’s advocacy also resulted in some good bills passing, notably:

  • a bill providing funding to upgrade state highways and transit systems;
  • financial incentives for creating energy services and technologies to help offset the higher costs expected when federally mandated two-zone electricity pricing goes into effect next year;
  • funding for stem-cell research;
  • a bill promoting urban site cleanup and redevelopment;
  • a bill encouraging greater collaboration between higher education and industry; and
  • a bill providing state bonding for charter schools.

Not all the news was good, though. Legislators approved raising business taxes by $110 million and hiking state spending by 12.2% (exceeding the level allowed by the constitutional spending cap formula) over the next two fiscal years.

For a more-detailed summary of the business-related bills enacted this year, see CBIA’s 2005 Summary of Business Legislation, available online at cbia.com.

 

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