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February 2006 — Vol. 84, No. 1

CBIA’s government action plan priorities

 

The association’s 2006 Government Affairs Program outlines actions the state should take to promote economic growth and job creation. Below are the priority actions. You can download the complete program at cbia.com/gov.

Competitive costs

  • Send a positive message by repealing the corporate tax surcharge and developing plans to eliminate anti-investment taxes such as the property tax on manufacturing machinery and equipment and taxes on business services.
  • Use a substantial portion of the fiscal year 2006 budget surplus for transportation infrastructure improvements, and put the balance of the surplus in the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
  • Deal with the root causes of rising health care costs by:
    – subjecting every health care mandate to a cost-benefit analysis and eliminating mandates that drive up costs for everyone while providing few benefits;
    – encouraging the development of more health plan options;
    – striving to reduce medical errors and improve health care quality; and
    – increasing consumers’ power to make informed health care choices by improving access to health care quality data.
  • Protect workers’ and unemployment compensation reforms, and find additional ways to reduce these business costs.

Dependable infrastructures

  • Provide additional funding, in part through a portion of fiscal year 2006 surplus funds, to transportation infrastructure improvements that implement recommendations of the Transportation Strategy Board.
  • Continue to upgrade Connecticut’s energy systems to provide reliable service at an affordable cost.

Skilled workforce

  • Provide employers with the skilled workforce they need by improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics education throughout the public school system.
  • Upgrade the state’s technical high school system and expand apprenticeship job training programs to provide manufacturers with the next generation of skilled employees.

 

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