Legislative session produces troubling trends

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Attitudes, actions could hurt Connecticut businesses

With Connecticut facing a budget deficit and a slowing economy, one might expect that state legislators would have made improving our business climate a top priority. Instead, they took some troubling actions that could increase the economic pressures on businesses and jeopardize companies’ ability to provide good jobs for state residents.

“Businesses are worried about the direction of the General Assembly. They are losing confidence in the state legislature’s ability and desire to help them through the financial turmoil facing the economy,” says John Rathgeber, CBIA president and CEO.

“They hoped that legislators would take actions to create a pro-growth, pro-jobs business climate that can weather the current downturn and help businesses, residents and the state through the economic recovery.”

On a positive note, legislators rejected many bills that would have raised business costs or imposed new mandates on employers. They did, however, approve a bill raising the minimum wage.

That alone is cause for concern, considering that businesses are already under intense economic pressure. But just as troubling are a growing anti-business tone and two trends in the legislature:

1. Some legislators dealt with key business issues by supporting initiatives put forward by state employee unions and other groups that do not represent the best interests of Connecticut businesses. The unions successfully pushed a bill to open the state health care plan to municipalities and small businesses, paving the way for a state-run, single-payer health care system in Connecticut.

CBIA has urged Gov. Rell to veto the bill because it does not address the real problem with health care: rising costs. True health care reform must focus on reducing cost drivers, improving the quality of care and providing health care access to the uninsured. Surveys show that businesses and state residents alike believe the health care system should remain primarily in the private sector.

“Building on the strengths of our current employer-sponsored health care system and focusing on health care cost-drivers, rather than adopting a new state-run system, is the best way to make health care more affordable and accessible to everyone in Connecticut,” says Rathgeber.

Outside interest groups pushed a bill that would have made Connecticut the first state in the nation to mandate paid sick time. They claimed it would help businesses by improving productivity; in reality it would have been costly and made businesses uncompetitive. The bill failed.

2. Year after year, many harmful anti-business bills introduced by the Labor Committee keep advancing through the legislature only to die due to inaction and time constraints on the last night of the session. Keeping these bills alive throughout the session sends a clear message that Connecticut is an unfriendly state for business development and growth.

“During these tough economic times, we all need to help strengthen the economy, not weaken it,” says Rathgeber. “We applaud the governor, Republican leaders, the speaker of the House and other legislators who opposed bills that would discourage investment, economic growth and job creation in Connecticut. They understand the consequences that these types of bills would have on business competitiveness and the state’s long-term economic vitality.”