Transform Connecticut: CBIA’s 2024 Policy Solutions

Connecticut’s businesses have many reasons for optimism leading into the 2024 General Assembly session, primarily because of our top priority—protecting the fiscal guardrails implemented as part of the 2017 bipartisan reforms and largely responsible for the state’s current fiscal health.

Those reforms, extended last year through 2027, also helped pave the way for the income tax cuts that took effect Jan. 1, the largest in state history—tax cuts that go a long way toward helping make Connecticut a more affordable and attractive place to live and work.

There continues to be significant demand for Connecticut products and services and that speaks to the broad, untapped potential of our economy.

Connecticut has the job openings—around 85,000—what we need are the people to fill those jobs. We must continue focusing on solutions to the labor shortage, with opportunity central to addressing this challenge.

The 2017 fiscal reforms created a viable, sustainable path for making critical investments while paying down unfunded liabilities. Let’s leverage that platform and open doors to opportunity for all communities and residents by implementing and expanding pathways to rewarding careers.

We also must reduce job creation and retention costs, including supporting our current model workers’ compensation system and avoiding costly new workplace mandates

Momentum is on our side. Let’s harness that momentum by adopting this package of commonsense solutions, including: 

• Allowing small businesses access to more affordable, high-quality health insurance options for employees
• Restoring the pass-through entity tax credit to its original level
• Eliminating the temporary corporate tax surcharge
• Letting corporations reduce a greater percentage of tax liability through credits
• Lowering the cost of state government by reforming overtime practices and improving state pension fund investment returns
• Implementing first-time homebuyer tax incentives 
• Making necessary investments in the state’s childcare industry
• Reducing and capping occupational license fees
• Creating a task force to develop bachelor’s degree equivalents for second act teachers who want to teach trade courses 
• Increasing transparency through third-party litigation funding reform 
• Promoting new biotech industries by incentivizing the creation of more lab space
• Promoting business investments in renewable energy by eliminating savings ratio requirements for related capital projects