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February 6, 2020

CBIA’s policy agenda seeks to jumpstart CT economy

Photo | CBIA CBIA CEO Joe Brennan

The Connecticut Business & Industry Association says its members want state lawmakers this session to avoid any costly new burdens on employers that would inhibit growth in a state that’s been lagging behind for more over a decade.

CBIA, the state’s largest business lobby, shed more light Thursday on its policy priorities for the 2020 legislative session, with an agenda focused on reversing or alleviating recent changes to state law that it had previously fought against, as well as on long-standing issues it’s pursued in years past.

“We’re starting to see better signs of economic growth but we’re still lagging in job creation,” CBIA CEO Joseph Brennan said in a statement. “The main focus of this legislative session must be on making it easier for employers to grow in Connecticut as opposed to what we’ve seen over the last several years, with new costs and mandates hampering much-needed growth.”

A recent mandate sticking in CBIA’s craw is last year’s passage of a paid family medical leave program, which would be funded by a 0.5 percent tax on employee paychecks starting next calendar year. While employers would not fund the program, they have complained that it will be difficult to replace an employee who is on leave for months at a time, and will also add administrative burdens.

As Brennan indicated to HBJ last month, CBIA intends to pressure lawmakers to tweak the law to lessen the burden on smaller companies.

The business group will push for an exemption to the paid leave program for employers with fewer than 30 workers.

“More than three-quarters of our member companies say the mandate will negatively impact their operations, with production and workforce reductions and employee benefit changes among the options they’re exploring,” said Eric Gjede, CBIA’s vice president of government affairs.

The CBIA’s full agenda can be viewed on its website, but here are some key pieces:

  • Find consensus on a funding plan that will provide enough money to modernize Connecticut’s roads and other transportation infrastructure. CBIA did not support highway tolls last year, and it has not issued an official position on Lamont’s renewed desire for trucks-only tolling. CBIA also said lawmakers should ensure revenues from the Special Transportation Fund are used for transportation projects, and not diverted.
  • Further expand the role of nonprofits in delivering state social and health services.
  • Reject any proposals for state-run healthcare programs (such as a “public option” plan, though CBIA did not reference it specifically) that place “a greater burden on taxpayers, erode market competition,” or hurt the insurance industry -- one of the state’s largest employers and economic drivers.” Lamont’s newly released policy agenda doesn’t include a public option-style health plan, though some Democratic lawmakers have signaled they will push for it. 
  • Honor recent spending reforms to further increase the balance of the state’s Rainy Day Fund, which is expected to grow from $2.5 billion to $2.8 billion in the coming fiscal year that begins July 1, Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget director said Wednesday.
  • Bargain with state employee unions to remove overtime and vehicle mileage from calculating the size of retirement pensions.
  • Block any proposals that would eliminate non-compete agreements between employers and employees
  • Restore a tax credit for pass-through entities that the legislature passed last year. CBIA says it is costing businesses $53 million annually.
  • Eliminate sales tax on employee training and reject any new attempts to mandate real-time remittance of sales tax collections by businesses (a measure CBIA fought against last year).
  • Eliminate the 10% corporate income tax surcharge. A prior law would have eliminated the surcharge in fiscal year 2021, but Lamont indicated this week that he would push to continue the surcharge indefinitely, which would mean an additional $22.5 million in state revenue in the coming year.
  • Create incentives (such as tax credits) for companies that voluntarily subsidize employee childcare costs.
  • Provide short-term funding for Manufacturing Innovation Fund training programs and develop a long-term plan to fund future programs.

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