Henry Genga

This month, the Commerce Committee took essential steps towards supporting economic growth and job creation in Connecticut. With a strong, bipartisan effort several bills were recently passed by the committee:

• HB 5005, An Act Extending the Angel Investor Tax Credit Program and Expanding Eligibility for the State's Set-Aside Program for Small Contractors, The bill would extend the angel investor tax credit program for five years and increase the thresholds for eligibility.Angel investments are critical to supporting entrepreneurs as start-ups funded by angel investors are 14-23 percent more likely to survive and create 40 percent more jobs than those that do not have angel funding. The bill would also open the door to more of the state’s small contractors through Connecticut’s set-aside program.
• HB 7008, An Act Implementing the Recommendations of the Working Group on a Public-Private Partnership to Recruit Businesses to Connecticut, This bill aims to improve Connecticut’s marketing efforts in order to better market all of the positives about Connecticut and attract businesses to our state. We have so much to be proud of in Connecticut and we need to do a much better job of marketing our state. We rank 2nd in quality of life, 4th in productivity, 5th in innovation, and we have an incredibly talented workforce, a strategic location, and a beautiful shoreline. This bill will enhance our marketing efforts to better market our strategic assets in a targeted way with a focus on attracting new businesses to our state.
• HB 7308, An Act Implementing the Recommendations of the Telecommunications Systems Steering Committee Concerning the State's Electronic Business Portal,The bill supports the creation of a one-stop-shop online business portal, cutting red-tape and eliminating roadblocks for businesses seeking anything from permits, to tax credits. Right now some businesses may have to access multiple different state agency websites with different log ins and processes to access the permits they need to do business in CT. This bill aims to streamline this process to make it easier for a business to get access to all of the necessary permits and registration requirements in one easy to access location.
• SB 854, An Act Promoting Careers In Manufacturing to Public School Students and Establishing a Task Force to Study the Demand for Career and Technical Education Teachers, There will be over 25,000 open manufacturing jobs to be filled in Connecticut in the next 20 years. These manufacturing businesses are seeking well-trained employees and we have improved manufacturing training in our technical schools and community colleges. This legislation would increase awareness about careers in manufacturing by working with school counselors and local school districts to support students interested in careers in manufacturing.

This bipartisan effort will offer great economic growth and strengthen business here in Connecticut. We thank the Commerce Committee for their hard work on this important issue.