Maria Horn

This is my State Capitol update for the week of February 3. If you would rather watch than read, check out the link at the bottom of the page.

Opening Day 2020

On Wednesday, February 5, the 2020 Legislative Session officially opened. Governor Lamont addressed the legislature in joint session that included both the House and the Senate, delivering the “State of the State” and presenting his budget. He recounted the significant progress Connecticut has made in recent years, particularly in terms of fiscal discipline. The governor received the most roaring applause when he proposed that it was time to stop badmouthing the state.

In honor of that, I thought I’d start sharing some of the facts I’ve learned about Connecticut’s government over the course of the last year and slay some of the mythology out there. The one I’ll start with this week has to do with the significant cuts the state has made over the last decade. Since 2008, Connecticut has eliminated 16,000 public sector jobs – that’s about 21% of the state workforce. During the same period, our neighbors have added significantly: for example, in the same time period, Massachusetts added 19,000 workers, Florida 18,100, and South Carolina 21,800. Connecticut now ranks 7^th lowest nation-wide in number of government employees per capita. CT has about 202 state employees per 10,000 residents. In comparison, New York has 330, South Carolina has 257, Massachusetts has 214, and Florida has 207.

These cuts have had a major effect on another statistic about Connecticut that is often cited, which is that it has not yet recovered all of the jobs lost since the last recession. While that is true, it is because of those public sector jobs that have been cut: the private sector has recovered completely, and has now recouped 107% of pre-recession jobs.

It should also be noted that while these cuts have certainly had a positive fiscal impact, they also produce some less than optimal side effects. For example, costs for overtime have a significant negative impact on the budget, particularly for necessary services such as the Department of Corrections. It has also meant some reductions in the responsiveness of certain departments: I hear about that a lot re the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation. Looking forward, it will be critical for us to look at a longer time horizon, and recognize that sometimes short term cuts significantly increase long term costs.

2020 Budget Revisions

The Governor also introduced proposed revisions to the biennial budget we passed last session. The following day the Appropriations Committee heard from Secretary Melissa McCaw of the Office of Policy and Management, who laid out the budget in more detail and officially kicked off the series of informational sessions, public hearings, and subcommittee work groups in which the Appropriations Committee will now evaluate. The “short session”, which lasts from February to May, is focused on those budget revisions, and has a dense schedule. It’s a lot to do in three months. Click here for a summary of the Governor’s budget plan.

Connecticut is not Iowa

This week Secretary of State Denise Merrill made the emphatic point that CT does not run its elections like Iowa does, and that we are not at risk for the kind of catastrophe that has beset the Iowa presidential primary caucus. In addition to not having caucuses, in CT: 1) we use paper ballots, which are a powerful bulwark against electronic hacking; and 2) our elections are run by trained professionals, not political parties.

Local Events

On Wednesday Salisbury held its annual meeting, at which the town’s annual report was dedicated to Anne Kremer, whose tenacious dedication to, and success at, creating sustainable affordable housing in our community has improved all of our lives.

This weekend is Salisbury’s annual Jumpfest, and, yes, there is snow on the jumps, so I hope to see you at the festivities!

It is my honor to represent our district. I look forward to hearing from you about the issues raised in this newsletter, or any other topics you think I should know about. You can email me at maria.horn@cga.ct.gov or call me at (860)-240-8585. Thanks for reading, and I wish you a safe weekend.