By State Senator
Toni Boucher
Many people in our district appear to be quite happy
to view 2008 in the rear view mirror. They are looking
to the New Year for a fresh start, a year to usher in
the new, a year of change. As I left the Senate floor
after being sworn in to join my former colleagues in
the House for the traditional opening day State of the
State address by our Governor, I could not help but
reflect on the change I just experienced from my previous
years as a State Representative. The State Senate is
located on the third floor of the Capitol where 36 rather
large red leather chairs and desks are arranged in a
spacious circle so that members can face each other
when speaking. The opening day atmosphere is calm, cordial
and dignified. The House, on the other hand, is tightly
packed with 151 members surrounded by an army of staff,
lobbyists and media all creating a scene of controlled
chaos. A hushed silence indicated that the Governor
had arrived to deliver her message.
Governor M. Jodi Rell began the 2009 Legislative Session
by wishing everyone well – and reminding legislators
that we can best serve the state during this difficult
economic time by working together to provide essential
government services at a cost we taxpayers can afford.
We invested in our state when times were good, she said,
and now that times are not good, we will all have to
make sacrifices.
As I listened to her State of the State address, I
agreed with Governor Rell’s assessment of what
our state needs to do: to protect our families and their
futures; restore the prosperity built through the inspiration
and ingenuity of our founders; and eliminate the impediments
to our progress. This is advice worth following at any
time, but it is especially meaningful now when far too
many people have lost their jobs, or are afraid they
will, and far too many businesses are closing their
doors, or fear they will be forced to do so.
Legislators must put families, businesses and their
towns first as we try to close our current $350 million
state government budget deficit for the year ending
June 30, 2009; some estimates indicate that this number
may soon double. Along with the Governor, we also have
the task of crafting another biennial budget for 2010-2011.
This budget will require fiscal discipline and political
courage to responsibly deal with a projected $6 billion
deficit for the next two fiscal years.
As someone who served on the legislature’s Appropriations
Committee during many of my 12 years as a State Representative,
I know how difficult it is to help craft state budgets
when the economy is good and the state has a budget
surplus. I also have helped craft government and business
budgets during previous recessions.
Now, as a State Senator and a member of the Finance
Committee, I will be working with my legislative colleagues
to craft fair, responsible, tax policies at a time when
our state’s, and our nation’s, economy is
suffering and during the most economically challenging
time in our lives. Our success will depend to a large
extent on our willingness to work together to find new
ways of doing things. The Senate Republican Caucus began
opening day of the legislative session by offering a
number of well-thought out suggestions for the majority
leadership to consider.
For example, we proposed streamlining the budget adoption
process by combining the legislature’s Appropriations
and Finance committees, and requiring that the resulting
new Budget Committee be ready with a government spending
and taxing proposal by April 1st. Considering the depth
of our state’s budget problems, it no longer makes
sense to have separate Appropriations and Finance committees
spend the first three months of the legislative session
working independently on different aspects of a budget
proposal that, frankly, never fit together.
Under this outdated system, the General Assembly votes
at the last minute on a budget package negotiated in
back rooms, away from the public - which rarely resembles
the spending and taxing plans originally crafted by
the Appropriations or Finance committees. Requiring
everyone to work together from the very beginning, and
to submit a complete proposal to the full General Assembly
two months before the close of the legislative session
would both save time and result in a much, much better
state budget. Furthermore, it would give our cities
and towns the information they need to complete their
own budget deliberations on time instead of trying to
guess what state funding they may receive months after
their budget process had concluded.
Also, Senate Republican leadership tried to convince
our majority counterparts to make the legislative process
more efficient by consolidating several other committees,
and eliminating so-called select committees that in
many cases duplicate work. This would save time and
save money by allowing the legislature to perform its
work with fewer staff.
Unfortunately, the majority leadership did not agree
with the suggestions we offered on Opening Day. However,
I am hopeful that legislators of both parties will find
ways to work together in the coming weeks to resolve
Connecticut’s most troubling fiscal issues.
More recently, the legislature’s Republican leaders
suggested delaying approval of all arbitrated state
employee union contracts until June 3, 2009, the end
of our legislative session. Currently, the legislature
has only 30 days to act on these agreements, which make
up a significant portion of the state budget. If left
on the calendar without action, they are automatically
approved. Typically, the majority leadership permits
public employee arbitration awards to take effect without
a vote. I do not believe this is good public policy.
The fair, responsible, thing to do is to consider all
of these contracts in the context of our present budget
crisis.
To illustrate just how daunting the state’s fiscal
problems are, Senate Republican Leadership has created
a “budget deficit clock” that you can see
by visiting our caucus website at www.senaterepublicans.ct.gov.
Each day we delay taking decisive action on our state
budget our state government plunges $870,000 further
in deficit. Clearly, we cannot wait much longer to act.
Meanwhile, our legislative committees are already hard
at work. My role may have changed and my responsibilities
grown, but I remain committed to serving the best interest
of our state, and of the people whose best interests
I have promised to represent. As I travel to the State
Capitol from my district, the personal philosophy of
Booker T. Washington is never far from my mind as it
is as relevant today as it was when he expressed it
so eloquently in 1901: “The best prospect for
success for our people is education, industriousness
and self reliance.” Hard work has always served
our state well, and I believe that a willingness to
work hard now - and work hard together – will
put our state back on the road to prosperity.
I look forward to the opportunity to discuss these
or other issues that are important to you, and I encourage
you to contact me with your ideas and concerns. I can
be reached at my legislative office in Hartford at 1-800-842-1421
or via e-mail to Toni.Boucher@cga.ct.gov.
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