I want to start the New Year by wishing all of you a very happy and healthy 2009 and focus in this column on my new legislative committee assignments and the impact of those assignments on my work this legislative session.
In addition to being named a Senate Deputy Minority Leader, I was appointed to four legislative committees. I will continue serving as a member of the legislature’s Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, but for the next two years, I will serve as the Committee’s Senate Ranking Member, or leading Republican Senator. I will continue to serve as the Senate Ranking Member of the Insurance Committee, and as a member of the Regulation Review Committee. In addition, I will now serve as a member of the Appropriations Committee. Each of these committees has cognizance over matters that affect the quality of life for Connecticut residents, and I am committed to working with my legislative colleagues in a bipartisan manner to find the solutions that best meet our needs.
I am honored to take on the challenge of serving as a member of the Appropriations Committee because that Committee will be on the front line of the battle to balance our budget. Addressing the current and projected future state deficits is the dominant state issue for the foreseeable future. How we handle this crisis will affect virtually every aspect of life in Connecticut. As I have written previously, I believe that we must solve this problem without raising taxes because raising taxes hurts people and businesses and will further slow our economy, which has already been very weak overall. I will do my part as a member of the Appropriations Committee to articulate this vision. At least as important, I also hope that we will develop a plan for avoiding this type of financial calamity in the future. I believe that the crisis we now face is due in substantial part to financial mismanagement by the state, and not just by the downturn in the national economy.
Although budget issues will dominate this next session of the General Assembly, their remains important work to be done on other issues. As the Ranking Member on the Education Committee I am looking forward to studying the state Education Commissioner’s proposals to strengthen graduation standards. Although the budget may end up delaying the implementation of these reforms, the substance of the proposed changes need extensive review, and I hope that we will begin that process this year.
I am excited to return as the Ranking Member of the Insurance Committee. Every one of us is impacted in some way by insurance and the laws that regulate insurers and protect policyholders. In addition, insurance is one of the largest employers in the district that I represent, so I am very pleased to serve as part of the leadership of the committee with jurisdiction over this important industry for our region and the state. I look forward to continuing my work on these issues this year.
The Regulation Review Committee is not normally one that receives much public attention, but I believe that it is one of the most important committees in the legislature. Every single regulation adopted in Connecticut passes through that Committee. The range of issues is vast and spans from regulations designed to protect the public and consumers to those that regulate business. Oftentimes, regulations are the means by which legislation that is passed is implemented. I take my position on that committee very seriously because many aspects of our lives are subject in some manner to a regulation of the State of Connecticut.
In addition to my work on these committees, I will continue to pursue the issues for which I have fought during my last term. These include enacting a Three Strikes law and property tax relief for seniors. The fact that I am no longer on the Aging and Judiciary Committees will not impact my work on these critical issues.
As always, I encourage you to contact me with your concerns and share with me your ideas for addressing the issues that are important to all of us. I can be reached at legislative office at 860-240-8800, or via e-mail to Sam.Caligiuri@cga.ct.gov. I look forward to hearing from you.
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