When Governor M. Jodi Rell promised all of us on opening day of the legislative session that she was personally taking charge of Connecticut’s economic future, I cheered.

Since then, Republicans and Democrats on the Commerce Committee, where I sit as senior Republican, have joined forces to support her efforts by granting initial legislative approval to a bill appropriately named An Act Concerning Jobs For The 21st Century. This very ambitious bill, subject to further consideration by other legislative committees before being put to a vote of the entire General Assembly, is a blueprint for building and growing a viable economic future for our state.

 While I expect that there will be a great deal of give and take among lawmakers of both parties before we finally pass a bill, I am confident that the Governor and legislators will continue to work in a bipartisan manner to implement a truly meaningful and effective economic program. This, of course, will require a significant financial investment.  The Jobs Bill requested about $400 million in spending, borrowing and private investment over a period of years. However, it is important to look beyond the sticker shock to the value of what we are trying to do . . . create jobs to ensure that our children, and grandchildren, can grow up to live happy, productive lives and pursue satisfying careers right here in Connecticut.

Some of the highlights of this bill that merges the Governor’s ideas with legislative proposals from this session include:

• Creating a Commerce Office within the Governor’s Office headed by a Secretary of Commerce to implement the long-term economic policies and programs to be developed by a newly created Blue Ribbon Commission comprised of government officials and business experts from the private sector.
• Transforming the state Department of Economic and Community Development into the Department of Business, Employment and Housing which, among other things, will market Connecticut as a place to live; help businesses interested in expanding or relocating here; and encourage international trade.

• Exempting manufacturing machinery and equipment from the property tax, and reimburse municipalities for loss of revenues.

• Promoting collaboration between higher education and business to create several, specific, innovative programs designed to foster new technologies, job creation and long-term economic growth in our state.  

As we continue to fine-tune this proposal and work toward passing meaningful, workable, legislation, I will keep you informed of our progress. As always, I am interested in your thoughts regarding any of the issues important to our state, especially our corner of it.  I can be reached at the Capitol at 1-800-842-1421 or you can send me an e-mail at Catherine.Cook@cga.ct.gov. Also, you will find a great deal of interesting and useful information regarding the legislative process on our website at www.cga.ct.gov. There, you can look up the language and status of legislation. And, if you follow the link to the Senate Republican website, you can check out my web page. I look forward to hearing from you.