Transcripts For CSPAN3 Connecticut State Of The State 202407

CSPAN3 Connecticut State Of The State July 13, 2024

It is my great pleasure to introduce my partner in government, our great governor, ned lamont. [ applause ] mr. President , mr. Speaker, senator fazano, representative clarida or should i say claridas butler, not yet, this is one Public Private partnership we all strongly approve. [ applause ] my fellow state officials, members of the general assembly, judicial branch, Lieutenant Governor bisowitz, emily, annie, lindsey, honored guest, and the people of the great state of connecticut, thank you again for trusting me to this office, and inviting me back into the hall, the room where it happens, and thanks to our partnership, the state of our state is strong and its getting stronger. [ applause ] but were just Getting Started. We still have a long way to go. A year ago, i promised that we would Work Together to ensure the connecticuts future would no longer be defined by a fiscal crisis. We made a down payment on that promise by passing an ontime honestly balanced budget that showed we could live within our means and hold the line on taxes. We also boosted our states rainy day fund, to a record level, that will protect key services, protect our most vulnerable residents, and protect our taxpayers through the next economic storm. In our effort, and our efforts have made a difference for a people. Our budget provided predict ability to those counting on it most. I heard from school principals. I heard from superintendents. City and town leader. Small businesses and families. All saying thank you. I know what i can expect, and we can plan accordingly. Look, three years ago, just three years ago, the Credit Rating agencies downgraded our state. You may remember that headline in the wall street journal, quote, whats the matter with connecticut . Well, today, the wall street journal has a very different headline. Their last editorial, the state has dug a deep hole and maybe now it has stopped digging. Hey, its the journal, its not perfect, but were making progress, arent we . [ applause ] look, the rating agencies and the investors, theyve upgraded our outlook for connecticut. For the first time in 18 years. From neutral to positive. [ applause ] and as senator wooden would tell you, that is saving us tens of millions of dollars in interest costs. And by the way, Economic Growth picked up big time in our state last year. Big time. And that means businesses and young families are now giving connecticut a second look. Theyre talking about connecticut. And we are responding. For a while in connecticut, it wasnt just democrats and republicans who werent talking. It was the State Government that wasnt connecting. It wasnt connecting with our business leaders. It wasnt connecting with labor leaders. It wasnt connecting with educators. Lord nose we werent talking to the hospitals. We had a failure to communicate. So, first of all, i thought we needed to reset our relationship with the business community. So in the last year, i personally visited about 100 Different Companies from our states largest employer, like electric vote which now has over 12,000 employees working, the most in 30 years, the most in 30 years. [ applause ]. And theyve committed to having over 18,000 over the next ten years. 18,000. I also visited a lot of the smaller startup, ones that i love to visit like the little House Brewery in chester. There are over 100 craft breweries that have gotten going in this state. Yes, you ought to come on some of those visits with me. [ applause ] look, i come out of the business world, i got to tell you, i love moving to the board room, to the shop floor, to the brew pub, i love getting to know these businesses, i get to know their employees, what they proudly build every day, and what it takes to keep them here in connecticut, so they call connecticut home. But our commissioners are also reaching out, every day, to ask, what can we do to help . And im so proud of our cabinet. It is [ applause ] its not only the most diverse in our states history, when it comes to gender and race, but talk about Public Private partnerships, and also combines the expertise from leaders in the public and private sector. They come from hartford, they come from water bri. They come from washington, d. C. They come from washington state. My motto has always been, hire great people and give them the freedom to make it happen. And thats what were doing. [ applause ] david lehman in the department of economic development, they brought together more than 400 investors a few months ago, developers representing tens of billions of dollars, municipal leaders to launch ct opportunity zones. Com. Ct opportunity zones. Com. Thousands of people, thousands of investors have taken a look at areas of the state that have been left behind too long, ready to invest in our state again. Wheres katie dice . Katie dice, the department of energy and environmental protection. There you are. Thank you. [ applause ] you are making it easier to take a brownfield site and transform it into a new business. And 95 of those complex decisions are now taking place in less than 90 days. Less than 90 days. And all the while maintaining the very highest environmental standards. And theres vanessa durantes, the commissioner of the department of children and families. Vanessa, wheres vanessa . [ applause ] she rose through the rank, start the out in waterbury, and has dedicated her entire career to our states children, and thank you for your work in the, to get out from under the legal decree, im trying to end this litigation one at a time. Thank you for what youre doing. [ applause ] how about john, the department of administrative service, still going to roll out a onestop process for all of our businesses that otherwise would have had to individually visit, the secretary of states site, the irs, eol, ecd, the alphabet soup of different departments we got and now you visit one site and get registered and you are ready to go. [ applause ] i promised last year that we would be spending more time online and not in line, and we are just Getting Started. Josh is also helping to plan for that tsunami of state employee retirement, over the next few years, which he sees as an opportunity to show the government can do more with less. We are already centralizing Computer Services and personnel to provide Better Service across State Government at 20 less cost than just a couple of years ago. Talk about changing perceptions. Bloomberg news just recognized connecticut as the fourth most innovative economy in the country. [ applause ] i dont applaud for fourth best. Come on, we can do better than that. Lets go. [ applause ] here in hartford, i saw luke over, there the Capital Region is home to companies that are constantly innovating, like emphasis, robbie kumar is here that is a Global Digital company that has already hired about 600 connecticut employees. And how about [ applause ] 600 right here in the last couple of years. Right here in hartford. How about Galaxy Solutions . A pioneer in i. T. Analytics, it Just Announced it is bringing hundreds of jobs to hartford, and helping jump start cignas next gen personalized medicine. Tim brian, are you here . Tim brian . Thank you for calling connecticut home. Thank you for calling hartford home. [ applause ] and thanks for your conviction. Because this is a great place to do business. Now, it is just a short train ride away, new haven. Yale new haven hospitals breaking ground on a state of the art Neuroscience Center that is going to transform medicine, commercial developers connecting the downtown with New Buildings that offer modern lab and incubator space, at a fraction of the cost of boston and new york. And that means our stem students and our ph. D. S and our Merchant Companies can achieve their dreams right here. New haven is exploding with opportunity. Building permits there are more than doubled in the last year. In 2020, will be the biggest year yet. Wheres justin eleker . [ applause ] and right down the street, over in guilford, cereal ent present neur Jonathan Rockford has butterfly iq with the approvals right to make sure your smartphone can turn into a professional grade ultrasound imaging device, making Health Care Affordable to people across the state and around the world. And jonathan, i know you grue up in connecticut. Thanks for staying in connecticut. Thank you for growing in connecticut. Thank you for what youre doing. [ applause ] mayor martin, remember those headlines in stamford a few years ago, woe is us, ubs, the Worlds Largest finance Trading Floor is now sitting vacant. No longer. World wrestling entertainment has taken over that Trading Floor and will turn it into the Worlds Largest Digital Production studio in the world. [ applause ] i think youre just Getting Started. Im told about 6 billion of other development is going on in stamford right now. Lets go. All right, connecticut. We got our mojo back. But that only matters if we have an economy that works for everybody. Starting with the vibrant and growing middle class. The bigger the connecticut middle class can grow, number one, the less were preparing everybody of the next generation to get the job done. And a revamped Governors Council has assembled one of the most talented ambitious state work force boards in the country led by my friend garrett moran, including the states biggest employers and small, educators, nonprofit, state agency, and our unions, to make sure that connecticut maintains the best Training Pipeline in the nation. Look, ive said it many times. Connecticut has always had the best trained, most productive, best educated work force in the world. And its getting more competitive out there. So we got to fight to keep up. [ applause ] we have the best work force in the world. You know why . Because we have the best teachers in the world. [ applause ] in our budget, is made the largest investment in k12 education in the history of our state. And by the way, that takes some of the burden off of property tax. But also it provides teachers with sources they need to teach everything. Everything from laser welding, to computer coding. Look, to ensure that all our kids get their opportunity at the starting line of life, we worked with local philanthropists to establish the partnership for connecticut. And focus on disengaged and disconnected kids and young adults, doing everything we can to keep them back on track. We cant afford to lose anybody. And we love you. And were going to fight to make sure that you get that opportunity. Look, i come out of the ent entrepreneurial world, where you can often raise money and turn a good idea into a business. Well, the partnership will provide funding for teachers, and notforprofits. It turn their best ideas into more hope for their students. But weve already had hundreds of responses to our first request for information, and were just Getting Started on behalf of those kids. [ applause ] somewhere out there is commissioner of education, commissioner cardona. There you are. [ applause ] look, miguel, you and i have prioritized, you know, half the kids in our state are children of color and maybe 10 of the teachers are teachers of color and we made a big priority of approving more black and hispanic teachers. More black and hispanic teachers. [ applause ] looking at historically black colleges and historically hispanic colleges and make it great for them to come and teach here and i want those kids to look up and say they can do it too. And it doesnt stop in high school. More and more jobs require postsecondary training and were doing more to make our Higher Education more affordable so no student gives up his or her dream because they cant afford the cost. So starting this year, uconn will eliminate tuition for all students of families earning less than 50,000 a year. [ applause ] and Community College will be debtfree for all recent high school graduates. Turco agrees with that. George will agrees with that. [ applause ] george will will, has to. By the way, more and more of our connecticut employers are beginning to pay down Student Loans when you take a job with them. So connecticut graduates, stay in connecticut. Were making it worth your while. Look, reducing the cost of education is just one way were trying to make connecticut a little more affordable for our middle class families. We made it easier for seniors to stay in the state. Thanks to you. By reducing taxes on Social Security and pension income. [ applause ] and weve provided veteran and volunteer First Responders with more property tax relief, thanks to you. [ applause ] and to help small business, we removed the business entity tax. [ applause ] and weve held the line on fees to make it easier for a plumber, an electrician, any of the trades, we so desperately need you to be able to stay here in koonz and expand here in, in connecticut and expand here in connecticut, we are doing everything we can to make it easier for you as well. And ill say it again. Connecticut, we adopted americas best 15 minimum wage law. [ applause ] the nations best. [ applause ] its already helped lift thousands of families out of poverty. Right now, as of october 1, number of families got a 35 a week raise, thats what it meant. A 35 a week raise. Lets them pay off a utility bill or something, it just gives me a little more time to spend with my kids. Maybe work one shift less. In the next five years, that law would help lift more than half a million connecticut workers out of poverty. [ applause ] primarily women. People of color. So they receive their fair share of a growing economy. You know that for the first time in american history, i think, we have more women than men in the u. S. Work force. More women than men working. [ applause ] get to work, guys. We have to do more to make sure our work force works for them. Next starts in the executive branch. I got to say, wheres Lieutenant Governor fisowitz . She has worked with our major employers that pledge that half of their major senior members and Corporate Board members will be women. Half. [ applause ] were doing it for the state of connecticut. And now they can do it, too. And youll be better for it. [ applause ] and thats why together we adopted a bold new family and medical leave program. Bold new. And that means no family will have to choice between a job they love and a sick child. [ applause ] it makes it easier for people to work, makes it easier for families to work, it keeps our state going, and its the right thing to do. [ applause ] and weve also, in terms of making it easy for people to work, we maintained and expanded access for affordable day care, with care for kids, so that more middle income families can afford quality child care. [ applause ] and that means money back in the pockets of hard working families. Where are the rodriguezs . Jennifer, richard . You guys told me the story about how you had taken that small raise, as you get a little more overtime, you would have lost all the benefits of care for kids and you would have lost money doing it, and instead we made it easier for middle class families to afford it, so that your beautiful daughter, you know, will have a great place, a safe place while youre hard at work. Thank you. I hope it makes a difference. [ applause ] that 50 amount per year would have made a difference in terms of what you had to do and that would have cost you thousands in affordable day care. All right. Weve done a lot, and we got a lot more to do. Having the best work force, and best workplaces doesnt matter unless you can actually get to work. [ applause ] too many people are wasting time on their commute, not getting to work, late, leaving home too early, not seeing their families. And theres an elephant in the room but we also know and i think we all know this, that if we dont speed up, our economy is going to continue to slow down. And i think republicans and democrats alike agree, the scope of the job, what weve got to do, the general agreement on how much we got to spend to invest, in order to get the job done, and i also know that its a subject of some discussion, how we pay for it. All right. Ill cut to the chase. The democrats have a plan, including the user fee on the big tractortrailer trucks, that do most of the damage on our bridges, and the republicans have a plan that would redirect and divert money from the rainy day fund, you got two plans on the table, and youre in the room where it happens and that means make it happen by casting a vote, making up your mind, and getting this going. [ applause ] we can do it right now. Can i have a show of hands . Dont worry, marty. Well get this done soon enough. I want to say also, in terms of jobs, that one of the real proposals weve got this upcoming session is to redesign the States Economic Incentive Program to focus on new goodpaying jobs in growing sectors, with a special emphasis on those communities which have been getting left behind. And this is a change. Because some of the best investments we can make as a state are in companies that are already here. Rather than rely on those risky upfront grants to lure out of state company, were going to, were going to provide performance based incentives, Rewarding Companies as they add on jobs right here. Its going to save us hundreds of millions of dollars in bonding and a lot less risk to our taxpayers, and gives folks incentives to grow and expand right here in the state of connecticut. [

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