Posted on January 7, 2020
HARTFORD – The bipartisan Fire and EMS Legislative Caucus held their first meeting of the New Year on Monday, Jan 7th, to talk and listen to Fire and EMS officials about their priorities for the 2020 Legislative Session, which starts on Wednesday, February 5th.
Rep. McGorty, who co-chairs the bipartisan caucus, said, “We have a great group of lawmakers who sit on the Fire and EMS Caucus with a lot of experience and knowledge about Firefighters and EMS. With our combined knowledge, and giving Firefighters and EMS a voice at the table, we can move legislation forward that benefits our Firefighters and EMS and gives them the tools to do their jobs effectively.”
Rep. Perillo added, “Last session we were able to pass bipartisan legislation to provide post-traumatic stress disorder benefits to police and firefighters. The PTSD legislation that passed was a good first step, but we need to work together to find a way to include all public safety officials. I will be advocating for this to happen during the 2020 session.”
Posted on October 31, 2019
TRUMBULL- State Representatives Laura Devlin (R-134), David Rutigliano (R-123), and Ben McGorty (R-122) recently held a successful business advisory forum for local business leaders, employees and the public in the Council Chambers of the Trumbull Town Hall.
The hour long discussion began with a general overview of the main topics and quickly became an informative back and forth between the legislators and the forum attendees.
The legislators talked about several important pieces of legislation presented, debated or passed by the General Assembly this year, including the state’s new paid family medical leave program, an increase to the minimum wage and changes to the pass-through entity tax. They also touched on the issue of the new payroll tax and business filing fee increase.
Each of these issues directly impacts Connecticut businesses, and will affect residents across the state.
“The 2019 legislative session resulted in many well intended policies to be enacted that carry a significant negative impact on businesses in a state that has struggled to regain its legs after the dramatic economic downturn a decade ago,” said Rep. Devlin.
Rep. Rutigliano said, “The governor and the majority in the General Assembly spent 2019 waging war on state businesses. We wanted to alert local business owners that the cost to do business is going up this year.”
“We are one of the worst states in the nation to do business in and this session the Democrats decided to pass more bills that will not get us out of the dead last rankings,” added Rep. McGorty. “I want to let businesses know that we have their backs and will continue to fight for them in Hartford, but we also need their help in speaking out against these bills when they come before the legislature.”
Posted on October 25, 2019
SHELTON – State Representatives Jason Perillo, Ben McGorty and State Senator Kevin Kelly met with business owners and professionals on Tuesday morning to discuss the impact of legislation that was passed during the 2019 session will have on their industries.
During the 2019 session, the majority party Democrats passed major anti-business bills, which included increasing the minimum wage to $15, implementing a payroll tax to fund paid family leave, raising the business filing fees and reducing the tax credit for pass-through entities.
The lawmakers explained that they wanted to host the forum to make businesses aware of what was passed and how to prepare for the new laws. They also urged businesses to be vocal about how policies discussed in Hartford will impact them and make their voices heard during the legislative session.
“Democratic lawmakers and Governor Ned Lamont say they care about business owners but this couldn’t be further from the truth,” said Rep. Perillo. “These anti-business bills will cost businesses more money and could cause more to close their doors. Instead of asking businesses for more we should be asking what we can do to make it easier for them to do business in our state.”
“We are one of the worst states in the nation to do business in and this session the Democrats decided to pass more bills that will not get us out of the dead last rankings,” added Rep. McGorty. “I want to let businesses know Rep. Perillo, Sen. Kelly and I have their backs and will continue to fight for them in Hartford, but we also need their help in speaking out against these bills when they come before the legislature.”
