Dear Friends,

As the state legislature continues its business in our new virtual world, I wanted to share with you a few updates about things going on in Hartford.

It’s so important that you make your voice heard as we begin making the state budget, and I’ve also included information and resources to help you provide your input and follow our legislative business.

The Governor’s Budget Proposals

First and foremost, on February 10th, Governor Lamont laid out his budget recommendations for the 2022-2023 period. This speech is usually given with the Governor addressing Senators and Representatives in person, but this year’s speech was pre-recorded. I’ve included the full speech below for your reference:

Just so you know, while the traditional in-person speech comes at no additional cost to taxpayers, this year’s Hollywood-quality production came with a $70,000 price tag. This at a time when the Governor and Connecticut Democrats are talking about raising regressive taxes on middle-income families.

Unfortunately, while the Governor insisted in his address that the legislature needs to make a budget that doesn’t include any “broad-based” tax increases, Connecticut Democrats haven’t gotten the message. In fact, for months, Democrats in the legislature have been talking about tax hikes on everything from sugary drinks to real estate.

I talked a bit about this in my recent letter to the editor, which you can find below:

Click Here to Read More

Budget Presentation and Public Hearing Schedule

The Governor’s budget address is the first step in the state’s bi-annual budget process. The next step includes a series of presentations on the budget proposals, at which point you can provide your input on the Governor’s priorities.

The link below will take you to a webpage put together by the House Republican Caucus with the schedule for these presentations and hearings. This schedule will be updated as it changes, and it also includes the information necessary for you to register to testify, send in written testimony, and watch live or recorded video of the events:

2021 Budget Presentation and Hearing Schedule

Testifying at Public Hearings

There are over 2,000 bills that have been introduced so far this session. You can find a full list of all House and Senate bills submitted at CGA.ct.gov.

As some of these bills are voted to receive a public hearing, those public hearing notices are all posted in advance on the CGA Bulletin.

If you learn about a bill receiving a public hearing that will affect you, I highly encourage you to share your opinion with the committee. Here’s how you can do that:

How to Make Your Voice Heard in a Public Hearing