Job-creation is Job 1. So says the state’s largest business group. The Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) released its 2020 policy priorities last month, calling for state lawmakers to make job and economic growth the primary focus of this year’s legislative session. “We’ve lagged other states, the region, and the nation for far too […]
Job-creation is Job 1. So says the state’s largest business group.
The Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) released its 2020 policy priorities last month, calling for state lawmakers to make job and economic growth the primary focus of this year’s legislative session.
“We’ve lagged other states, the region, and the nation for far too long,” said CBIA president and CEO Joe Brennan. “We’re starting to see better signs of economic growth but we’re still lagging in job creation.
The announcement coincided with the opening of the spring legislative session, which opened Feb. 5 and is scheduled to adjourn May 6.
“The main focus of this legislative session must be on making it easier for employers to grow in Connecticut as opposed to what we’ve seen over the last several years, with new costs and mandates hampering much-needed growth," Brennan said.
The state’s economy grew 2.1 percent in the third quarter of 2019, Brennan noted, the state’s third consecutive quarter of growth, after growing just 0.5 percent in 2018. He called the state’s 2019 job numbers “disappointing,” with private sector job growth at a miniscule 0.4 percent, compared with 1.1 percent for the six New England states and 1.5 percent nationwide.
“The legislature must avoid new mandates and higher costs, whether it’s taxes or more administrative burdens,” he said.
CBIA is also calling for reforms to the state’s paid family and medical leave mandate, which the legislature approved during the 2019 session.
Eric Gjede, CBIA’s vice president of government affairs, called the legislation “a one-size-fits-all mandate that unfairly targets the state’s small businesses.”
“We’re asking lawmakers to protect small businesses and make paid FMLA optional for companies with 30 or fewer employees,” Gjede said. “More than three-quarters of our member companies say the mandate will negatively impact their operations, with production and workforce reductions and employee benefit changes among the options they’re exploring.”
Gjede said Connecticut needs positive reforms to grow jobs and leverage the state’s full economic potential.
“This agenda provides a policy framework for driving much-needed job and economic growth,” he said. “We call for state lawmakers to adopt what is a responsible, common sense approach to addressing Connecticut’s challenges and leveraging the opportunities for growth.”
