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CBIA’s May 18 Government Affairs Report

May 18, 2012 By buddj

Review all the legislative news from the Connecticut General Assembly with CBIA’s Government Affairs Report: 

> Progress Made and Challenges Remain
Education reform tops gains, other steps taken

> Budget & Taxes: Midterm Revision, Property Taxes in Focus
Faltering tax receipts force changes

> Campaign Finance Bill a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Unprecedented intrusion into corporate governance

> Economic Development: Focus on Jobs Proposals
This year’s Jobs Bill could resurface in special session 

> Education: School Reforms Achieved
Major reform package, manufacturing bill approved

> Energy: Storm Response Dominates
Other proposals struggle for attention

> Environment: Businesses Fare Well
Positive measures on permitting, cleanups

> Healthcare: Very Few Costly Measures Passed
Welcome news for state’s small businesses

> Labor & Employment: UC Trust Fund Increased
Many harmful measures avoided this year

> Transportation: A Quiet Year
Focus was on red-light cameras, busway

CBIA’s Bill Tracker: Follow business-related legislation from the 2012 session or download our Legislative Status Report (pdf).

Filed Under: What's New

April Jobs Report: State Sees Second Straight Month of Losses

May 17, 2012 By raymonda

With the Connecticut Department of Labor reporting a second consecutive month of job losses in April, CBIA economist Pete Gioia says the state’s economy is facing “a negative trend after what was a very strong and positive start in the beginning of the year.”

To talk with Pete Gioia about the jobs report, please contact Ann Marie C. Raymond (860.244.1957 or annmarie.raymond@cbia.com ).

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CBIA is Connecticut’s largest business organization, with 10,000 member companies. For more information, please contact Ann Marie Raymond (860.244.1957; annmarie.raymond@cbia.com) or visit cbia.com/newsroom.

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Connecticut’s Economy Continues on Slow and Steady Path

May 14, 2012 By raymonda

CBIA’s First Quarter 2012 Survey Shows Business Leaders Cautiously Optimistic

Finishing off the first quarter of 2012 with improving unemployment numbers, Connecticut’s business leaders are proceeding with caution, according to a new survey of businesses in the state.

The Connecticut Business & Industry Association’s First Quarter 2012 Economic Survey found that area executives believe the economy and their own firms have maintained gains seen in the fourth quarter of 2011.

“While we still have a long way to go in growing the economy, the last two surveys show optimism and growth expectations on par with slow but steady economic recovery,” says CBIA economist Peter Gioia.

  • The survey shows that 41% of respondents see their own firm improving over the next three months and 12% predicting worsening. In the last survey, 46% saw the potential for improvement, while 14% saw the potential for their firm to lose ground.
  • On production and sales, the most important determinant of future company performance, 46% of respondents anticipate future increases, compared to 16% who expect decreases in the second quarter of 2012—findings nearly identical to the results of the fourth quarter survey.
  • Jobs should see a slight improvement in the state, as 24% of business leaders who responded to the survey expect to add workers and only 10% expect to decrease workers over the next quarter. As recently as our third quarter 2011 survey only 16% of respondents said they would add staff, compared to 22% who said they would cut staff. Although these numbers are likely to support only slow growth, they represent statistically significant changes.
  • The survey saw executives expecting more growth nationally than locally. Nationally, 34% of respondents expect the U.S. economy to improve, while 24% expect further decline.
  • The survey found that business leaders’ confidence in the state remains fairly consistent with fourth quarter 2011 survey results, with 21% of respondents seeing the state economy improving and 35% expecting continued deterioration.
  • Productivity gains are solid but will be tempered by expected added costs. Forty-seven percent of executives see future gains in productivity, but 43% see increased wage costs, and 43% see total compensation costs going up.

“When you look at the results of the first quarter 2012 survey in comparison to the fourth quarter 2011 results, it’s clear that we haven’t gained much ground, but we haven’t lost any either,” Gioia says. “But it’s important to note that we are showing modest gains over the surveys prior to the fourth quarter of 2011.”

The survey was conducted in April 2012 with 246 respondents from around the state across many industries. The margin of error is =/- 6.38% with a 12.5% response rate.

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CBIA is Connecticut’s largest business organization, with 10,000 member companies. For more information, please contact Ann Marie C. Raymond (860.244.1957; annmarie.raymond@cbia.com) or visit cbia.com/newsroom.

Filed Under: News Releases, What's New Tagged With: , ,

CBIA’s May 11 Government Affairs Report

May 11, 2012 By buddj

Review all the legislative news from Connecticut’s General Assembly with CBIA’s Government Affairs Report: 

> 2012 Session Overview: Signature Achievement is Education Reform
Budget deficit, brownfields progress, jobs-bill disappointment also this year 

> Campaign Finance Bill Violates Constitution, Common Sense
Attempt to overturn Supreme Court case, accepted business practices

> Budget Revisions Approved; Concerns Remain
Spending control not addressed in patching the deficit 

> Fixing Our Schools: Now the Work Begins
Reform legislation carries promise of progress

> Time Runs Out on This Year’s Jobs Bill
Effort to build on last year’s jobs session victim of politics 

> Legislature Builds on Brownfields Progress
Will help spur cleanup and redevelopment 

> Minimum Wage Hike Dies
Senate hesitant to further harm fragile economy

> Bill Will Drive Up Costs of Liability Insurance
Unreasonably expands scope of costs allowed as evidence

> Energy Talks Collapse at Capitol
After storm-response, other measures fizzle

> Property Tax Changes Rejected
Municipalities seek to delay revaluation 

> Legislature Sinks Pooling Bill
Would have carried multiple risks to state, businesses  

> Proposal to Market State-Run Retirement Plan Dies
Senate chooses not to take action 

CBIA’s Bill Tracker: Follow business-related legislation from the 2012 session or download our Legislative Status Report (pdf).

Filed Under: What's New

2012 General Assembly Session: Business Community Applauds Governor, State Legislators for Passing Meaningful Education Reform

May 10, 2012 By raymonda

Says Session Opened Door for Giving All Children a Quality Education; Notes Concerns over Fiscal, Campaign Finance Issues

The state’s largest business organization today congratulated Governor Dannel Malloy and state legislators for the hard-fought passage of education reform legislation, calling it the signature bill of the 2012 General Assembly session.

“Governor Malloy not only tackled this issue, but successfully brought many different interests together and secured bipartisan support for meaningful education reform,” said John Rathgeber, president and CEO of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association.

“State lawmakers on both sides of the aisle also should be congratulated for supporting real reform. We now must focus attention on implementing the bill and ensuring that sustained improvement and access to quality education for every child become integral components of our education system.”

 Among other things, Senate Bill 458:

  • Helps fix broken schools by launching a pilot Commissioner’s Network to target and turn around the state’s lowest-performing schools. It gives the education commissioner power to require added classroom hours, professional development, and summer school sessions at poorly performing schools.
  • Offers more education choices through increased funding and support for charter and magnet schools, including technical and agricultural science schools.
  • Promotes accountability by cutting red tape for high-performing schools and districts and creates a common chart of accounts.
  • Helps at-risk children by creating 1,000 new pre-K school readiness seats and a pilot program to improve the literacy of students in grades K-3.
  • Supports teachers and school leaders by requiring annual performance evaluations for teachers and principals, strengthening the link between teacher effectiveness and tenure. A new evaluation system developed by the Performance Evaluation and Advisory Council will be piloted in 10 schools.
  • Adds funding for state’s 30 lowest-performing school districts, called “Alliance Districts,” and increases their accountability.

The 2012 session featured a number of other measures with implications for the state’s business community. Among them:

Campaign Finance

CBIA opposed and continues to have serious concerns about the campaign finance bill passed by the Senate and House. It is an unprecedented intrusion into corporate governance that violates longstanding constitutional and legal principles and sets up a completely unworkable process for organizations making legal political expenditures.

Budget Adjustments

The legislature approved adjustments to the two-year budget to head off a potential $284.6 million deficit. The state must remain vigilant when it comes to controlling spending so we don’t have another round of tax increases during the next fiscal year or in the next biennial budget put together during the 2013 session.

State government must streamline operations, expand the use of lean and other efficiency strategies, continue to identify cost savings, and encourage municipalities to work together to deliver services more efficiently.

Several measures that would have slowed Connecticut’s economic recovery did not move forward, including increasing the state’s minimum wage, shifting the burden of local property taxes, and opening up the state health plan to small businesses–an initiative that would have disrupted the small business healthcare marketplace.

CBIA is grateful to Governor Malloy and legislators on both sides of the aisle who tried to keep the economy on a positive track coming out of last October’s jobs session.

Going forward, policymakers must stay focused on economic competitiveness if we are to begin to create more jobs and strengthen Connecticut as a place where business can grow.

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CBIA is Connecticut’s largest business organization, with 10,000 member companies. For more information, please contact Ann Marie C. Raymond (860.244.1957; annmarie.raymond@cbia.com) or visit cbia.com/newsroom.

Filed Under: CBIA At The Capitol, In the News, News Releases, What's New Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Connecticut Science Center Hosts Cyber-Challenge Competition May 21

May 8, 2012 By raymonda

 Connecticut students give final presentations; winning teams announced

 More than 115 high school freshmen will take the stage at the Connecticut Science Center on May 21 to present solutions to real-world challenges identified by four of the state’s top energy and technology companies.

The students are participants in a year-long program known as Cyber-Challenge.  Working in teams representing East Hartford High School, New Britain High School, and Waterbury’s Wilby High School, they will address a crowd of teachers and peers and a panel of industry experts with ideas on everything from improving electric vehicle charger designs to eliminating barriers to vaccinations.

Prizes for the winning students include iPods, video cameras, and hi-fi in-ear headphones.

 Cyber-Challenge Final Presentations
Monday, May 21, 2012
9 am – 12:30 pm
Connecticut Science Center
250 Columbus Boulevard
Hartford

Now in its third year, Cyber-Challenge is funded by a three-year, $1.2 million Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) grant awarded by the National Science Foundation and administered by CBIA’s Education Foundation in collaboration with the Connecticut Science Center and EASTCONN.

Throughout the school year, Cyber-Challenge students work together not only to develop answers to complex science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) problems but also to build critical thinking, teamwork, presentation, and multimedia skills. (Cyber-Challenge requires the use of advanced technology, including wikis, video, and animation.)

“This project gets young people excited about math, science, and technology and lays the groundwork for them to enroll and succeed in rigorous Advanced Placement STEM courses later in high school,” says Judy Resnick, executive director of CBIA’s Education Foundation.

 Cyber-Challenge corporate sponsors are Northeast Utilities, General Electric, United Technologies Corp., and Pfizer.

 “As some of the largest science and technology-based employers in Connecticut, these four companies have a keen interest in developing the next generation of scientists and engineers,” Resnick adds.

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 CBIA is Connecticut’s largest business organization, with 10,000 member companies. For more information, please contact Ann Marie C. Raymond (860.244.1957; annmarie.raymond@cbia.com) or visit cbia.com/newsroom.

Filed Under: News Releases, What's New Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

CBIA’s May 4 Government Affairs Report

May 4, 2012 By buddj

Review all the legislative news from Connecticut’s General Assembly with CBIA’s Government Affairs Report:

> Black and Puerto Rican Caucus Supports True Education Reforms
Takes stand for restoring fundamental reforms to education bill

> State Budget Deficit Deepens
Problem highlights need to find ways to reduce state spending

> Great Opportunity to Advance Environmental, Economic Goals
Proposal will help stimulate redevelopment of brownfields

> Minimum Wage Bill Stalls in Senate, but Pressure Remains
One more component of ‘perfect storm’ against businesses

> Lawmakers Act on Labor Bills
Issues include job postings, unemployment appeals, CHRO

> Manufacturing Caucus Created in Legislature
Will promote policies to advance manufacturing competitiveness 

> Pooling Bill Still Afloat, Could Sink Taxpayers
Taxpayers would be on the hook to pay claims

> Proposal for State Retirement Plan Doubly Wrong
Injects state government into private-sector market

> Bill Ignores Free Speech Rights of Businesses
Needlessly creates new administrative roadblocks for employers 

> CBIA’s Bill Tracker: Follow business-related legislation from the 2012 session
Download Legislative Status Report (pdf)

> Hartford to Host National Conference on ‘Manufacturing 4 the Future’
Three day, national event in Hartford May 8-10

Filed Under: What's New

CBIA’s April 27 Government Affairs Report

April 27, 2012 By buddj

Review all the legislative news from Connecticut’s General Assembly with CBIA’s Government Affairs Report:

State Budget Could Finish in Red
Still-slow economy means tax revenues are lagging

Education Reform at Critical Stage
Latest version doesn’t restore real reforms

Poll: Fewer Jobs if Minimum Wage Rises
House passes hike, but people know jobs will be impacted

Campaign Finance Reform Bill Will Backfire on State’s Economy
Creates nuisance regulatory burdens for businesses

Healthcare Pooling Bill Pits State vs. Taxpayers, Businesses, Reform
Opening state employee healthcare plan is frought with pitfalls

CEPA Reform Has to Be Comprehensive
State Senate considering amending the state’s Environmental Protection Act 

U.S. Senate Rejects Effort to Stop NLRB ‘Ambush’ Rule
Union-organizing rule goes into effect April 30

CBIA’s Bill Tracker: Follow business-related legislation from the 2012 session
Download Legislative Status Report (pdf)

Hartford to Host National Conference on ‘Manufacturing 4 the Future’
Three day, national event in Hartford May 8-10

Filed Under: What's New

CBIA’s April 20 Government Affairs Report

April 20, 2012 By buddj

Review all the legislative news from Connecticut’s General Assembly with CBIA’s Government Affairs Report:

> Wrong Time to Hike Minimum Wage, Say Employers
Economy, jobs, gas prices, taxes all concerns facing businesses

> Lawmakers Looking at Variety of Environmental Bills
Positive bills would curb abuse and promote fairness

 > Few Troubling Healthcare Bills Remain
Most of the costly proposals changed or defeated

> Bill Requires Employers Provide On-Demand Personnel Files
Adds administrative burdens to Connecticut employers

> It’s Time to Enact Real Education Reform
Other states are passing us by

> Should State Compete in Retirement Plan Business?
Proposals would launch state studies to explore concept

> Prevailing Wage Bill Dies in Committee
Commerce Committee rejects it, but could reappear

> New Section of Route 11 Could Become Toll Road
If approved, tolls on proposed extension would be first since 1980s

> Senate Next to Vote on Jobs Bill
Keeps some Jobs-Session momentum going

> Court Blocks NLRB Poster Mandate
Pro-union rule was to start April 30

> CBIA’s Bill Tracker: Follow business-related legislation from the 2012 session or
download our Legislative Status Report (pdf)

 

> A Manufacturing Skills Forum: Creating a Credentialed Workforce
May 2 event explores how manufacturers can address the growing shortage of skilled workers 

> Conference to Focus on ‘Manufacturing the Future’
Three day, national event in Hartford May 8-10

Filed Under: What's New

March Jobs Numbers Highlight Connecticut’s Fragile Economic Growth

April 19, 2012 By buddj

Connecticut’s March jobs report showed a loss of 2,700 jobs for the month, which Connecticut Business & Industry Association economist Pete Gioia said today “illustrates the fragile nature of the state’s economic recovery.”

The March figures reversed two successive months of growth. The state added 5,400 jobs in January while today’s report  from the state Department of Labor revised February’s numbers to 6,000 new jobs, against a previously reported gain of 4,900 jobs.

“Some of the sectors that showed strong gains earlier in the year, showed losses in February,” Gioia said. “That really illustrates  the fragile nature of the state’s economic recovery while highlighting just how far we have to go to restore our economy.

“Job growth for the year is basically just half a percent and that’s not spectacular by any stretch of the imagination.  We’ve recovered less than one-third of the jobs that were lost through the recession.”

Gioia also noted that while the state’s unemployment rate fell slightly to 7.7 percent in March, that was largely attributable to people leaving the workforce rather than job gains.

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CBIA is Connecticut’s largest business organization, with 10,000 member companies. For more information, or to set up time to speak with Pete Gioia, please contact Ann Marie Raymond (860.244.1957; annmarie.raymond@cbia.com) or visit cbia.com/newsroom.

Filed Under: News Releases, What's New
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