Gary LeBeau

LeBeau and Majority Leaders’ Jobs Group Announces Plan to Jump-Start Connecticut Economy

Recommendations include tax credits, green jobs, private capital

A group of legislators, economic experts and businesspeople—including state Sen. Gary D. LeBeau (D-East Hartford) and led by House Majority Leader Denise Merrill (D-Mansfield) and Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney (D-New Haven)—today announced a series of recommendations designed to jump-start job creation in Connecticut and lay the foundation for long-term prosperity.

The Majority Leaders’ Job Growth Roundtable report calls for a series of initiatives aimed at business innovation and entrepreneurship, infrastructure, government efficiencies and education to spur job creation and economic development. Participants said these initiatives are the surest path toward providing a positive climate in Connecticut for economic development, creating quality jobs that can be sustained, and ensuring that there will be skilled workers available to fill those jobs.

“This report is probably the most significant economic development document that Connecticut has seen in 20 years,” said Sen. LeBeau, a key member of the group who is also Senate Chairman of the Commerce Committee. “This is a document for the future of Connecticut. It’s not just about today, but about tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.”

Key recommendations include:

• Invest at all stages of business growth, utilizing bonding, investor tax credits, state pension funds and private equity funds
• Reinvigorate industry clusters
• Provide export assistance to companies
• Realign selected tax credits
• Create a more seamless, easily accessed government process
• Invest in mass transit
• Incent energy efficiencies and green energy job creation
• Educate a workforce for in-demand jobs

“We believe these urgent measures need to be acted on in order to improve our economic competiveness,” said Sen. Looney. “We must reorganize Connecticut's economic development agencies, restructure tax credits, and offer incentives to small businesses, all with one goal in mind—grow jobs.”

“For too long, Connecticut has taken a ‘business as usual’ approach to job retention and job creation,” Rep. Merrill said. “We need the kind of strategic vision and systematic approach to economic development that can provide our state and its residents with the prosperity and security that all deserve. We must take full advantage of the many assets we have in our state. We need to make Connecticut competitive again. It is clear that ‘business as usual’ will no longer work.”

Details can be found in the full report at www.housedems.ct.gov/jobgrowth.