James Maroney

Maroney Advocates for Incentivizing Scholarship Donations

This week, State Senator James Maroney (D-Milford) provided testimony to the Planning and Development Committee on his proposed legislation to offer property tax credits to individuals and corporations that donate to a Promise or similar scholarship program. The committee voted to develop formal language for this legislation.

“I’m grateful to the committee for hearing me on this important legislation,” said Sen. Maroney. “When we invest in education, we are investing in the future economic health and well-being of our state. This bill will provide property tax relief for givers and expand the giving capacity of organizations with Promise or similar scholarship programs.

If enacted, Senate Bill No. 361, “AN ACT CONCERNING A MUNICIPAL OPTION TO ESTABLISH A PROPERTY TAX CREDIT FOR DONATIONS TO PROMISE OR SIMILAR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS ESTABLISHED BY THE MUNICIPALITY,” would provide further incentive to companies and individuals to invest in the future of our young people’s education by allowing municipalities to offer the individual or company property tax credit.

“Connecticut is already a beautiful, inviting place to live, work and go to school,” said Sen. Maroney. “This legislation just improves upon those positives by lessening the property tax burden on our residents and businesses that make the choice to put education and advancement of our young people first.”

According for FinAid, a Promise Scholarships Program is established when a municipality partners with local philanthropists and/or companies to commit to covering in-state public college tuition for students who graduated from local public high schools.

“Having access to financial aid, like a scholarship, can make the difference between a young person attending college or not,” said Sen. Maroney. “These types of scholarships remove an enormous weight off the backs of Connecticut families, enable their children to pursue and achieve their higher education goals in the state of Connecticut and could lead to them staying and working in the state, too.”