Rep. Stripp said, “I call upon the Democratic supermajority to immediately come together as they did on April 13 and work toward a reasonable solution without tax increases, borrowing from future years or raiding current dedicated funds.”

The balanced plan preserves municipal and school aid, and sets aside $74.5 million to stimulate job growth. Companies that hire the unemployed can earn $17.5 million in tax credits, and the plan establishes a $25 million small business revolving loan fund, and eliminates the Business Entity Tax.

“We cannot leave the session in May knowing there is a $736 million deficit for next fiscal year which begins on July 1^st. If we ignore the problems now, they will become insurmountable. It would unconscionable to leave this looming problem until after the November elections,’’ Rep. John Stripp, member of the Appropriations Committee said.

The Common Sense plan offers a flexible menu of choices to create savings from concessions that have all been validated by the non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis.

The hallmarks of the savings:

• $58 million in line item cuts to 2009 levels;
• $64 million in early retirement for state workers;
• $10 million in state agency consolidations;
• $6.4 million for shedding state office leases; 
• $20 million in privatization of state functions;
• $150 million in state worker concessions, including wage freezes, furlough days and health care;
• $3.8 million in legislative pay cuts, elimination of franked mail and travel.

The budget also makes significant investments in job creation and retirement security:

• $200 million will be paid into the state employee pensions;
• The Business Entity Tax is eliminated to save companies $32 million;
• A Small Business Revolving Loan Fund of $25 million is created;

Tax credits of up to $17.5 million will be available to companies that hire off the unemployment rolls.

HARTFORD- State Rep. John Stripp (R-Easton, Redding and Weston) today pointed to comments made by officials from United Technologies Corp. as a prime example why state government needs to change its course to allow for an economic recovery.

Speaking to Wall Street analysts, UTC’s chief financial officer said, “Anyplace outside of Connecticut is low-cost……Even if work has to stay in the U.S., there are opportunities to reduce cost by moving out of those high-cost locations,” according to The Hartford Courant.

“Regrettably, years of anti-business, job-killing policies set forth by the supermajority liberals in the Legislature are coming home to roost,” said Rep. Stripp, a member of the Legislature’s Commerce Committee. “We must reverse our path as a state and become a destination for new and relocating-businesses in order to get our economy back on track.”

“Connecticut still has one of the most skilled work forces in the country. We must address the business climate in order to enjoy the advantages of our well-educated, skilled workers. It is going to take more than just hope to restore the 94,000 jobs Connecticut lost during this down economic period. It is going to take a drastic change in state policies to foster a more business-friendly atmosphere,” Rep. Stripp added.

“We do have success stories; look at Blue Sky Animation Studios in Greenwich, the Film Industry Tax credit, which Blue Sky used as their main reason for leaving NY to come to CT. They brought almost 400 high-tech jobs to Connecticut. We can do better if we really try,” concluded Rep. Stripp.

UTC, based in Hartford, has 26,000 of its 205,000 global employees in Connecticut, largely at Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky and Hamilton Sundstrand. UTC is Connecticut’s largest private employer; the State of Connecticut is the largest overall employer.

HARTFORD – Rep. John Stripp and the rest of the House Republican leadership assailed the supermajority Democrats for trying to impose a job-killing mandatory sick leave proposal on all businesses today, one day after Democrats staged an elaborate press conference claiming job growth is their signature issue this legislative session.

Connecticut would become the first state in the country to require all companies to provide mandatory sick leave for part-time and full-time employees. The Democrats picked the annual Business Day at the Capitol to roll out their sick leave plan – a clear sign that the majority party relishes its anti-private sector stature in the legislature, Republicans charged.

“The Democrats claim they want to create job growth back in their home districts because 90,000 Connecticut people have lost their jobs in this recession. They then roll out a mandatory sick leave bill in Hartford that they know companies across the state vehemently oppose,” said Rep. Stripp, a member of the legislature’s Commerce Committee which is the committee charged with bring business to Connecticut.

“How in good conscious can this proposal be the way to keep jobs in Connecticut. This plan will further hinder any job expansion by prospective employers, its time to incentivize not punish job creators,” added Rep. Stripp.

The bill that will be raised in the Labor and Public Employees Committee Thursday requires that any employee who logs at least 520 hours of work a year receive seven paid sick leave days.

Only two places in the country, San Francisco and Washington D.C., require companies to provide paid sick leave.

The bill would apply to businesses that employ 60 people or more. Republicans were joined at a Capitol press conference by business owners, one of whom said his company has 48 employees. The owners said they would not be inclined to add more payroll if that mean their costs of doing business went up.

“There are thousands upon thousands of websites that offer benefits for veterans,” Rep. Stripp said. “This new service helps veterans and their families cut through the clutter and find the services they need.”

The National Resource Directory, established by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Department of Defense, and Department of Labor, helps veterans and their families navigate the more than 10,000 web sites offering services for veterans.

The site www.nationalresourcedirectory.gov is broken down into easy-to-navigate headings: Benefits and Compensation, Education and Training, Employment, Family and Caregiver Support, Health, Homeless Assistance, Transportation and Travel, and Other Services and Resources.

Read the Common Sense Commitment to Connecticut.

State Rep. John Stripp and Sen. Toni Boucher present Andrea K. Noble with a State Citation for being the 2009-2010 Weston Public School’s Teacher-Of-The-Year, October 19th at the Weston Public Library during the Weston Board of Education’s weekly meeting. Click story for video.

HARTFORD – In an effort to fuel stalled budget negotiations, State Rep. John Stripp along with House and Senate Republicans today unveiled an alternative Real World budget plan to solve the state’s fiscal crisis through governmental consolidations and spending cuts, but maintains aid to towns and cities.

In startling contrast to the Democratic plan that would raise taxes a whopping $1.8 billion, the Real World no tax increase budget proposal would spare taxpayers any more pain.
The details of the Real World no tax increase budget spending plan:
• Reduces state spending by 4%
• Maintains current state aid to municipalities
• Consolidates 23 state agencies into 6
• Less borrowing than the other alternatives
• Maintains funding for social and human services at 2007 levels
• Eliminates the Citizens’ Election Fund

Additionally, the 5 key social and human services agencies (DSS, DMHAS, DDS, DCF, and DPH) funding is actually increased over 2007 levels by 13%.
Unlike any other budget proposal, House Republicans have no tax increases. Democrats want to raise taxes by a whopping $1.8 on businesses and workers with no tax breaks for the middle class. Republicans today proposed cutting the bloated state bureaucracy by an additional $446 million to meet the revised budget revenue estimates.

Rep. Stripp, a member of the legislature’s Appropriations Committee said, “For too many decades, our constituents have been asked to do much more than their fare share in contributing to the tax revenues of out State, and the trends of the amount of the contribution continues up and up, and the amount we see in return dwindles each year. This Republican budget is proof that a responsible, sensible tax policy is not only possible it is the right, and the reasonable thing to do. “

The state’s major social services agencies will receive an additional $1.2 billion under this plan for a total of nearly $10 billion. The state has lost $2 billion in revenue from the recession and Wall Street declines and some funding levels are simply unaffordable at this time.

The budget is balanced through a series of new revenue streams similar to those adopted by Democrats and Gov. Rell:

• A $75 million tax amnesty program;
• $70 million in state asset sales such as unused property
• Additional securitization of state assets for $125 million
• $50 million in additional debt collection for individuals and companies that owe the state fees and fines;
• $10 million for rent to allow cell towers on state buildings.

Budget negotiations are expected to resume next week.

The guest lecturers were Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Commissioner Susan Frechette and Aspetuck Land Trust (ATL) Executive Director David Brant.Deputy Commissioner Susan Frechette gave a presentation about the DEP’s “No Child Left Inside Program.” The program is a special initiative of Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell, coordinated by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection to encourage Connecticut families and visitors alike to enjoy all the recreational resources and outdoor activities available in Connecticut’s state parks, forests and waterways. Go to, http://www.nochildleftinside.org/ for more information.David Brant gave an overview of what the Aspetuck Land Trust is and how residents can enjoy the use of the land. The Aspetuck Land Trust has over many years acquired land in Easton, Fairfield, Weston and Westport for the benefit of the public. Their website is http://www.aspetucklandtrust.org/.

Rep. Stripp said, “It is my hope that through this forum, residents will explore the great natural resources Connecticut has to offer.”

“Two things especially touched me from the presentations; one was the importance of environmental education for our young people who don’t play outside like we did when we were kids. The other theme was family, these programs give families a chance to spend quality time together while learning about the environment,” added Rep. Stripp.