Legislature Must Return to Common Sense Principles

HARTFORD—Jumpstarting the state’s stagnant economy and job market requires decisive action and common sense financial principles, Rep. David Scribner said today.

Scribner was at the Capitol for the start of the new legislative session that will run through the beginning of May, and he listened to Gov. M. Jodi Rell outline her financial initiatives for the next year. Scribner agreed that inaction and partisan handwringing should be put to rest.

Legislation built to end the state’s immediate budget shortfalls is what Scribner intends to focus on, but he’ll also push bills crafted to provide solutions to structural problems within Connecticut’s budget. Rell outlined similar goals during her speech, including a message Scribner has trumpeted for months: Increasing taxes and fees isn’t the magic bullet.

“Getting back to basics has to be priority of the legislature over the next few months,” said Scribner, who holds a Transportation Committee leadership position. “Government can’t afford to spend more money than it takes it, nor can it borrow more than it can pay back.”

Scribner supports Rell’s goal of providing mandate relief to cities and towns—rolling back costly steps the state forces municipalities to take without providing the financial support to get them done. He sided with her call for leaner government, too.

Scribner has been an active proponent of eliminating Connecticut’s multi-million dollar deficits through plans that would see consolidation of state agencies and programs that either produce poor results or offer duplicative services, among other cost-cutting solutions.

Such bold moves, Scribner said, would signal a bell to entrepreneurs and employers that our legislature has shed its business-as-usual approach to governing the state—an approach that’s made the state among the least desirable homes for companies both small and large.

“If we want companies to get serious about doing business in Connecticut, we have to get serious about rolling out the red carpet,” he said. “It’s common sense.”