CBIA policy wonk sees positive change

Joseph F. Brennan, senior vice president for public policy at the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), told me Washington could learn from Connecticut.

While Washington remains deeply divided by partisan politics when it comes to forging a federal economic growth strategy, back in October the Connecticut General Assembly, working with the governor, achieved near unanimity in approving a comprehensive jobs bill. Only one no vote was cast in the House and Senate chambers.

When we recently sat down, Brennan, whose organization has about 10,000 members, credited Gov. Dannel P. Malloy with reaching out to Republicans for ideas and pushing to have them incorporated into the economic development package approved during the special session. With his Democratic Party in firm control of the House and Senate, the party could have steamrolled any legislation it chose, noted Brennan.

Since the goal was job creation, the bipartisan strategy was the right one, Brennan said. Businesses will have greater confidence to invest and grow if they perceive government working together and incorporating best ideas from across the political spectrum, he said. The inability to achieve such bipartisan agreement on critical policy questions at the federal is inhibiting the recovery, Brennan speculated.

"What we keep hearing is no one has the confidence to invest," Brennan said. "There is a lot of money sitting on the sidelines."

As for the Connecticut jobs bill, Brennan said it was largely well received by the business community. The bill authorizes $626 million in bonding over the next two years for various incentives - tax credits, grants, loans and other measures - to attract new industry and encourage business expansion. Brennan said he particularly likes that the program will provide grants and loans to help small businesses and manufacturers expand. Too often such government incentives programs target the big corporations, when small business is the major economic driver, he said.

As for the philosophical debate whether government should be meddling in the free market with such incentives, Brennan took a pragmatic approach, telling me that if Connecticut doesn't play that game, other states certainly will in an effort to lure away this state's businesses.

Republicans pushed for policy changes aimed at speeding up the environmental permitting process, making it less onerous and more cooperative rather than combative. CBIA has found that the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is indeed reaching out to businesses and manufacturers in an effort to streamline permitting processes, said Brennan, but changing the culture of such a large agency, and finding the best way to assure environmental protection without imposing overly burdensome bureaucratic regulation, will take time.

CBIA was also happy to see approval of subsidizes for a training and employment program. Even in a time of high unemployment, said Brennan, some high-tech manufacturers are having trouble filling jobs because the skill sets of the unemployed do not line up with the computer skills and technological proficiency today's advanced manufacturing jobs require.

In fact, CBIA is on board with the governor's stated goal in the coming session of improving public education, particularly the dreadful academic performance seen in many of the state's cities. Sustained economic growth in Connecticut will require a well-educated workforce, he said.

None of this is to say that Brennan was tossing all candy and roses in the governor's direction. He said the governor and legislature should have demanded greater concessions from state workers and instead depended too much on tax increases to rebalance spending. Gov. Malloy underestimated how much the income tax increases adversely affected small businesses, because about three-quarters of small-business owners pay their taxes as individuals, Brennan said.

As for the legislative session that began this week, Brennan borrowed from the medical profession and urged lawmakers to "do no harm." That means no additional tax increases - Malloy has said he would not support any - and don't pile any more regulations on business.

"Don't do anything that would discourage employers from growing and expanding in Connecticut," he said.

That sounds reasonable.

Paul Choiniere is the editorial page editor.

Paul Choiniere