In This Issue:
From Paddi's Desk
CT Agency Corner
Municipal Roundup
Inside Scoop
This Day in CT History
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With the legislative committees coming up on their JF deadlines (meaning taking final action on all bills heard at a public hearing), we can all use a bit of luck on St. Patrick’s Day. What better luck than that of the Irish for a lobbyist? That being said, the luck of the Irish may be more of a myth than a scientific fact considering all of Ireland’s colorful history, but it is still a widely used saying, and we mostly believe it anyway. Did you know that the origins of the ‘luck of the Irish’ saying can be traced back to the late 1800s in America during the gold and silver rush at the time? It seems as if Irish immigrants and Irish Americans were some of the most successful miners to prosper!
The Irish writer Jonathan Swift said it best, "I don't really like the term 'luck of the Irish' because the luck of the Irish is, historically speaking, horribly terrible." (Editor’s note: I cleaned the quote up for this article!)
Let me share one of my favorites, it’s one my mom used to add to all her cards all the time as I was growing up - “May your day be touched by a bit of Irish luck, brightened by a song in your heart and warmed by the smiles of the people you love.” So fitting for those of us wearing the blue and white lobbyist badges.
The next three weeks will be filled with the thrill of victory, as well as the agony of defeat since all standing committees will be finalizing their priority bills and voting for those that they will shepherd through the last weeks of the 2022 session. With the gavel dropping on May 4th, the house and senate have a short 33 days to debate, draft substitute language, debate some more, call amendments, debate the amendment, take a vote, send to the next chamber where its rinse and repeat - debate, draft amendments, vote on amendments, debate and approve to either send to the governor or send back to the first chamber for another round of debate, vote and debate.
In a virtual session, it’s been interesting for lobbyists to retool our approach with the limited access to in-person, in-hall conversations and opportunities to pitch our stories and educate and persuade legislators to support our bills and amendments. While the rest of CT is fully open for business with the mask ban lifted, there’s still a mask mandate for inside the building, and access to the Capitol and LOB by the public/lobbyists is still restricted to the first and second floors. We’re not allowed above the House Chamber and that means the Senate is out of bounds as is the House/Senate Galleries – where we often get intel on what’s happening on the chamber floors! So we pivot!
Our team has found ways to engage legislators outside of the building through technology, increased use of what we call our "ground game", and infographics. It’s interesting that often when we approach a legislator who is not on the committee of cognizance for a particular issue we are lobbying, we’re hearing that our clients have indeed reached out to them in the district through emails or at a local event. Old school turbocharged with a couple of new tricks is our response.
As we look at the next 33 days(including a Saturday, we are hearing), we’re hoping that our Irish luck will guide us as we work 24/7 to meet and exceed client goals and needs; and looking to engage more one-on-one with legislators, since that’s the fun part of this job!
“Wherever you go, whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be there with you!”
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List of Legislators not Seeking Re-Election
We would like to give a huge thanks to the following legislators that will not be seeking re-election this year for all they have done for Connecticut, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors!
- Rep. Cathy Abercrombie (D)
- Rep. Dave Arconti (D)
- Rep. Whit Betts (R)
- Sen. Dan Champagne (R)
- Rep. Tony D'Amelio (R)
- Rep. Joe De La Cruz (D)
- Sen. Paul Formica (R)
- Sen. Will Haskell (D)
- Rep. Brandon McGee (D)
- Sen. Craig Miner (R)
- Rep. Rosa Rebimbas (R)
- Rep. Brian Smith (D)
- Rep. Dave Wilson (R)
- Sen. Kevin Witkos (R)
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Could Working from Home be Permanent for Some State Employees?
As many private sector employees are returning to their dust-covered desks, the state is still unsure as to how to handle an employee who has been working remotely for two years and doesn’t want to end remote work.
It was reported this week by the CT Insider that the Department of Transportation held a “All Hands Wednesday” where more than 1,000 people came together at the DOT headquarters in Newington — planners, designers, inspectors and more — connecting with old friends and colleagues for a mandatory in-person event. The state during the pandemic clearly negotiated the terms of someone being able to work remotely during the state of emergency (SOE) but now that the SOE is about to expire, what happens to that classification? According to a negotiated state labor agreement from 2017, agencies can require workers to spend at least one day a week in the office. Beyond that, it’s a judgment call based on the efficiency and productivity of the employee or the work group. None of this is directly related to the negotiations just completed between Lamont’s office and SEBAC for new, 3-year contracts, which are now subject to ratification votes. Rather, it stems from the 2017 SEBAC contract under former Governor Malloy. That agreement, good through 2027, said telework is a bargainable right with limits, and it called for the state and SEBAC to come up with a telework policy.
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How Irish is Connecticut?
From all of us here at Sullivan & LeShane, happy St. Patrick’s Day. We clearly take this holiday quite seriously because we’re all a little bit Irish this week. The question asked this week in the state was “How Irish are we?” First, CT and New England have the highest average of Irish ancestry in the country according to U.S. Census Data. The most Irish county in the state? Well that seems to be a pretty close tie between Middlesex, Litchfield and New London Counties. The least? Well that appears to be Hartford county, but certainly not this week!
In other more serious local news, Cheshire seems to have figured out a way to unlock an opportunity for significant mixed-use development in their town. Through the use of a special taxing district, Cheshire will potentially see a 107 acre development where almost $7 million in future property tax dollars will be used for infrastructure like sewer, water and roads to literally pave way for this development. The project has been called “Stone Bridge Crossing” and will be required to add at least $50 million in future value through the development in order for the project to make sense from a special taxing district perspective. The project is expected to yield up to 140 single family homes, 300 apartments, convenience/gas station, 90 age restricted multi-family units, medical office space and a 150-room hotel with 3 restaurants.
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Don’t be an (Unfunded) Liability
As the Federal Government looks to temp down inflation and raise interest rates, we find ourselves checking our 401k, stock portfolios and maybe most importantly, our savings rate to make sure things are looking good for our futures. The state of Connecticut is no different when it comes to looking through a microscopic lens as we head into budget debates, expiring federal monetary support and while, what feels like a way-too-rosy financial outlook. In the past few years, Connecticut has stayed as frugal as a grandparent on a fixed income. Connecticut’s state government has socked away almost $4.8 billion since 2018 and could nearly double that by mid-2023. We have saved 3.5x times more than what we saved as a state in the last 25 years combined. But what do we need to pay off?
Connecticut has a lot of unfunded obligations and with that, even as we have saved a ton, we have an increasing debt obligation. Our bonded debt, unfunded pension and retirement responsibilities have led us to have (take a deep breathe here) over $95 BILLION in obligations. That a 30% increase from the debt in 2016 that the state reported. But just like the soon-to-be start of spring, there is hope! The rainy day fund is full, we have some time until federal pandemic relief expires, and with that the state will be shifting a $1.6 billion surplus from the 2020-21 budget year into the pensions. That’s on top of the $2.9 billion in regular contributions already budgeted for pensions for state employees and municipal teachers.
While we have reason to be optimistic we have to understand that our state is part of a group that has some of the worst unfunded obligation ratings in the country. Given the upcoming conversations around the budget, potential tax cuts and consumer relief for our residents, we have a lot of work to do!
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March 18th : A Rising Star Falls Twice. On the Same Date
The day after St. Patrick’s Day was anything but a lucky one for John G. Rowland, who found himself on the wrong end of the law on March 18, 2005, and then again 10 years later on March 18, 2015.
Once considered one of Connecticut’s best and brightest politicians, Rowland first won elected office as a state representative at the young age of 23 and became a U.S. congressman only four years later in 1984. After becoming the state’s 85th governor in 1995, the popular moderate Republican — who was the youngest man to serve as Connecticut’s governor since the 18th century — was re-elected twice by comfortable margins in 1998 and 2002, leaving some political analysts to speculate that a presidential or vice-presidential run might be in his future.
However, in 2003, rumors began swirling of state contractors performing work for little or no cost on Rowland’s personal property, sparking a lengthy federal investigation that culminated in several of Rowland’s former aides being indicted on corruption-related charges. By January 2004, Rowland himself was being directly investigated by the Justice Department for corruption, most notably his acceptance of bribes in the form of cash and services. When the Connecticut Supreme Court summoned him to testify in June, Rowland chose to resign rather than comply and run the risk of impeachment. Six months later, acknowledging his own “poor judgment,” he pleaded guilty to one count of depriving the citizens of Connecticut of “the honest services of its governor.”
On March 18, 2005, Rowland was sentenced to one year in federal prison, followed by a long period of probation. After his release, a chastened Rowland hit the lecture circuit, speaking to audiences ranging from students to parolees about the dangers of unethical behavior. From 2010 to 2014, Rowland co-hosted what became a popular talk radio show on Connecticut’s WTIC-AM. During that period, he re-entered politics indirectly, offering his services as campaign adviser to aspiring Republican political candidates, which led to his second downfall.
On March 18, 2015, 10 years to the day after his first conviction, John Rowland was convicted in a federal court again, this time for violating campaign election laws. He was convicted for failing to disclose payments he received for work on the unsuccessful Congressional campaign of Lisa Wilson-Foley in 2012, having funneled them instead through a phony contract with Wilson-Foley’s husband. He also was convicted of attempting to set up a similar arrangement with Congressional candidate Mark Greenberg in 2010. For his second conviction, Rowland received a 30-month sentence. A rising star fell twice, today in Connecticut history.
The original article from the CT Humanities Council can be found here.
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Sullivan & LeShane, Inc.
www.ctlobby.com | (860) 560-0000
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