The largest child care expansion in state history, summer learning camps for nearly 100,000 students, huge investments in worker training and business growth, and a continued focus on COVID-19 vaccinations topped the list of initiatives Gov. Ned Lamont outlined Friday for the latest round of federal pandemic relief.

Lamont, who must show the legislature on Monday how he wants Connecticut to spend more than $6 billion arriving via the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, said the goal is nothing less than a dramatic transformation of the state over the next three years. Read More

Determining which states did best during the darkest days of the pandemic can be a challenge.

According to an April 1 WalletHub report, Connecticut was ranked the 16th “safest” state during Covid-19 (Massachusetts was 43rd; New York placed 50th), while as of February — the latest figures available — its 8.5% unemployment rate was tied with California for the country’s third-highest, behind Hawaii (9.2%) and New York (8.9%).

And yet, the Nutmeg State is still flaunting its record-high $3 billion rainy day fund; earlier this month it received its first bond rating upgrade since 1988, from Moody’s; and it is due over $10 billion from the federal government’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act.

“I’m very positive on Connecticut over the next two years,” Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner David Lehman told the Business Journal. Read More

Gov. Ned Lamont unveiled a plan Tuesday [April 20, 2021] that would preserve Connecticut’s debt-riddled unemployment trust fund by curbing benefits for workers and asking more from the business community as a whole.

But the deal, which was endorsed by both major business and labor coalitions, actually would reduce unemployment taxes starting in 2024 on about three-quarters of all businesses. Those that lay off high numbers of workers, though, would pay more.

“A robust, sustainably funded unemployment insurance system is Connecticut’s most important tool for keeping our families out of poverty and our economy in motion during a recession,” said Lamont, who announced the deal during a late-afternoon press conference outside of state Department of Labor offices in Wethersfield. “I appreciate legislators and stakeholders working together to develop a common path forward on this critical issue.” Read More

In a pivot from a cautious message to residents about COVID-19 safeguards, Gov. Ned Lamont’s announcement of plans to lift nearly all COVID-19 restrictions next month sent a signal that Connecticut may have weathered the worst of this pandemic.

Turning to progress with vaccinations and evidence that infections remain low in Connecticut, Lamont said the state was headed for a “new normal” with little government restriction except masking indoors.

Though some concerns about virus spread remain with lifting restrictions, Lamont on Tuesday was resolute. Read More

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