Opening day and committee assignments for the 2011 Legislative Session

January 7, 2011

Hartford, CT – Senator Toni Boucher (R-26) currently the only female Republican state senator, was sworn in this week at the state capitol.  Sen. Boucher represents the communities of the 26th Senatorial District including Bethel, New Canaan, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport and Wilton.  This, her second term in the State Senate, followed a 12 year distinguished career in the House of Representatives where she held caucus leadership positions and served on several prominent legislative committees.

Senator Boucher on the floor of the State Senate during the first day of the legislative sessionIn the State Senate, Senator Boucher serves as Deputy Minority Leader. This year, she will continue as a ranking member on the Transportation, Higher Education, and Education committees. She also sits on the Finance Revenue & Bonding Committee and the Employment Subcommittee.

As a member of the Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee, “I want to work to resolve the state’s existing fiscal problems and plan for the future in a bipartisan manner.”  Senator Boucher said, “We can no longer spend more than we make and we cannot continue to rely on a fraction of our population to pay the vast majority of our government’s expenses.”

Senator Boucher calls on her extensive experience in the business world when working with her legislative colleagues on fiscal issues. Senator Boucher, who holds an MBA from UCONN Business School, a series 7 and series 63 licenses and is the founder and former owner of a small business and a former corporate manager for two Fortune 50 firms.

Senator Boucher says, “We must ensure Connecticut regains its former status as a desirable place to work and raise a family.  I hope to work with the new administration and my colleagues in the legislature to promote policies that will help us create and retain new jobs.”

On the Transportation Committee, Senator Boucher will continue her work to modernize commuter rail lines by keeping public policy focused on parking, train station enhancements and more frequent, faster, rail service.

As a member of the Education Committee and Higher Education and Employment Subcommittee, Senator Boucher has been an outspoken advocate for education, authoring and helping pass legislation to reduce the mandatory age at which a child must enroll in school from seven to five, reforming bilingual education, and helping institute the Connecticut College Trust Fund.

She successfully worked for legislation to promote early reading success, preschool education programs for disadvantaged children and to enhance educational accountability. Prior to serving in the legislature, Senator

Boucher chaired her local board of education and served on the CT State Board of Education she was also a member of the Board of Selectmen.