Senator Somers Addresses Mystic Chamber – Our State Needs a New Direction

HARTFORD, Conn. –State Senator Heather Somers (R-Groton) addressed a room filled with local business leaders at a Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce, Business After Hours event in Stonington on Thursday, June 22.

“Families and businesses are struggling in Southeastern Connecticut,” said Sen. Somers. “Far too long has one party ruled Hartford with little regard for our business community and an even larger disregard for fiscal responsibility. My pitch to these business leaders was stay here, keep growing your business because there is change on the horizon and that change is offered to Connecticut residents in the form of our Senate Republican Budget.”

The proposed Senate Republican Budget:

• Closes the deficit without new taxes
• Increases education funding and includes a new ECS formula.
• Stabilizes municipal aid and does not add new financial burdens onto towns and cities.
• Maintains tax exempt status for hospitals to protect them from a new local hospital tax.
• Preserves core government services by restoring funding for social services and protecting funds for services and programs that benefit people most in need.
• Prioritizes transportation needs and stabilizes funding without tolls or new taxes
• Lowers taxes for retirees and helps seniors age in place
• Enhances funding for state parks and tourism
• Streamlines government and provides for structural changes

“We have a huge opportunity to change the direction of our state,” said Sen. Somers. “That is the message I want my business leaders to hear, fiscal accountability is not dead in Hartford. I will continue to fight for common-sense legislation that creates a stable environment that not only keeps businesses here, but attracts new ones.”

Learn more about what’s in the Senate Republican budget proposal and state employee labor savings plan at www.ctsenrepublic.wpengine.com.