Senator Hwang Opening Day Statement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 7, 2024

Opening Day in Connecticut General Assembly

Hartford – The 2024 Connecticut General Assembly legislative session kicked off with all the pomp and circumstance befitting an opening day. Excitement is in the air as we return for another year of conducting the people’s business in order to make Connecticut a more affordable place to live.
Both the House and Senate chambers opened their business for the year as friends, family, and constituents lined the halls of the Capitol to celebrate the new session. After each chamber finished its opening business, Governor Ned Lamont delivered his annual opening day address to a joint session of the House and Senate. In the Governor’s speech, he highlighted the strong economic position that the state currently enjoys, which is in no doubt due to the continuation of the state’s fiscal guardrails. We must continue to keep our state’s finances in good order to ensure that the State of Connecticut maintains this positive economic path. This means solidifying our commitment to keeping these guardrails in place.

Budgets are about Priorities

After all, budgets are about priorities. The state budget needs to reflect our commitment to paying down our state’s pension and borrowing debt and ensuring a more sustainable economic future for generations to come.

In creating that brighter future, our state budget also must reflect a commitment to the social and safety net services provided by the invaluable community nonprofits that are vital to the survival and success of many Connecticut residents. This budget must invest in these service providers who are invaluable to this state. This also includes a streamlining of social services and finding efficiencies to maximize the effectiveness of our resources by re-evaluating our current duplicative dual delivery structure of social services.

We must make this state more affordable for our taxpayers to live in. We must make our communities safer. We must work together to make our government more transparent and accountable. We must work together to create a cleaner, greener Connecticut in the face of climate change. We must create workforce development opportunities for education and skills training for good-paying jobs, to promote prosperity in our state’s economy.

This opening day marks the fresh beginning of a great opportunity to prioritize our policies in the best interest of the people we represent. I eagerly begin this session with an unwavering commitment to maintain the state’s good fiscal health and continue to invest in necessary policies that reflect an unwavering commitment to residents in our community and our state.