They Said No! After People Left

Tough-talking Republicans brought a ​“shared sacrifice” budget message to New Haven’s business crowd. And they were able to identify requests they’d vote against from that group — once the group left the room.

The specific naysaying took place Thursday evening immediately following the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce’s ​“2011 Regional Legislative Reception.” The annual beginning-of-the-legislative-session event took place at Yale Law School’s dining hall. Some 200 Chamber members showed up.

At the event, the Chamber presented its annual legislative wish list. And it held a panel with some of the legislators who will help determine the fate of that wish list.

The event was Republican-heavy despite the fact that Democrats not only control the legislature this year as usual, but also control the governor’s office for the first time in 20 years. A former Republican State Rep. turned corporate lobbyist, Brian Flaherty, moderated the panel. Two of the three panelists were area Republicans: State Sen. Len Fasano and State Rep. Vincent Candelora. State Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney of New Haven was, as he noted, the token Democrat: even the event’s host, Chamber prez Tony Rescigno, is a former Republican first selectman (of North Haven).

A clear message emerged during the panel: The state has a ​“spending problem.” With a $3.7 billion deficit this year, look for ​“shared sacrifice.” Lots of cuts to spread around. Lots of ​“no” to interest groups pushing pet projects. Everybody should expect some pain.

And, at least according to Fasano and Candelora, the Democratic-controlled legislature and the Hartford bureaucrats must stop being a big part of the problem.

“There has to be a will in this legislature to change,” Fasano told the crowd. ​“I still don’t see it, from top to bottom.”

“Legislators are chickens,’ he said at another point. “… The state sometimes doesn’t think like normal people.”

Connecticut’s deficit equals about 20 percent of its entire budget, Candeloria noted. Something has to give.

Before the panel he and his fellow panelists received and perused copies of the Chamber’s 2011 agenda. Some of the ideas would not cost any money and therefore wouldn’t increase the deficit. These include ​“a three-year moratorium on unfunded mandates”; ​“allow[ing] electric distribution companies to own, operate and develop renewable energy systems”; ​“eliminating outdated and needless regulation.”

The rest of the ideas would increase, not alleviate, the deficit. Among them: ​“Maintain current funding to cities and towns.” New tax ​“incentives” for manufacturers. ​“Reallocat[ing] 3% of the current 12% hotel tax” out of the state coffers, to towns hosting the hotels, to regional tourism and planning groups. New investment in New Haven’s Union Station and ​“nearby Transportation Oriented Development.” Investments in Tweed-New Haven Airport. And (a biggie), relief for employers through ​“increase[d] Medicaid reimbursements to cover the cost of care.”

The panelists didn’t mention any of those ideas during the panel.

Why not?

“I wasn’t asked specifically,” Fasano said after the program ended.

Then he agreed to look at the Chamber’s handout to identify any requests he’d deny. (Click on the play arrow at the top of this story to view part of the conversation.)

Would he say no to removing hotel tax money from the state and sending it to cities?

He might actually say yes, he said, especially if that includes cutting that amount of money elsewhere in the budget.

The Chamber — and local mayors — wouldn’t like that idea. The Chamber agenda specifically calls for avoiding any municipal aid cuts. The idea here was for extra money.

Fasano then raised an alternative that people like New Haven Mayor John DeStefano have advocated: allowing cities to enact their own hotel taxes and keep the money. It wouldn’t add to the state budget deficit. Fasano said he’s open to the idea; he sits on the state committee considering the idea.

“We have this on a public hearing. I’m curious on this issue. I want to hear both sides,” he said. ​“I’m not predisposed one way or another.”

State Rep. Candelora, on the other hand, said he would in fact say no to that ​“local option” alternative, too.

“We can’t create a disparate tax structure for industries based on where they’re located,” he said. ​“Then you’re going to get communities competing with each other based on their tax structure. I think it needs to be uniform.”

Both legislators identified another Chamber request they’d probably say no to: the increased Medicaid reimbursements. Fasano said he could still say yes, assuming the federal government (which faces its own deficit problems) covers the cost.

“I’m assuming we would not get that federal reimbursement.”

No!

Fasano continued poring over the Chamber’s hand-out. He found an item to which he’d say no. No ifs. No ands. But buts.

“The item: new ​“state manufacturing incentives.”

“We already give a personal property exemption to manufacturers,” Fasano said. ​“They’re doing OK. They’re not doing great.” This is, after all, the year of shared sacrifice.

Chamber President Rescigno said business is ready to share in that.

He noted that much of the business community’s main concerns — like regulation changes — don’t include new costs to the state. He added that the Chamber supports recommendations for dramatic restructuring of government — identified in a Connecticut Regional Institute for the 21st Century report — to dramatically cut costs through, for example, eliminating excessive middle management. (Gov. Dannel Malloy campaigned on a similar goal.)

And business people recognize that in the end, they may be hit with some unwanted tax increases.

“The business community would be willing to make sacrifices in a lot of different ways if they really felt it was going to be fair across the board and everybody else was going to share,” Resicgno said. ​“If I can go to the business community and say, ​‘Everybody’s taking a hit,’ they will respond.”

The event was hardly all doom and gloom. As usual, there was plenty of upbeat schmoozing, networking and noshing.

One familiar face in the crowd was Dick Blumenthal. You usually found Dick Blumenthal at local events in Connecticut the past 20 years, more so than any other state officeholder. But he’s not a state officeholder anymore; the former attorney general just became a U.S. senator. You don’t usually find federal officeholders at events like Wednesday’s Chamber gathering unless they’re invited to speak. Blumenthal slipped in, listened for a while, shook hands, just as he always has. So far, apparently, Washington hasn’t changed him.