The budget, transportation top senator’s list

For state Sen. Clark Chapin (R-30), the state’s budget is the top priority for the new session of the Connecticut Legislature.

Chapin represents Winchester, Torrington, Brookfield, Canaan, Cornwall, Goshen, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Milford, North Canaan, Salisbury and Sharon.

In an interview last week, he said the state is projected to end fiscal 2014-15 with a substantial deficit.

“And the projections for the next two years are not good. I would like to think that we can shrink the size of government and spend less money,”he said, “but I’m not optimistic that will be the case. I do believe there are a lot of people hoping that the state’s economy will turn around and become stronger.”

The state needs to kill proposed legislation that business owners see as detrimental, he believes. 

“There are a lot of businesses in the state that are opposed to the increase of the minimum wage and paid sick days,” he said. “Most recently, the state had to borrow from the federal government to keep their  unemployment compensation trust fund whole. The way the state decided to pay it back was to charge an additional assessment surcharge on business payrolls. That is not business-friendly. It is not a business-friendly move in the minds of business owners who are looking to stay here.”

Chapin said another issue he will be focused on is transportation, including transportation projects and funding.

“I think we are all anxious to see what the governor’s transportation package is,” he said. “The governor said he is planning some major initiatives. There are rumors circulating that someone will be proposing an increase in the gas tax and reintroducing highway tolls. These issues come up every year. I do think we will find proposals to fund these proposed transportation improvements.”

Chapin said there has been talk about train service in the Northwest Corner, from Danbury to the Massachusetts state line.

“But the Department of Transportation has not made any proposed project a priority,” Chapin said. “I think it definitely deserves some scrutiny to see whether or not the project is actually feasible.”

Chapin said that a priority for him this session will be preserving municipal aid.

“I can’t find a representative who doesn’t think that preserving municipal aid isn’t a priority,” Chapin said. “While our state budget continues to grow, in recent years we’ve held towns harmless to budget cuts, and they have received as much aid as they had received in the prior year. 

“However, we don’t provide any relief from mandates to the degree that they would like, and we don’t fund their educational systems, which is the biggest component of their property tax bills. I’m sure once again there will be a number of us pushing to look at education cost share formulas and regional school district issues.”