Announcement: 2008 Legislative Agenda

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2008 Legislative Agenda

Connecticut Voices for Children and Advocates for Connecticut's Children and Youth have released the 2008 legislative agenda. The full agenda is available for download below.

Promote more strategic state planning and fiscal choices

Establish comprehensive long term planning in Connecticut
Assure stable and adequate state revenues, equitably borne by all residents

Reduce child poverty

Adopt measures to reduce child poverty by 50% by 2014
Reduce child poverty and expand opportunity by adopting a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

Assure timely and affordable health care

Restore continuous eligibility for HUSKY
Modify HUSKY B to spend all SCHIP funds
Expand legislative oversight of DSS
Maintain HUSKY performance monitoring funds at current FY 09 Levels

Improve access to high quality early care and education for working parents

Increase access to Care4Kids subsidies for low-wage families

Improve outcomes for Connecticut's foster children

Foster school stability for foster children and youth
Improve legal representation of abused and neglected children (and their parents)
Improve outcomes for youth transitioning from foster care

Improve outcomes in K-12 education by enhancing student attendance

Improve the reporting of truancy
Prevent rollbacks in the "In-School Suspension Law"

Downloads

2008 Legislative Agenda (51.52K)

From Options to Planning: A More Strategic Approach to Growing Connecticut's Economy

The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) released its Economic Strategic Plan in September, 2009. Rather than a plan, however, it is a thorough description of the Connecticut economy, followed by sixty-six ideas for improving it. Many of the ideas are excellent, but the state cannot act on all of them.

This brief suggests ways in which Connecticut could prioritize and direct its economic development efforts, including:

Increasing the quality of the state's education system and closing the achievement gap.
Taking better advantage of opportunities for interstate collaboration, particularly in expanding transportation and energy infrastructure.
Focusing more on small businesses.
Ensuring the state gets the most "bang" for its development buck by strengthening traditional "good governance" protections embedded in its economic development agencies.

The state's economic development plan confirms that high state taxes are not an impediment to Connecticut's economic growth.

Download this publication from Connecticut Voices for Children.

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