Hartford Business Journal

20 Hartford Business Journal • January 21, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Opinion & Commentary GOVERNMENT INSIGHTS Can Lamont reinvent Connecticut? By Roy Occhiogrosso I n his recent State of the State speech, Gov. Ned Lamont said: "What I love about America is that in every generation we get a chance to reinvent ourselves, and every election gives us a fresh start. This is our chance to reinvent Connecticut, to think big and act boldly." Can Connecticut be reinvented? Does it even need to be? Well, for sure there are parts of Con- necticut that need to be reinvented. Let's start with state government. Although Gov. Dannel P. Malloy reduced the size of state government by 13 percent and eliminated many outdated regulations, there's no question that the bureaucracy still needs a lot of work. Too many senior-level bureaucrats who are charged with implementing policy are reluctant to change. New ideas often scare or somehow offend them, and their attitude toward a new governor and new agency com- missioners is, "I was here before you got here, I'll be here long after you're gone. So we'll do this my way." If Lamont, his Chief Operating Of- ficer Paul Mounds, and the new com- missioners can change that mindset it will go a long way toward reinventing Connecticut. Another thing about state govern- ment: Not everyone is always pulling in the same direction. Too often efforts by the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) are undermined by the "work" of other state agencies. There have been numer- ous examples over the past few years in which DECD invested in an industry or a company (like fuel cells), only to see that company or industry taken to task by another state agency. It's like one hand giveth, the other one taketh away. If we believe that job creation is job No. 1, then before a state agency goes after a company or an industry, it needs to check with DECD to under- stand where that company fits in to the future of Connecticut's economy. Much has been made of Lamont's sunny optimism — he'll need that approach if he wants to reinvent Con- necticut because while everyone says we need to "change," what they really mean is "change someone else's stuff." Just about every time Malloy tried to change something — small or large — he ran into opposition. Every program has a constituency, and they fight hard to beat back the change they say they want. A good example of this is the concept of regionalism. For as long as I've been involved in government and politics — more years now than I care to say — everyone has said we need to move toward regionalism in a real way. Yet, not nearly as much progress has been made on this front as is neces- sary. The level of redundancy of services provided at the local level is absurd. How- ever, every service that's provided has a constituency, and those constituencies are reluctant to give up even the tiniest pieces of their turf. That's got to change. One lesson I learned working in the Malloy administration: A governor is al- most never as powerful and influential as he or she is in their first year in of- fice. In his first year (2011), Malloy suc- cessfully pushed his entire legislative agenda through the General Assembly, and he proposed and convinced the legislature to pass a very tough budget. He negotiated a big, long-term deal to bring Jackson Laboratory to Connecti- cut; negotiated a historic labor agree- ment; and oversaw a bipartisan jobs bill. What big ideas and plans does Lamont have in mind? A real shake- up of state government? A massive infrastructure plan and a way to pay for it? An overhaul of our tax structure? A complete restructuring of our public pension system? A permanent "fix" to the structural budget deficits that have plagued Connecticut for a long time? We'll know soon enough. Here's hoping Lamont uses year one to "think big and act boldly." He might not get that chance again. Roy Occhiogrosso is the managing director of Global Strategy Group in Hartford, a public relations and research firm. He also served as a senior advisor to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. OTHER VOICES Economic priorities for Congress in the New Year By James T. Brett A s the 116th Congress commences this month, it does so with a daunting to- do list. The most urgent issue, of course, is ending the government shutdown. Beyond that, there are a number of important issues that will come before Congress this year, many of which will have a tremendous impact on the economy here in New England. It is important to note that New England's clout in Congress has shifted significantly with Democrats taking control in the House of Repre- sentatives. Our all-Democratic House delegation now find themselves in the majority, with many members well- positioned in leadership roles, including House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Rich- ard Neal, House Rules Commit- tee Chairman Jim McGovern, and Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Rep. Katherine Clark, all from Massachusetts. And New England representatives hold senior seats on other key com- mittees, affording them an oppor- tunity to shape policy on important issues ranging from energy to health care to national security. Of the many items on Congress' agenda in the year ahead, there are several that The New England Council believes to be of critical importance to our region's continued economic well-being. First, our region would benefit tremendously from a major federal infrastructure investment package. And fortunately, the need for such investment is one area where leaders on both sides of the aisle — and the White House — can agree. Questions remain about the final price tag and how it will be paid for. An increase in the gas tax or a vehicle miles travelled tax are the two most discussed options. But with our harsh weather and aging infrastructure, there is no question that upgrades are desperately needed in our region. Take bridges for example. Nearly 65 percent of our region's 18,000 bridges are rated as either fair or poor by the Federal Highway Ad- ministration. At the same time, the number of drivers on the roads in New England increased by 1.45 mil- lion from 1996 to 2016, and vehicle miles travelled increased by nearly 19 percent during that same period. Not only would infrastructure investment allow for necessary up- grades, but it would also create jobs. The Trump administration estimated that $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments would employ between 290,000 and 414,000 additional work- ers over 10 years. Bottom line: An infu- sion of federal infrastructure dollars would be a win-win for New England. Another critical issue for New England is trade, and in particular, ongoing free trade with Canada and Mexico. In late 2018, President Trump signed a modernized trade agree- ment with these key trade partners, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and announced withdrawal from its predecessor, the North Amer- ican Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in six months, putting the pressure on Congress to approve the USMCA. The importance of trade with Canada and Mexico for our region cannot be understated. Our neighbors to the north and south are top export markets for all six New England states. In 2017 alone, New England exported over $8.3 billion in goods to Canada, and another $4.4 billion worth to Mexico. And so the USMCA is good news for New England and it's important that businesses continue to voice support for the agree- ment to our Congressional delegation. Given our region's strengths as a global medical innovation hub, a third priority for New England is federal research funding, particularly for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH funding has seen bipartisan support in Washington these past few years, and after several years of devas- tating cuts, this funding has been increased the past several years. Not only does federally funded research bring about new treatments and cures for diseases ranging from Alzheimer's and ALS to cancer, but it's also a huge economic driver in New England. In 2017, NIH fund- ing totaled $3.64 billion for the six New England states, and supported 44,705 jobs in the region, including over 6,000 in Connecticut. The New England Council believes that attention to these three items will reap great economic benefits for New England and the entire nation. James T. Brett is the president and CEO of The New England Council, a non-partisan alliance of businesses, academic and health institutions in New England. Roy Occhiogrosso James T. Brett

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