Hartford Business Journal

16 Hartford Business Journal | January 11, 2021 | HartfordBusiness.com HBJ PHOTO: STEVE LASCHEVER HBJ PHOTO: STEVE LASCHEVER CBIA's DiPentima aims to shield, shepherd CT employers as vaccine recovery looms By Matt Pilon mpilon@hartfordbusiness.com T he recently begun legislative session will be a major test for Chris DiPentima, who left his job as an aerospace manufacturing executive last summer to become CEO of Connecticut's largest business lobby. As the policy and budget debates get underway at the Capitol, COVID-19 infections remain elevated, threatening further damage to an economy that's still limping along from the pandemic's effects over the past 10 months. However, with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines now underway, there's tangible hope on the horizon. Amid that backdrop, DiPentima said it will be crucial for the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) to help its members weather the coming months, as time is still needed to let the vaccines produce their desired effects on both the spread of the virus and economy. Some health offi cials and economists predict a return to near- normalcy could happen around mid-year. "The vaccine has shown us the light," said DiPentima, who is also a volunteer member of Gov. Ned Lamont's vaccine advisory committee. "There's this hope and opportunity that we're all clinging onto, and we should because it could be a huge driver of our economic recovery." State lawmakers must not cause additional harm to Connecticut's economy, which has so far clawed back less than two-thirds of its historic pandemic job losses, DiPentima said. For CBIA, that means fi ghting back against any proposed tax increases as well as opposing stricter public health restrictions on businesses, particularly restaurants and other service-sector companies, as the state's second hospitalization peak looms. While budget projections improved in the latter half of 2020, the estimated hole in the coming two-year spending plan remains in excess of $4 billion, creating a greater potential for lawmakers to eye tax hikes, or other new revenues. Lamont has said that he will oppose tax increases and use the state's rainy day fund to deal with projected defi cits. That gives DiPentima comfort, but he says he still must be ready for anything this session. "You never get comfortable because you hear calls for more taxes in Connecticut even when we're having good times," he said. As he embarks on a crucial year, DiPentima is armed with a retooled CBIA lobbying strategy, which will be put to the test between now and June 9, when the legislative session is scheduled to end. A bigger tent As a longtime CBIA member and chair of its board of directors a few years ago, DiPentima knows that the association is viewed by some as largely supporting Republican

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