30 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 22, 2025
Opinion & Commentary
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EDITOR'S TAKE
CT needs coordinated effort on state,
local regulatory reforms
By Greg Bordonaro
W
hen Hartford Business
Journal launched its "CT's
Economic Competitiveness"
series earlier this summer, one theme
quickly stood out: the state's regulatory
environment is a drag on growth.
From unpredictable permitting delays
to layers of local zoning
rules, the state too often
makes it harder — not
easier — for businesses
and developers to
invest here.
Yes, progress is
happening. At the state
Department of Energy & Environmental
Protection, Commissioner Katie Dykes'
"20BY26" initiative has accelerated
permit approvals, consolidated over-
lapping environmental permits and
introduced a concierge-style help desk
for developers.
The sunsetting of the Transfer Act in
2026 is another welcome step toward
modernizing environmental rules.
But, despite these reforms,
Connecticut still struggles with busi-
ness-friendliness, ranking 32nd in that
category in CNBC's 2025 "America's
Top States for Business" index, even as
it inched up to No. 28 overall.
The state should do better. Plus,
regulatory reform is a far simpler and
more cost-effective way to improve
the business climate than rolling out
a new incentive program that relies
on taxpayer dollars to lure companies
and investment.
A 2024 policy brief on housing permit-
ting by the free market-oriented Mercatus
Center at George Mason University
reflects Connecticut's challenges. It
noted that construction timelines in the
Northeast have nearly doubled since the
early 2000s — from about 10 months to
almost 20 — largely because of delays in
planning and permitting.
In Connecticut, the Inland Wetlands
and Watercourses Act, established
in 1972, has become a choke point,
according to the policy brief, with
local zoning boards often staffed by
untrained volunteers, and hundreds
of lawsuits causing average delays of
more than two years.
Even meritless legal claims add enor-
mous costs and uncertainty, according
to the Mercatus Center, which recom-
mends some practical reforms, including
mandatory training for wetlands board
members, limiting legal challenges to
parties with direct property interests,
and crafting clear and objective state
standards that waive the need for an
inland wetlands agency review.
It also urges municipalities to
modernize conservation and devel-
opment plans with measurable data
— from housing and zoning capacity
to infrastructure and sewer availability
— so planning decisions rest on facts
rather than assumptions.
Developers echo these frustrations.
At HBJ's Cranes & Scaffolds Commer-
cial Real Estate Conference earlier this
month, panelists noted it can take as
long as 18 months just to secure local
approvals before putting a shovel in
the ground. In a competitive region like
ours, where New York and Massachu-
setts are also vying for projects, those
kinds of delays are unacceptable.
The bigger problem is fragmentation.
Every town runs its own permitting
system, with different timelines and
zoning rules. A regional approach —
even just standardizing some guide-
lines — would reduce duplication and
speed up investment.
Towns that cling to home-rule tradi-
tions risk holding back the entire state,
especially when it comes to addressing
the housing shortage.
Lawmakers have recognized the
need for change. The state House
passed a bill earlier this year requiring
every state regulation to be reviewed
every seven years. Unfortunately, the
measure stalled in the Senate.
That kind of accountability should
be a priority if Connecticut is serious
about competitiveness. Lawmakers
should raise and fully pass the bill
next session.
Connecticut has plenty of strengths:
its location in the heart of the Northeast
corridor, a highly educated workforce,
blue-chip corporate headquarters,
and relative affordability compared to
neighboring states. But those advan-
tages are undermined when businesses
and investors can't get timely answers
or consistent guidance from regulators.
Permitting reform may not grab
headlines like tax cuts or splashy corpo-
rate relocations, but it's every bit as
important to economic competitiveness.
If Connecticut wants to shake its repu-
tation for red tape, it needs more than
incremental changes. It needs compre-
hensive, coordinated reforms that make
regulation smarter, faster and fairer.
Greg Bordonaro
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