Hartford Business Journal

16 Hartford Business Journal • January 22, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Matt Pilon and Greg Bordonaro mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com, gbordonaro@ HartfordBusiness.com L ast spring, Bob Patricelli, the serial entrepreneur who re- cently sold his physician prac- tice management firm Women's Health USA Inc., was facing retirement but he wasn't quite ready to hit the slow lane just yet. He also harbored deep concerns about the state's economic and fiscal future and thought the business community wasn't doing enough to influence public policy in a way that promoted growth and stability. So he tapped his network of friends — many of them top executives of other Connecticut companies — to brainstorm ways they could form a new public-private partnership with policymakers. The self- proclaimed "Friday Group" met last spring over several months for Friday breakfasts at the Hartford Club. Among the attendees were Stanley Black & Decker CEO Jim Loree, recently retired Webster Bank CEO Jim Smith, Eversource's general counsel Greg Butler, along with nearly a dozen other business, nonprofit and higher-education leaders. Together they developed the concept of the Commission on Fiscal Stability and Eco- nomic Growth, a mainly private-sector led coalition that would propose comprehensive structural reforms to state government. Patricelli and Smith, who co-chair the group, floated the concept to the governor and then legislative leaders last Septem- ber, who eventually slipped the commis- sion's formation into the state budget that passed in October. Their efforts in some ways harken back to the days of Hartford's bishops, when a group of high-profile insurance and bank executives directly wielded their power to influence city development and policy. "We were just saying 'hey, we haven't stepped up to the plate. We have to get en- gaged,' " Patricelli said during a wide-ranging interview with the Hartford Business Jour- nal, where he was joined by Smith, who is still Webster Bank's non-executive chairman. Smith said he, too, felt a responsibility to play a more active role in a policy debate that could shape Connecticut's fortunes. And it's a role he'd like to play outside elected office. "It wasn't 'we know the answer, let's get together and provide it,' " Smith said. "It was 'we have a responsibility to try to make a difference if we can.' " Such blue-ribbon panels are not new in Connecticut; what makes this particular commission unique was that it was formed at the behest of some of the state's top CEOs, a group that in the past shied away from public discussions on policy for fear of upsetting the political establishment, or possibly shareholders. "I'm sure that was weighed by folks before they agreed to do it," said Joseph Brennan, CEO of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, the state's largest business lobbying group. "It's more a question of the times we're in right now that people are willing to take those risks that maybe they wouldn't have taken in the past." Brennan said he hopes the commission's deep bench will enable it to deliver a mes- sage that carries added heft. "It has the clout of people who employ tens of thousands and have control over where they are located in the future," said Brennan, who is not a commission mem- ber. "Hopefully we'll move the needle." Key to getting buy-in from commis- sion members, several of which were part of the Friday Group, was a provision in the budget that apparently requires the legislature to take some action on their recommendations. "There are so many existing reports and panels that, by and large, have been ignored," Patricelli said. The budget language says that three legislative committees must hold public hearings on the commission's report by the end of March. In addition, at least one Exerting Influence Two high-profile CEOs trying to shape state fiscal and economic policy say Connecticut's future is at stake Former CEOs Bob Patricelli (left) and Jim Smith were key architects of the Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth, which is preparing "bold" recommendations for long-term and structural changes within state government. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Comparing State Tax Rates Stanley Black and Decker CEO and Chairman Jim Loree recently prepared a report outlining Connecticut's economic competitiveness issues. One section compared Connecticut's tax rates (as of 2015) to other states. Corporate income tax Sales tax Personal income tax Property tax Estate tax 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Tax rate percentage CT's Rate U.S. Average 7.5% 6.4% 5.5% 6.2% 5.1% 6.7% 12% 4.3% 1.1% 1.5% 1.1% 1.5% Source: Federation of Tax Administration and U.S. Census

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