Connecticut labor unions are promoting a May Day mobilization built around a simple message: step away from work and daily activity, even as many of their members are covered by contracts that restrict coordinated work […]
The Connecticut Senate has advanced two housing proposals that, taken together, could work at cross purposes. One bill is designed to make it easier for unrelated adults to live together in single-family homes. The other […]
Connecticut lawmakers say a new bill will protect teachers. But the proposal, already passed by the Senate and now heading to the House, raises a more fundamental question: does it actually solve the problem it’s […]
Connecticut officials are proposing $270 million in new aid to cities and towns as an affordability measure — a way to ease pressure on local budgets and prevent property tax increases. On its face, the […]
The House is preparing to vote on a sweeping omnibus labor bill that, on paper, aims to strengthen worker protections and improve working conditions. In practice, business groups and industry stakeholders warn it would significantly […]
A bill moving through the Connecticut General Assembly would change how the public accesses course materials at taxpayer-funded colleges, raising questions about transparency in higher education. House Bill 5550 would remove course syllabi from the […]
A bill headed to the Connecticut Senate floor would reshape how employers use artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace — adding new regulatory requirements, compliance costs, and, in the public sector, a larger role for […]
As the legislative session approaches its May 6 conclusion, a new national report underscores what many residents already feel: the state’s affordability challenges remain deeply entrenched. Despite acknowledging cost reduction as a top priority heading into the 2026 session, lawmakers are advancing […]
Connecticut lawmakers are advancing legislation this session that raises a fundamental question about governance: what happens when the state changes the law while courts are still deciding whether it followed that law in the first […]
Connecticut’s minimum wage didn’t rise overnight. It was the result of a sweeping 2019 law that fundamentally changed how wages are set in the state. Under Public Act 19-4, lawmakers approved a multi-year schedule to […]
The Connecticut State Legislature will begin its 2023 session on January 4th and will adjourn on June 7th. The “long session,” as non-election years are called in Hartford, will be centered around the biennial budget. The Office of the State Comptroller reports that state government found a way to spend $47.11 billion in 2022 and, if trends continue, we can expect that number to grow even more going forward. Concerns over energy prices, inflation, and general cost of living continue to dominate the headlines and the threat of a recession hovers over economic forecasts.
What will our elected officials be working on to improve policy outcomes for Connecticut residents? What tax reform proposals will there be? What can be done to lower home heating bills? How will state and local budgets be affected by fewer federal resources? How will schools be implementing to curriculum requirements?
While we wait to see the thousands of individual and committee bills that while dominate the myriad policy debates this year, Yankee Institute is hard at work promoting free-market solutions to the problems we face from Stamford to Putnam and Mystic to Salisbury. To that end, we have produced a new edition of our Charter for Change. The Charter provides commonsense reforms to make Connecticut’s government work for its residents.
Though the list of reforms may be exhausting to review, it is far from exhaustive! And that’s why we want to work with you to build a broad-based coalition to encourage sound policy reforms to enable Connecticut residents to forge a better future for themselves and their families.
It’s also imperative that we do so. As we noted in a report and CT Mirror op-ed last year, the debate over whether we’re in a national recession really misses the point for Connecticut residents. We had more people employed in the private sector in 2007 than we do today. Our economy has grown at one of the slowest rates in the nation for the past decade, and we are getting outpaced year after year. We’re not attracting innovation and industry. We’re losing some of our best and brightest as they seek other parts of the country where it’s easier to make a living.
But together, we can reverse this trend.
At Yankee Institute, we know Connecticut is a state with boundless opportunity, and we intend to help make our state more than a place where people are just able to make ends meet! Connecticut should be a place where everyone can thrive – and with your help, it will be.