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Fairfield State House Candidates: State Should Do More To Support Business

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Candidates for State House District 134 in Fairfield say the government needs to do more to support businesses and invest in transportation infrastructure to grow the state’s economy.

Democrat Tara Cook-Littman and Republican Laura Devlin discuss how the state needs to support businesses in order to grow the economy.

Democrat Tara Cook-Littman and Republican Laura Devlin discuss how the state needs to support businesses in order to grow the economy.

Photo Credit: Casey Donahue

Democrat Tara Cook-Littman and Republican Laura Devlin are running for the seat in the Connecticut House of Representatives that is currently held by Republican Tony Hwang, who is running for the State Senate.

They recently sat down with other local candidates at a forum at the Pequot Library in Fairfield, hosted by the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce and the Connecticut Business and Industry Association on how the state can improve business.

“The fact is our policies towards businesses are driving companies away and they’re creating hurdles for those companies that want to stay and grow,” said Devlin. She said the state needs to cut the business entity tax and the corporate tax surcharge, as well as reform unemployment insurance compensation in order to reduce the burden on businesses.

“There are many interrelated factors that we need to consider when making Connecticut more friendly for business: transportation, education and supporting our businesses financially,” said Cook-Littman. On the issue of transportation, she said, “Connecticut is at an advantage because of our geography, but if we don’t immediately come up with an investment plan to upgrade our infrastructure and support our transportation, we will lose that advantage.”

Plans to build a new train station in Bridgeport, as well as the new bus line from New Britain to Hartford, are not effective ways of spending the state’s money, Devlin said. She also said that she would not support the return of highway tolls in Connecticut.

“I think before we look at tolls, we’ve got to look at spending, and stop spending money we don’t have,” Devlin said. “We have the highest gas taxes in the country next to Hawaii because that money is supposed to be going into the transportation fund. It does, but it goes right back out, and not for transportation spending. So I applaud the effort to put a lock box on the transportation fund. What I can’t believe is that it was delayed, and on Jan. 1 that lock box should be put in place.”

The state must continue to support colleges and technical schools so that Connecticut has a skilled workforce, Cook-Littman said. The legislature must also reach out to stakeholders like small business owners, and find ways to support them, she said.

“We must continue to eliminate unnecessary government regulations, cut time for permitting and improve the responsiveness from DEEP and DOT, and we also have to reduce the cost of doing business as it relates to energy and healthcare costs,” she said.

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