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“One warning sign: we have too many people who cannot find a place to live – it is not available, or it is not affordable. Our biennial budget doubles our investment in housing – workforce housing, affordable housing, supportive housing, elder housing, and downtown apartments,” Lamont said.

“Where do you want the housing to be, what is the density, and how far are you from public transportation and schools? The state will be your partner in completing the financing ASAP to get that shovel in the ground.”

Transportation Will Be Key

Lamont cited the importance of new federal infrastructure law to Connecticut, and how it would speed up rail traffic.

“Now, commuter rail will be 25 minutes faster from New Haven into Grand Central and Penn Station. Bridgeport will be as close to New York City as Stamford is today by rail.”

More housing built around those transportation centers would make for more frequent rail service, Lamont said.

The Costs of Energy and Climate Change

As Connecticut cities “come back big time,” the governor said the state remained committed to conserving open space, touting over 11,000 acres preserved in the last five years.

“But you better check the weather,” Lamont warned. “Our state and our country are being hit by more severe and more unpredictable weather than ever before.”

“Last summer, the Connecticut River Valley required extra irrigation due to severe drought, and one week later the crops were underwater following torrential down pours,” Lamont said.
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Most of the Connecticut’s energy supply is carbon free, “thanks in large part to nuclear power,” Lamont noted. But he also made the point that the state had “doubled down on wind and solar and hydropower.”

More Social Services Mean Better Child Care

In an effort to “to make a difference in people’s lives, turning hopelessness into hope, hardship into opportunity,” Lamont said Department of Social Service Centers may now be viewed as “opportunity centers.” The same resources used traditionally to obtain SNAP benefits or Medicaid renewals are now linked to workforce training programs, “with the necessary child care and rent relief supports to make your next job a reality.”

The governor said his administration is proposing a program of paid sick days, “so you don’t have to show up sick to keep the job you need.”

Along with the promise of more time at work came a commitment to more child care support.

“Our budget provides the biggest commitment to child care in our history, an additional $90 million next year alone, providing additional pay for early childhood educators and higher reimbursement for our centers and family care homes,” Lamont said.

A Little Bit China, A Little Bit Beyoncé

Lamont called out social media as a source of “severe anxiety and aberrant behavior” in Connecticut schools, and proposed a solution he said borrowed “a little bit from China and a little bit from Beyoncé.”

China limits TikTok for children to one hour a day, and Beyoncé makes fans leave their smartphones in a Yondr pouch before certain major events, according to the governor.

“We will be sending out guidance to your school board – have your younger students leave their smartphones at home or drop them in a Yondr pouch at the start of every school day,” Lamont said. “Social media is often anti-social, and too much smart phone makes you stupid. Start the day listening to your teacher and playing with your friends, not your phone.”

Connecticut has students’ best interests in mind when they leave high school as well, Lamont said.

“We are trying to make the path to college easier as well. The top 30 percent of every high school graduating class now has auto-enrollment into CSCU, as well as many private colleges, and the recently simplified FAFSA tells you what if any out-of-pocket cost there will be.”

Health Care Costs Improve; Property Taxes, Not So Much

The governor said the expansion of Covered Connecticut provides free health care with no out-of-pocket expenses for all parents earning less than $50,000, translating to “big discounts for middle class families” on the exchange.

The current budget will pay down over $650 million in medical debt, Lamont said, referencing his plans to cancel medical debt for an estimated 250,000 eligible Connecticut residents.

“We still have work to do on the property tax, which hits residents on fixed incomes the hardest,” Lamont said.

The Way CT Does Local Government Is “Too Damn Expensive”

The perpetual problem the state has in reining in costs is rooted in local governments’ sprawl, according to Lamont.

“Local government spread across 169 towns and 200 school districts is too damn expensive,” Lamont said. “I will avoid the word “regionalize,” which went over like a lead balloon a few years back. Instead, our budget provides additional flexibility for our COGs to hire tax assessors, building inspectors, purchasing agents, IT nerds, which your town may not be able to afford full-time and your COG can make available on a contract/as needed basis. That should save you money and provide the skills as needed, not full-time.”

Connecticut’s Not D.C.

In his closing remarks, Lamont could not resist getting in a dig at the expense of his federal-level counterparts.

“And by the way, we have a budget. Hartford is not Washington, D.C., where they have a hard time even deciding upon a speaker, a budget. And they do not even try to balance a budget,” Lamont said, suggesting that “D.C. partisans should be required to check their smartphones in the Yondr pouch before entering the Capitol.”

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