Hartford CT – Today, after the Connecticut Policy Institute released “Tom Foley’s Urban Agenda,” Connecticut Democratic Party Spokesman James Hallinan released the following statement regarding Governor Malloy’s record on urban issues:

“Governor Malloy has a strong record when it comes to Connecticut’s cities, and the agenda he’s put forth will continue the forward progress cities are making.  The Governor’s Small Business Express has helped create and retain thousands of jobs in Connecticut and a $26 million investment in brownfield cleanup is helping cities reduce blight, expand their tax bases, and create jobs. Crime is at some of its lowest points in the last four decades, programs like Project Longevity are working to reduce shootings and gun violence in cities, and murders in Connecticut have dropped to the lowest point in a decade.  Governor Malloy successfully passed an education reform package, he’s increased education funding by hundreds of millions of dollars with a focus on the lowest performing schools, and has put forward a plan to move Connecticut to universal pre-kindergarten.  Governor Malloy’s 2014 agenda continues to restore the Earned Income Tax Credit to 30%, and the proposed increase to $10.10 for the state’s minimum wage will help more women, minorities, and urban residents rise out of poverty.  The Governor’s urban record and agenda speak for themselves.”

Background:

Hartford Courant Headline: “Murders In Connecticut Drop To Lowest In Decade” [Hartford Courant, 2/25/14]

Programs Like Project Longevity And The Hartford Shooting Task Force Have Been Working To Reduce Shootings And Gun Violence In New Haven, Bridgeport, And Hartford. “A recently-launched state program called Project Longevity targets individuals prone to violence in a community, who leaders identify as most likely to be responsible for crime. Community leaders and members of law enforcement hold “call-ins” with those individuals, and present them a choice: put down the guns and make use of help the city provides to break the cycle of violence – housing support, drug addiction services, and employment classes – or be prosecuted to the fullest extent under the law. Organizers say the idea behind the program is to convey to members of a community that law enforcement is primarily focused on reducing violence. Project Longevity was launched a year ago in New Haven, and since has expanded to Bridgeport. The program will begin in Hartford this year. Hartford data from last year does suggest that various city initiatives to address violence may be working. For example, the city witnessed a rise in shootings last year after the Hartford Shooting Task Force, created to address gun crimes, was required to shrink its staff due to budget cuts at the end of the fiscal year last June. In the second half of the year, when funding was restored and positions refilled, gun violence dropped.” [Hartford Courant, 2/25/14]

A Memo From The Office Of Policy And Management Showed Murders In Connecticut Were At The Third Lowest Point In The Last 40 Years. “Citing a memo from the Office of Policy and Management’s Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division, Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported 97 murders last year, down from 146 in 2012, and the third lowest point recorded for the state in the last forty years. Governor Malloy attributed the steady reduction in shooting-related crime, in large part, to collaborative law enforcement efforts over the last three years that have led to more effective resource management and crimeprevention, increased community policing, outreach and involvement, faster case resolution, and improved information sharing and intelligence gathering.” [Press Release, Governor Malloy, 2/25/14]

Compared With 2011, Connecticut’s Three Largest Cities Experienced A 30 Percent Decrease In Murders And A 32 Percent Decrease In Non-Fatal Shooting Incidents In 2013. “While there is clearly still more work to do in Connecticut’s urban centers, significant headway has been made in Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport with substantial reductions in shooting-related crime over a three-year period. Compared with 2011, Connecticut’s three largest cities experienced a 30 percent decrease in murders and a 32 percent decrease in non-fatal shooting incidents in 2013.” [Press Release, Governor Malloy, 2/25/14]

Malloy’s Education Reform Bill Added 1,000 Additional Preschool Seats In High-Quality State Programs. According to the CT Mirror, “Adds an additional 1,000 preschool seats in high-quality state programs. Last school year, 6,400 students — or 16 percent — showed up to kindergarten having spent no time in a preschool. Half were from the state’s 19 poorest districts, reports the State Department of Education. Connecticut spent about $85 million for state-funded preschool programs in 2011, reaching 10 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds. This bill will boost spending by $6.8 million a year.” [CT Mirror, 5/8/12]

Malloy Education Reform Bill Allowed The State’s Commissioner To Require Lowest-Performing Schools To Offer Summer School, Preschool, Extended School Days, And/Or Teacher Training. According to the CT Mirror, “In the state’s lowest-performing schools, the bill allows the state’s commissioner the authority to require they offer preschool, summer school, extended school days or year, weekend classes, tutoring and professional development for teachers. There is no mention of how these things would be paid for, something local officials will likely oppose being forced to provide with no guaranteed funding.” [CT Mirror, 5/8/12]

Malloy Education Reform Bill Increased Charter School Funding. According to the CT Mirror, “The bill will phase-in increased charter school funding. For this upcoming year, charters will be reimbursed $1,100 more for each student, or $10,500. In three school years, state funding will increase to $11,500. Malloy had proposed local districts send $1,000 for each student that leaves for a charter school. This mini “money-follows-the-child” approach is not included in the compromise. New charter schools that vow to be racially integrated will be awarded up to $75,000. The state is facing an October court-ordered deadline to integrate its Hartford-area schools. The plan calls for two new charter schools for non-English speaking students. It is unclear how soon they will open and when funding for them will be available.” [CT Mirror, 5/8/12]

The Executive Director Of The CEA Praised Provisions Of Malloy’s Education Reform That Created “1,000 New Early Education Slots In Poor Communities.” According to the CT Mirror, “‘On the surface … it appears that a lot of good changes have occurred,’ said Mary Loftus Levine, executive director of the Connecticut Education Association, which had run television commercials criticizing Malloy. She praisedprovisions to create 1,000 new early education slots in poor communities and guaranteeing a hearing for ineffective teachers at risk of being terminated.” [CT Mirror, 5/8/12]

Malloy Has Proposed Universal Pre-K For Connecticut, Regardless Of Income. “Governor Dannel P. Malloy, joined by Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman, legislative leaders, Executive Director of the Office of Early Childhood, Myra Jones-Taylor, State Department of Education Commissioner, Stefan Pryor, Mayor Scott Jackson and local officials, today detailed his plan to achieve universal access to pre-kindergarten in Connecticut. ‘Let’s commit Connecticut to achieving universal pre-kindergarten,’ said Governor Malloy. ‘This plan is about moving to universal access to early childhood opportunities for all children, regardless of income.  We’re not going to get there overnight, which is why I am calling for a phase-in plan that will expand to 4,000 new opportunities by 2019.  But let me assure you, we will get there.’” [Press Release, Governor Malloy, 2/7/14]

Malloy Said Small Business Express Provided 815 Small Businesses $108 Million In Loans And Grants, Creating 2,800 New Jobs And Saving 8,200 Jobs. According to CT News Junkie, “Malloy said the state has well over 800 Small Business Express agreements in place and those agreements allowed the state to keep approximately 9,000 jobs and add more than 1,000 jobs to the state. To be more exact the Department of Economic and Community Development is reporting that it has given out $108 million to 815 businesses, retaining 8210 jobs and creating 2873 jobs. As of May only about four of the then 704 companies closed after receiving the money giving the state about a 99.4 percent success rate.” [CT News Junkie, 8/6/13]

Hartford Business Journal: Both Providers And Entrepreneurs Said Malloy Economic Investment Has Been “A Positive Step In Building A Start-Up Industry.” According to the Hartford Business Journal, “In the 2011 Jobs Bill, the legislature set aside $5 million to fund a network of business consultants, incubators and a pool of innovation vouchers, that is just now starting to gain traction, although its effectiveness is yet to be decided. The ‘CTNext’ experiment — the moniker that encompasses the effort — focuses on fostering startups and somewhat further along stage-two companies. It has given rise to state-subsidized incubators in Hartford, Storrs, Stamford, Westport and New Haven. A team of growth advisors tied to each location was hired to work with companies that seemed particularly promising. The centers can walk an entrepreneur through the application process for vouchers — which can be used for prototyping, market research and intellectual property services — that top out at $10,000.That network of providers has now worked with, in some capacity, more than 600 startups and granted $307,000 worth of vouchers, according to the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD).As both providers and entrepreneurs tell it, CTNext has been a positive step in building a start-up industry. But it’s still difficult to assess any return on investment for the public dollars funding it. Some have also raised concerns that the effort lacks a centralized focus. Opening incubators across disparate parts of the state, critics warn, separates entrepreneurs who should be sharing ideas.” [Hartford Business Journal, 9/2/13]

In Malloy’s First Year, Aid To Women- Or Minority-Owned Businesses Increased From $0 To At Least $1.2 Million. In FY 11, $0 of state business aid went to women- or minority-owned businesses. In FY 12, a total of $1,244,2244 of state business aid in grants or loans went to women- or minority-owned businesses. [Department Of Economic And Community Development, FY 11-12 Annual Report]

In 2012, Malloy Announced $16 Million In Loans And Grants To Clean Up Connecticut’s Brownfields. “Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) has awarded more than $16 million in loans and grants for several brownfield projects throughout the state. ‘Cleaning up Connecticut brownfields is an important component of our economic development agenda. These contaminated sites are a blight to their communities and significantly damper development and prosperity for adjacent sites,’ said Governor Malloy. ‘Investing in these redevelopment efforts is smart policy—we create jobs and thriving communities, expand our tax base, and clean up pollution in Connecticut.’” [Press Release, Governor Malloy, 3/23/12]

In 2013, Malloy Announced $10 Million In Loans And Grants To Clean Up Connecticut’s Brownfields. “Governor Dannel P. Malloy, joined by Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Commissioner Catherine Smith, today announced that DECD awarded $10,507,339 in loans and grants to remediate nine brownfields located throughout the state.  Clinton, Hartford, Middletown, New Haven, Vernon, Waterbury, and Watertown will use the funding to clean up the polluted properties and redevelop the sites for affordable housing and mixed use development.”  [Press Release, Governor Malloy, 4/17/13]

Malloy Expanded The Earned Income Tax Credit To Connecticut, Helping Low Income Families With “Essentials Like Clothing, Medical Care, And Other Living Expenses.”  “Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Friday that the state has already approved nearly $50 million in earned income tax credits, saying the program helps working families with their expenses and pumps millions back into the state’s economy. Malloy said the earned income tax credit has been more successful than expected, with more than 70,000 Connecticut income tax returns processed as part of the new tax credit program…. Malloy said the extra income provided by the tax credit assists families with essentials such as clothing, medical care and other living expenses.The state Department of Revenue Services said Friday that about $49.3 million in earned income tax credits have been approved to qualified applicants around the state. The state tax agency said the majority of tax credit-related claims are submitted in January and February. State officials said they expect as many as 190,000 Connecticut taxpayers will ultimately request the earned income tax credit.” [The Day, 2/11/12]

Washington Post Headline: “Connecticut 1st State To Require Paid Sick Time” [Washington Post, 7/5/11]

An Estimated 200,000 To 300,000 Connecticut Workers Benefitted From Governor Malloy’s Paid Sick Leave Requirement. “Connecticut has become the first state to require companies to provide employees with paid sick leave with legislation signed into law by Gov. Dan Malloy (D), who announced his action Tuesday. The measure requires businesses in the service industry with 50 or more employees to allow workers to accrue one hour of sick time for every 40 hours worked. Backers estimate that between 200,000 and 300,000 workers will benefit.”  [Washington Post, 7/5/11]

Malloy Announced He Was Introducing Legislation To Increase The State’s Minimum Wage To $10.10, Following A Minimum Wage Increase Passed In 2013. “Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that he is introducing legislation during the upcoming regular session of the General Assembly that will increase the state minimum wage to $10.10, mirroring recent national efforts by President Obama and other Congressional leaders to raise the federal minimum wage to that same amount.  The increase would give Connecticut the highest minimum wage in the nation. In the summer of 2013, Governor Malloy signed a bill into law that increased the state minimum wage in two stages: from $8.25 to $8.70 on January 1, 2014, followed by a second increase to $9.00 that is currently scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2015.  The proposal the Governor announced today calls for a slight modification of next year’s increase, bringing the total to $9.15 on January 1, 2015.  The proposal would then add a 45-cent increase to $9.60 beginning January 1, 2016, followed by a 50-cent increase to $10.10 effective January 1, 2017. ‘There is a debate happening across our country on how to tackle the growing income inequality that is detrimental to our middle class families and to our economy.  Part of tackling that critically important challenge is making sure that we recognize that a good and decent wage is good for workers and good for business,’ said Governor Malloy, who announced the proposal at a news conference in Bridgeport.  ‘For too long, the minimum wage has not kept up with the cost of living.  As studies have shown, the workers who would benefit from a minimum wage increase brought home 46 percent of their household’s total wage and salary income in 2011.  When workers earn more money, businesses will have more customers.  This modest boost will help those earning the least to make ends meet.’” [Press Release, Governor Malloy, 2/4/14]

 

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