Job growth and economic development dominated the halls of the Connecticut General Assembly last year and legislators overwhelmingly passed the “Jobs for the 21st Century” legislation. This business package created the position of Business Advocate, for which former Congressman Rob Simmons was nominated by Governor Rell. Simmons was unanimously approved by the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee and approved by the Senate as well on Wednesday.

Before Simmons’ appointment was officially approved, legislators were already debating the position’s role and priorities. Senate President Don Williams issued a press release Thursday morning that called on the new business czar to pressure Governor Rell into appointing personnel to the vacant leadership posts. Rob Simmons’ response was the exact opposite of what the Senate President asked for by simply stating that the decision was the Governor’s alone and that he will look to her leadership.

So far during the 2007 legislative session, job growth and economic development have be left to simmer while the majority focuses on complicated issues such as education funding, energy generation and health care reform. The lack of a creative resolution to CT’s need to create and foster job growth has prompted Democrats and Republicans alike to openly criticize the other party for dragging their feet.

The Democrats claim that the position of Business Advocate is meant to be a watchdog on economic development agencies to ensure that they are working together and doing all they can for economic development and job growth. However, Rob Simmons, who has been in the job for only a few minutes, strongly disagrees. Simmons views himself as an advocate and a liaison who will try to help small businesses cut through the bureaucracy of state laws and agency regulations. Simmons has started down the road in his new position and it could not be rockier.

Democrats held a press conference on Monday to lambaste the Governor about the current leadership vacancies at Connecticut Innovations, Department of Economic Development and the Commission on Culture and Tourism. Democrats claim it is time to move forward at a pace that Connecticut needs. They have also criticized the Governor for introducing a budget that eliminated funding for a number of business friendly programs. Interestingly, in a budget proposal just released Thursday, the Democratic majority cut deeper into many of the cuts made by the Governor, especially in the area of tourism.

The fighting 44 (aka House Republicans) have fired back at the Democrats for failing to embrace creative Republican proposals aimed at creating a one year job-creation tax credit and other tax breaks to encourage the development of high-tech growth clusters around urban centers.

If the Republicans are looking for ammunition, then a simple look at the work of the Insurance Committee is all it takes. The Insurance Committee introduced a single-payer health care plan which received a jaw dropping $17.5 billion fiscal note from the Office of Fiscal Analysis. The bill was passed out of the Insurance Committee by a vote of 12 to 7, where even the original funding mechanism, which called for a 50 percent surcharge on the state income tax and an 8 percent payroll tax on employers of a certain size, was viewed as too detrimental to businesses and taxpayers of CT. Fortunately, the initiative failed to move forward.

For the time being the mantra of “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs” is not as loud as calls for the winning spending and tax plan, or adopting the Plan B initiative, or ensuring equality in marriage. The Capital will be abuzz for the rest of the week and into next week as it finalizes the two-year spending plan and struggles to find the right funding mechanism for those initiatives. Once the committees are finished, the pace will step up since there are approximately 37 working days until adjournment at midnight on June 6.

The leaders of the Senate Democrats and the Senate Republicans stood on common ground this week, if only for a moment, as both groups proposed their own plans for economic revitalization. The directions of those plans, however, differed in subject matter.

On Wednesday, the Senate Republicans announced a comprehensive jobs growth initiative. The proposal aims to help existing businesses grow, eliminate counterproductive regulations, and attract new “next generation” industries to Connecticut. Senator Dan Debicella (Monroe) said that the “next generation” could likely include industries such as fuel cells, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.

Senate Republican Leader Lou DeLuca (Bridgewater) insisted, “If we don’t have a more business-friendly environment in Connecticut, we aren’t going to have the tax revenue to pay for all the other important initiatives this legislature is working on.” Senator John McKinney (Fairfield) agreed that the legislature needs to find another way to pay for major initiatives, “The majority party says ‘raise taxes.’ We’re saying keep taxes low and grow the tax base.”

While Republicans are focusing on job creation, the Democrats are working on another complimentary piece of the puzzle: mass transportation. On Thursday, Senate President Don Williams (Brooklyn) and House Speaker Jim Amann (Milford) hosted the Southern New England States Transportation Summit. Invited speakers included Massachusetts Lt. Governor Tim Murray and Rhode Island Lt. Governor Liz Roberts. Amann announced, “Today will be the jumpstart of work across state lines!”

Legislators hope to strengthen CT’s railways through work with our neighboring states. Namely, they hope to create a New Haven – Hartford – Springfield Commuter Rail and a New London to Worcester commuter rail, and to increase mass transportation options for seniors. Williams also pointed out that only 3.8 percent of freight is moved by rail in CT, compared to 14.5 percent nationally – a gap that needs to be bridged. Democrats believe that strengthening the rail system will also strengthen CT’s competitive edge in the marketplace and grow the economy.

Once again, both have the same goal to increase jobs in CT, but with two very different approaches. The Republican team says less government and better economic incentives will make it happen, while the Democrats say if we can get people and products moving more efficiently, we can grow the economy. Two good ideas, but with thirty eight days of session left and counting, someone needs to turn them into concrete, affordable initiatives.