The pace of transportation reform in Connecticut over the past year has been unprecedented and it looks like the momentum will continue to build. In the past couple weeks, Governor Rell and the Senate Democrats have both proposed transportation-related changes including splitting up the Department of Transportation, installing cameras to target speeders, and cracking down on drunk driving.

Department of Transportation
In her State of the State address, Governor Rell proposed splitting the Department of Transportation into two more manageable agencies: the Department of Highways and a Department of Public Transportation, Aviation, and Ports. "The very important job of building and maintaining our roads and bridges is enough work for one agency. At the same time we're doing that, the state also needs to concentrate its efforts on mass transit, aviation and our waterways. It makes sense to assign these different, equally important, tasks to separate agencies," said Senator Judith Freedman (R- Westport) in support of the plan.

While legislators on both sides of the aisle support this initiative, some warn that this plan will only be successful if these two new agencies can work together to create coherent statewide transportation policy. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign also emphasized that all modes of transportation should be integrated into land-use planning, and become part of the state's responsible growth strategy. Who may lead these two agencies is still up in the air as well as the hiring process for a new Commissioner of the Department of Transportation is still ongoing.

Highway cameras
Governor Rell also recommended hiring 42 additional inspectors for bridge maintenance, creating a new "511" system to allow the public to have access to accurate traffic information, and to create a position of a Citizens Response Ombudsman. A slightly more controversial policy suggestion is a $250,000 pilot project to install cameras along I-95 to catch speeders. The stretch of highway to be targeted is in East Lyme where an accident back in November killed three people and shut down the highway. "These speed- detection cameras will ticket motorists by mail," Rell said. "We possess the technology to prevent injuries and save lives. It is high time we put that technology to good use."

This proposal has gotten mixed reviews from lower Fairfield County legislators. Senator Bob Duff (D - Norwalk) supports the plan, "Clearly, the police cannot be everywhere. If we could use a tool to help catch reckless and dangerous drivers on the road, that's not a bad idea." Rep. Carlo Leone (D - Stamford) rebuts, "If we had the right amount of state troopers, there wouldn't be a need for it." Rell has proposed hiring 100 more state troopers in addition to the cameras. Michael Riley of the Motor Transport Association also weighed in on the issue, "The photo- ticketing thing is a revenue raiser...It's not a safety thing. It's a 'gotcha' thing."

Drunk Driving
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Senate President Don Williams (D - Brooklyn) and Speaker Jim Amann (D - Milford) also hope to make the roads safer through stricter drunk driving laws. This week they outlined three new pieces of legislation to target drunk drivers. The first bill moves to increase the "lookback" for previous DUI offenses from 10 years to 55 years. It also decreases the presumptive level if someone is driving a commercial motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol from .08% to .04%.

The second piece of legislation has come up in many prior sessions: an open container law. The law would make it illegal for anyone to possess an open container beverage container in the passenger area of a motor vehicle while the vehicle is on a Connecticut highway or highway right-of-way.

The third bill would require that a person's license be suspended for 18 months rather than one year, or for six months, followed by a one-year period where the person cannot drive unless the vehicle is equipped with a functioning DMV-approved ignition interlock device. These devices can detect a person's blood-alcohol level through a breath sample.

A national report by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety ranks Connecticut 31st in the nation in terms of highway safety. It looks as though Connecticut lawmakers have gotten the message and are committed to improving Connecticut's transportation infrastructure and safety for its citizens.

The CT General Assembly did not make the headlines much this week. There was a legislative session this past Wednesday, but the business of the day was judicial appointments, an issue that only stirs interest among those who are nominated. But that does not mean the back rooms were not filled with activity.

Committees all faced their deadline to approve concepts to move forward in the process - better known in the LOB as "raised committee bills". Raised committee bills are introduced as merely concept bills - no language needed and no bill number attached. Soon after the LCO (legislative attorneys) takes on the responsibility of crafting the language that will be the focus of public hearings in the coming weeks. Making sure the language is as the legislators envisioned is the next order of the week. Lobbyists and legislators were coming out of one meeting and going right into the next to comment on proposals and assure that proper vehicles for future legislation were going to be raised.

On "slow session days" lobbyists use the time to "track down" the most elusive legislators and work on the details of a raised bill, negotiate the language of another, or test a legislator's attitude on a key client initiative. These "slow days" most often produce those ten minutes of glory when a key legislator commits to your position rather than a hectic session day when at times nothing seems to go your way!

There is rarely a week that goes by that one caucus does not make a major announcement on an initiative that hits the local news. This week the action was all media driven. House Republicans touted their measure to reduce Connecticut's Petroleum Products Gross Receipts Tax. House Rs stated that the tax, along with the flat 25-cent per gallon gasoline tax, helps inflate the overall tax on motor fuels at the pumps and causes Connecticut to have among the highest prices in the nation for gasoline. Last year this measure came in the form of an amendment and was offered by Republicans on every bill in the waning days of the legislative session, essentially slowing down the process to a near standstill. Sound like I - 95?

Senate President Pro Tempore Don Williams countered with the Senate D's plan to create a state-administered deferred compensation plan, including a 401(k) plan, for small businesses, self- employed individuals, and not-for-profits in recognition of the growth in fewer than 100 employee companies that are now a large part of the CT economy.

All sessions are somewhat divided into three phases: bill introductions and committee discussions on what bills have merit to move along the process, followed by the public hearing process, and then wrapping up with floor debate and Governor's approval. Short sessions are most known for the lighting fast final committee deadlines with the last committee wrapping up by April 3. What follows is at times long days of negotiations and sitting around and waiting for the caucus to come to order, or days of long debates to fill time as leaders negotiate with the Governor's team on budget and tax issues.

Everyone this session is hoping to wrap up on time at midnight on May 7 in anticipation of CT's first ever statewide publicly financed elections which take place in November 2008.

Former Rep. Richard Tulisano, known among many as "King Richard", one of the most charismatic characters at the state capitol over the past 30 years, passed away on Wednesday after a lengthy illness.

King Richard ruled over the legislature's Judiciary Committee with immense power in the late 1980s and early 1990s. On the House floor, Tulisano was best known for his steadfast defense of civil liberties. He was one of the few legislators who could change lawmakers' minds on issues through the sheer force of his debating skills.

Tulisano also served former Speaker of the House Moira Lyons as her steadfast chief of staff charged with bringing complex issues together and reigning in wayward rank and file members. He served her well. In recent years, Tulisano used oxygen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but that did not stop him from working the issues he believed in passionately.

Tulisano's death was announced on the Senate floor by Sen. Paul Doyle of Wethersfield on Wednesday afternoon just hours after Rep. William R. Dyson of New Haven told a hushed House chamber that Tulisano was gravely ill in the intensive care unit at Hartford Hospital.

Richard's presence will be greatly missed in Connecticut Politics and especially under the golden dome he loved so much. He is survived by his wife, Beverly, a son and two grandchildren.

Interested in tax incentives for your business? The Department of Economic Development makes it easy to view your options on its website. Available tax incentives include:

Corporate Business Tax Credits

• A corporate business tax credit for companies who hire at least 10 new employees for a minimum of a 12- month period; the tax credit is equal to 60% of the state income tax withheld from the employee's wages and credit applies for five consecutive years
• A $1,500 per worker corporate tax credit to companies that hire workers who were employed in Connecticut and were let go by a previous employer as a result of a corporate restructuring in which at least 10 workers were terminated by the same employer; credit is allowed during the first twelve months of the worker's re-employment
• 5% credit for investments in human capital: employee training, childcare, facilities and subsidies and donation to higher education for advancement of technology

Corporate Sales Tax Exemptions

• 100% on (a) machinery used in the manufacturing of finished products or in the bio-technology industry and (b) materials, tools and fuel used in the manufacture or fabrication of finished products or in the biotechnology industry 50% on machinery, tolls fuels and equipment that may not meet the requirement for the 100% exemption
• 100% on computer and data processing services beginning July 1, 2002; declining 1% annually from current 3%
• 100% on vehicles powered by alternative fuels, vehicle conversion equipment and alternative fuel filling-station equipment
• 100% on safety apparel worn by employees

Targeted Investment Community (TIC) Benefits

• 5-year, 80% real property and personal property tax abatements for manufacturers. 5-year, 40-80% real property and personal property abatements for service, telecommunications and computer related providers, depending on amount invested

To view more tax incentives, visit the Department of Economic and Community Development by clicking the link below.