Here’s the full text. And below are some statements that I found particularly interesting.
The budget I present to you today does not exceed our state spending cap and it does not raise taxes.
For once. But this should make her more popular with her own party than last year’s education spend-o-rama.
I will also again advocate for the enactment of a property tax cap.Homeowners, business owners and car owners are struggling under the weight of property taxes. They want relief real relief.
I ask you to work with me to design a cap that we all find workable.
A property tax cap has been implemented in 43 other states. It can and will work here.
I’d be interested to know more about those property tax caps in 43 other states.
I will be submitting legislation to require a mandatory minimum sentence for Burglary in the Second Degree and to change Burglary in the First Degree to include burglary of an occupied dwelling, day or night.
I would also like to put in place a three-strikes law for those convicted of three violent felony offenses.
And to satisfy those who thought mistakenly there was an “out” in the original proposal, I am removing the possibility of a case review after 30 years. Now it’s three strikes for violent felony convictions and you’re truly out.
Three strikes went down to defeat not because it was too soft on crime, but because Democrats argued that the law would take away crucial sentencing powers and leeway from judges. I don’t see that argument changing.
I want to require offenders to report in person to police and to provide the name and address of their employers and the license plate number and description of their cars.
And they will also have a special imprint on their driver’s licenses.
Do the crime, do the time, pay for it for the rest of your life. Will any of these things really make us safer?
And in the name of public protection, I am calling for another significant change: I want all persons arrested for an A or B felony the most serious of criminal charges to provide DNA samples immediately upon arraignment.Those convicted of lesser felonies and certain misdemeanors must provide a DNA sample at conviction.
These samples will be processed to see if there are any matches related to unsolved crimes.
Awful things have been done in the name of public safety. Taking DNA samples from people arrested for crimes, not convicted, is a step in the wrong direction. I suppose one could argue that fingerprints are taken for people who are arrested, but I think there’s a difference of magnitude here.
I am proposing the hiring of an additional 100 state troopers over the next five years for traffic enforcement, starting with 20 new troopers in the next training class. Their sole focus will be to crack down on unsafe drivers.
I am also proposing a pilot program on I-95 in the Old Lyme/East Lyme area for electronic camera radars aimed at catching and ticketing speeders. To those who use this congested highway as their personal speedway we’re going to see you and we’re going to stop you. And it will cost you.
Ooooookay.
…I am calling for an end to the old DOT and the creation of two new and focused departments: A Department of Highways and a separate Department of Public Transportation, Aviation and Ports.
In this way each agency will be able to focus on its own goals and the standing of public transportation, and all of its ramifications for responsible growth, will be enhanced.
I like the idea of giving public transportation better visibility and standing. DOT as it stands now is, in fact, too highway-focused. Now the only question is: which department gets to keep the big pink building on the Berlin Turnpike?
Right now small businesses are responsible for creating the vast majority of new and replacement jobs in our state. To help these entrepreneurs, my budget provides for the outright repeal of the business entity tax.
Agreed. That tax is a needless hindrance to small business.
I want our state to continue our leadership on climate change.To that end, I am proposing several initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
I won’t list them all here, but at least some of the ideas sound workable, if not groundbreaking or innovative.
And that’s it. This is a very different speech from the one the governor gave last year, which proposed radical new increases in education spending. This budget is far more modest and less ambitious. It does, however, draw up the battle lines we’re likely to see throughout the session on taxes, spending and criminal justice reform.
What’s new and visionary here? Hardly anything. This is a governor who seems to be looking towards an uncertain economic future with trepidation, and it shows. The only thing in the speech that I’m really interested in is the breakup of DOT, which could either be good or bad, depending on how things shake out. The rest of the big ticket items on Rell’s agenda, including the property tax cap, criminal justice reform and a budget with no tax increases, probably aren’t going to happen.
And now, the session is underway.
10 responses so far ↓
1 ACR // Feb 7, 2008 at 5:29 am ·
+3
I really really like Jodi Rell and I’ve known her for a couple of decades.
It’s not a bad thing when the Governor of your state let’s you kiss on her on the cheek or when her chief aid loudly asks; “Hey! Where’s your coffee I’ve never seen you without a cup of coffee in your hand in 20 years!”
You folks can all blast me for that if you like.
Next please note that I haven’t had a ticket in ages and ages. I’m approaching geezerdom and the sports cars are gone giving way to a minivan which (and this frightens me) I kinda like. (I have this weird urge to visit Branson, MO too….what’s that about???)
However, as someone who has driven all over CT for 32-33 years having made my living peddling stuff for myself or others the whole time (I had a “desk job” for 2 years in the late 1980’s and nearly lost my mind sitting in one place) I’ve witnessed our state police go from what seemed like a group of Dale Carnegie Course grads to something more closely resembling the deep south or cold war era eastern Europe.
Left lane bandits, chronic lane changers and the terminally stupid are ignored, radar/laser units are set up where there’s no public safety issue making that enforcement nothing other than revenue enhancement which amounts to harassment of the citizenry and that’s simply not a valid function of government at any level.
Before we deploy a slew of new State Troopers we should revise their training.
Friends in that business inform me that currently they tend to graduate with a “perps” (bad guys) or “us” (cops = “good guys”) as opposed to” perps / us/ our parents friends. The idea that most people are just minding their own business and not up to anything at all is somehow missed.
The end result is a rather rude group. Watch how some of them (younger mostly) drive! (Please don’t tell me how well trained they are at high speed driving - I doubt any of us have sent a car sideways at over 100 but I’ve seen them do it and darn near lose it too.)
Further, laying in wait, hidden behind a bush waiting for speeders ignores virtually all other (and often worse) infractions. (That dippy chick on her cell phone in the left lane (at 45 mph) on the Merritt for example.)
I do agree however that I-95 is a disaster from border to border but would suggest ticketing New York & New Jersey drivers for failure to yield the left lane would realize our state substantial revenue and not at the expense of our taxpayers.
2 CtRoadrunner // Feb 7, 2008 at 8:12 am ·
+0
Do the crime, do the time, pay for it for the rest of your life. Will any of these things really make us safer?
Taking DNA samples from , not convicted, is a step in the wrong direction
GC~ What laws do? Its all about preception, if my neighbors and I feel safe the government is doing their job.
We already take the fingerprints of people arrested for crimes this just moves crime data to the 21st century.
3 The Dude // Feb 7, 2008 at 8:27 am ·
+5
I think I totally agree with you ACR– where is this speeding enforcement stuff coming from? Maybe the Gov doesn’t get it, but handing out more tickets is not the public safety the public is looking for after the Chesire killings. This seems like something that will not benefit the public but instead wil all the state to put more staties on the payroll and an excuse to install the automatic radargun/ticket machine robots on our highways that are so hated in other states.
As ACR said, more speeding tickets is nothing more than revenue enhancement and has nothing to do with public safety except in a very marginal way.
4 TrueBlueCT // Feb 7, 2008 at 9:33 am ·
+2
Around New Haven you never see the troopers where they are needed most, — calming traffic at our busiest highway intersections.
Every day I see drivers exhibiting the most dangerous stunts/behaviors, and never an unmarked car to instill religion.
The Route 34 Connector early evening, and I-91 where it comes into I-95 are both exceedingly hazardous. I wish the DOT and State troopers would worry more about that than more ticket revenue.
5 Quod Felix // Feb 7, 2008 at 9:47 am ·
+4
Is anybody else worried that we are creating three new public bureaucracies when we used to have one?
6 TrueBlueCT // Feb 7, 2008 at 10:39 am ·
--4
C’mon Felix. Jodi Rell is such an excellent administrator, and look at how much fat she’s trimmed in her first three years at the helm. lmao!
7 Dal90 // Feb 7, 2008 at 6:21 pm ·
+1
ACR — spot on about the current attitudes of the CSP. I was pulled over recently, first time in many years. I was actually scolded for “wasting my time” from the Trooper…wtf? It was the only time I was tempted to file a complaint with a supervisor…probably should’ve only to say “Oh, and the Trooper wrote the wrong registration on the ticket.” That’s quality right there folks — a police officer who is rude and can’t read a license plate.
The previous two run-ins with CSP Troopers in the early 90s, one was exceptionally polite and the other was very professional. Over the years I’ve been snagged for a few warnings in Massachusetts and the worse would’ve simply been called “old curmedgeon.”
Oh, and I had to work in New Haven today. In that Old Lyme / East Lyme area, I was passed by 2 troopers. I pulled back in the right lane since I was only doing 75. The one in Westbrook though was the best…passing traffic at a good 80, then hit his brakes and crossed the right lane to make it into the Troop.
==============
As for breaking up DOT, I’m pretty sure you’ll find it was created back when the liberals wanted to make sure mass transit got it’s share of the transportation pie.
Nothing’s gonna change folks — you’ll end up with a DOT that runs Bradley with mass transit left as the red headed step child at the table, and the State Highway Department will continue to get the most dollars and have the most meaningful and important impact on the lives of everyone in Connecticut who doesn’t live in Hartford, New Haven, or Bridgeport.
8 easthartfordtaxpayer // Feb 7, 2008 at 9:02 pm ·
+1
I foresee this kind treatment if speed cams are installed anywhere in CT for the purpose of revenue generation.
http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm
9 The Dude // Feb 8, 2008 at 1:28 am ·
+0
easthartfordtaxpayer said:
One can only hope– I am appalled my tax dollars are going to be spent on these things.
10 tigergrrl74 // Feb 8, 2008 at 1:59 am ·
+0
I work in the human services field for a local nonprofit agency which is very well known around the area and in the state, and just found out at our residential department meeting (I work in on of their group homes) at the state budget doesn’t allow for any type of COLA!
Not a happy camper right about now….
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