Will Malloy Plan Spur Reform?
Will Malloy's plan throw state gov't for a loop?
In the weeks since Governor Dannel P. Malloy unveiled his budget proposal, the plan has been subject to harsh criticism from all sides. Some have decried the $1.8 billion in tax increases that, on top of the state’s already heavy tax burden, threatens to deter future economic growth.
Others have focused on Malloy’s proposed reforms to state government. Keeping a campaign promise, the Governor suggested consolidating eighty-one state agencies down to fifty-seven, a thirty percent reduction as promised during the campaign. The suggestion to combine the Office of State Ethics, the Freedom of Information Commission, and the Elections Enforcement Commission, for example, has met with particular disdain in some quarters.
But perhaps no part of the Governor’s budget has been met with more skepticism than his intention to seek $2 billion in concessions from state employees. Former State Rep. Jonathan Pelto, for example, has called it a gimmick and predictably, a host of state employees have attended Malloy’s town hall meetings to express their dissatisfaction with the plan…
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