Over the past several months, we have worked as part of a collaboration between Yale’s Tobin Center for Economic Policy and The Connecticut Project to examine the broad set of spending, revenue and bonding caps that have become known as Connecticut’s “fiscal guardrails.” Last month, we published a series of papers highlighting the impact of those caps and offering a framework for policymakers as they consider responsible adjustments.
The rules are complicated and overlapping. In short, in addition to a limit on borrowing, the fiscal restrictions adopted or revised in 2017 – including a revenue cap, volatility cap, and spending cap – place substantial amounts of revenue “off limits” for expenditure, restrict how much can be spent regardless of how much revenue is available, and build an extra cushion into each budget.
These constraints have had an important impact. Over the past seven years, they have helped Connecticut build up a rainy-day fund of $4.1 billion and make $8.6 billion in supplementary payments into Connecticut’s pension funds, above and beyond the state’s annual pension contributions. At the same time, the caps have left legislators with little flexibility as federal funds expire, the cost of providing existing services goes up, and families and communities face growing pressure from the cost of education, childcare, housing, healthcare, and more.
Indeed, Connecticut is now rapidly approaching a self-imposed budget cliff: without adjustments to the law, policymakers will be compelled to make deep cuts to current services in the next two years, even as the state anticipates more than a billion dollars in surplus revenue each year.
The balancing act isn’t easy. Connecticut still carries one of the largest long-term debt burdens in the country. What we hope the papers released last month do, however, is demonstrate that policymakers have a range of sensible options to consider. The debate should not be about keeping the guardrails versus abandoning them. The debate should be about how best to structure fiscal rules that strike a balance between multiple goals: paying for the mistakes of the past, promoting budget stability, and meeting the needs of the present.
In addition to offering a broad overview of the guardrails, our reports make three specific contributions that we hope will help policymakers as they work to strike that balance.
First, we offer a framework for redesigning the volatility cap. In theory, the volatility cap should ensure that the state isn’t relying on unpredictable revenues to fund predictable costs. That makes sense. But the threshold picked in 2017 was chosen arbitrarily and, as our paper highlights, the cap is not working like a true “volatility cap.” Our paper examines an alternative design, looking back over a multi-year period and allowing the volatility cap to adjust in a dynamic way. This design would continue to promote stability and capture savings, while at the same time giving policymakers more flexibility.
Second, we highlight the extent to which Connecticut’s spending cap has a “one-way ratchet” that makes it hard for the state to keep pace with costs. The spending cap is set based on the prior year’s appropriations. But when a revenue shortfall forces the state to cut back – as happened in 2017 – the spending cap doesn’t easily catch up when economic conditions and revenue projections improve. Together with the governor, the General Assembly could adjust the spending cap so that it keeps pace with Connecticut’s economic conditions, if they agree that extraordinary circumstances warrant the adjustment.
Third, we highlight and attempt to measure the stark choices the state will face this year. Without thoughtful adjustments to current law, Connecticut will need to close a gap of somewhere between $331 million and $1.05 billion just to maintain current services— never mind the growing calls for new investment in areas such as affordable childcare, K-12 education, higher education, the non-profit sector that supports vital services, and Medicaid, among others.
There will be a variety of workarounds available if policymakers want to reduce the impact of the fiscal caps without making changes to the caps themselves. But some of those workarounds risk making the state budget less transparent and more complicated. We don’t argue for any specific adjustment, and we recognize that some of these adjustments may not happen until the fiscal rules come due for renewal in 2028. However, our reports support the idea that Connecticut should have an honest, forthright conversation about the design of the fiscal guardrails – and base that conversation on data and clear policy goals, rather than ideology, dogma, or political expediency.
The bottom line is this: the fiscal guardrails have served and continue to serve an important purpose. But there was no magic, and arguably little science, behind the guardrails’ initial design. Seven years on, with a cliff looming, it’s time to take a new look. There are sensible ways to mend, not end, the fiscal guardrails, should policymakers choose to do so.
Luke Bronin is the former Mayor of Hartford. Zachary Liscow is a professor at Yale Law School and served as chief economist at the White House Office of Management and Budget from 2022-2023.
NEW BRITAIN, CT — Stanley Black & Decker on Thursday said it has decided to close its manufacturing facility in New Britain.
Debora Raymond, vice president of external communications for the manufacturer, said the decision is a result of a “structural decline in demand for single-sided tape measures.”
The New Britain facility predominantly makes these products, according to Raymond.
“These products are quickly becoming obsolete in the markets we serve,” Raymond said, via an emailed statement Thursday.
The decision is expected to impact approximately 300 employees, according to Raymond.
“We are focused on supporting impacted employees through this transition, including providing options for employment at other facilities, severance, and job placement support services for both salaried and hourly employees,” Raymond said.
As of Thursday at 4:30 p.m., no Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice had been filed with the state Department of Labor.
The company’s corporate headquarters remains at 1000 Stanley Dr., New Britain.
Gov. Ned Lamont released the following statement on the decision:
“Although Stanley has made the decision to discontinue operations for manufacturing outdated products, a change in workforce opportunities is difficult for employees, their families, and any community.,” Lamont said. “However, I am hopeful that these skilled workers will be repurposed with the help of Stanley Black & Decker, a company that will still proudly be headquartered here in Connecticut. My administration is working closely with local and state leaders to support affected workers and to reimagine the factory site so it can continue to create opportunity and strengthen New Britain’s economic future.”
New Britain Mayor Bobby Sanchez said he is “deeply disappointed” the company will be closing its Myrtle Street operations.
“For generations, Stanley Works has been part of the fabric of our city, providing good-paying jobs, supporting families, and helping build New Britain’s proud reputation as the ‘Hardware City,’” Sanchez said.
According to the mayor, his office’s immediate focus is on helping affected workers and their families. The mayor has been in contact with Lamont’s office, and they will be working closely to make sure employees have access to job placement services, retraining opportunities and support, Sanchez said.
“We will continue aggressively pursuing economic development opportunities and attracting businesses that are looking for a true community partner, a city ready to collaborate, innovate and grow alongside them,” Sanchez said. “New Britain has reinvented itself before, and we will do so again.”
Stanley Black & Decker, founded in 1843, operates manufacturing facilities worldwide, according to its website. It reports having 43,500 employees globally, and makes an array of products, such as power tools and equipment, hand tools, and fasteners.
Newly released police video shows former WWE executive Vince McMahon ram his luxury sports car into the rear end of another vehicle on a Connecticut highway last summer as he was being followed by a state trooper.
McMahon, now 80, was driving his 2024 Bentley Continental GT at more than 100 mph on the Merritt Parkway when he crashed in the town of Westport, according to state police.
A trooper’s dashcam video shows McMahon accelerating away, then braking too late to avoid crashing into the back of a BMW. The Bentley then swerves into a guardrail and careens back across the highway, creating a cloud of dirt and car parts.
“Why were you driving all over 100 mph?” state police Detective Maxwell Robins asked McMahon after catching up to the wrecked Bentley, which can cost over $300,000.
“I got my granddaughter’s birthday” McMahon replied, explaining he was on his way to see her. The encounter was recorded on police bodycam video.
No one was seriously injured in the July 24 crash, which happened the same day that WWE legend Hulk Hogan died of a heart attack in Florida.
Besides damage to the rear of the BMW, another vehicle driving on the opposite side of the parkway was struck by flying debris. The driver of that third car happened to be wearing a WWE shirt, according to the police video.
McMahon was cited for reckless driving and following too closely. A state judge in October allowed McMahon to enter a pretrial probation program that will result in the charges being erased from his record next October if he successfully completes the program. He was also ordered to make a $1,000 charitable contribution.
McMahon’s lawyer, Mark Sherman, said the crash was just an accident.
“Not every car accident is a crime,” Sherman said. “Vince’s primary concern during this case was for the other drivers and is appreciative that the court saw this more of an accident than a crime that needed to be prosecuted.”
State police said Robins was trying to catch up to McMahon on the parkway and clock his speed before pulling him over. They said the incident was not a pursuit, which happens when police chase someone trying to flee officers. They also said it did not appear McMahon was trying to escape — though in the video the detective suggests otherwise.
“I’m trying to catch up to you and you keep taking off,” Robins says.
“No, no no. I’m not trying to outrun you,” McMahon says.
An accident information summary provided to the media shortly after the crash did not mention that a trooper was following McMahon.
The Associated Press obtained the videos Wednesday through a public records request. They were first obtained by The Sun newspaper.
The trooper’s bodycam video also shows him asking McMahon whether he was looking at his phone when the crash happened. McMahon said he was not and adds that he hadn’t driven his car in a long time.
After Robins tells McMahon that his car is fast, McMahon replies, “Yeah, too (expletive) fast.”
The videos also show McMahon talking to the driver he rear-ended. Barbara Doran, of New York City, told the AP last summer that McMahon expressed his concern for her and was glad she was OK. She said she was heading to a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard at the time of the crash.
After McMahon was given the traffic summons, he shook hands with Robins and another trooper and they wished him well.
McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE, in 2024, a day after a former WWE employee filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. McMahon has denied the allegations. The lawsuit remains pending.
McMahon bought what was then the World Wrestling Federation in 1982 and transformed it from a regional wrestling company into a worldwide phenomenon. Besides running the company with his wife, Linda, who is now the U.S. education secretary, he also performed at WWE events as himself.
The New Haven Pride Center will close for 30 days starting Thursday, as leaders reassess the organization’s finances and its long-term business model.
Board members said the temporary shutdown will allow the nonprofit to stop accruing expenses and get better insight into a $250,000 IRS debt discovered in 2022 that has weighed heavily on the center’s operations.
According to board co-chair Hope Chavez, the debt was found four years ago. The board let the executive director go and began paying the back taxes. The payments have been ongoing, but Chavez said there’s no clarity on how much has been paid toward principal versus interest, making it hard to map out a payoff.
Chavez said the organization has an attorney to help obtain more details from the government, and that the debt has hurt its ability to generate income during an already challenging time.
“It all depends on the political climate — whether corporate sponsors feel like they can sponsor you, whether funders feel like they need to redirect elsewhere,” she said.
The 30-day furlough will include a pause in services. In the meantime, staff members are compiling a list of alternative LGBTQ-affirming resources in the Greater New Haven area to support community members.
Laura Boccadoro, who has worked at the center for more than six years, joined at what she says was a dark time.
“I was in and out of rehab dealing with drug abuse, and the center found me,” she said. “I grew up here, honestly.”
She said the organization has offered vital services, such as a clothing closet and a food pantry, and programs that she is helping clients find through partner organizations.
“There are so many LGBTQ-specific or affirming spaces that have food pantries, clothing closets, healthcare — all those kinds of things,” Boccadoro said.
Chavez highlighted partnerships with groups including AIDS Project New Haven, Anchor Health Initiative, and Q Plus, as well as other grassroots community organizations that will offer assistance during the pause.
Boccadoro emphasized that the staff’s focus remains on serving the community as effectively as possible.
“Our job at the end of the day is to impact the community in the best possible way that we can,” Boccadoro said.
The Board hopes a clearer financial picture and a restructured business model will position the center to reopen stronger and more stable.
“We want to ensure that our community has the care and supportive services that we’ve been providing,” Chavez said.
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