A new year means a new chance for state lawmakers to tend to unfinished business in the next legislative session that's coming up in February.
This week, we spoke one-on-one with Governor Ned Lamont to talk about what's ahead for the state this year.
In the exclusive interview, he talks about tackling things like affordable housing, improving childcare and why he thinks his proposed mandate on electric vehicles failed. Our interview was during a train ride from Hartford to Meriden, as he was heading to a news conference to tout the ongoing infrastructure improvements on the Hartford line.
Mike Hydeck: Next legislative session coming up, a lot to tackle in a short period of time. What do you view is your priority?
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Gov. Ned Lamont: We have a lot to digest. We put in place that two-year budget nine months ago. Really strong, bipartisan. Tax cut has just kicked in, I hope that's making a difference. But more importantly, making sure our investments are making a difference. Biggest thing is housing. Here we are on the Hartford line. What that means in terms of transit-oriented development - tons of new housing being built, young people all over the state. You know, all of our neighboring states lost population last year. We gained population. I want to keep that momentum going.
Mike Hydeck: So the proposal for an electric vehicle mandate in 2035 didn't go well. Why do you think that is and what's next?
Gov. Ned Lamont: I think a couple of things. One, a lot of false information, they're banning the internal combustion, no they're not. You know, everybody's gonna be able to keep going with their hybrid. It's like they did in the early 80s; you're gonna get a lot more with a hybrid as well as EVs. It's gonna be a lot less expensive for you, and it's also going to make an enormous difference in terms of jobs and make an enormous difference in terms of, you know, the environment. But most importantly, it's affordable. You can get a hybrid right now, and a lot less cost. It goes a lot further and you don't have to pay the Saudis every day.
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Mike Hydeck: And that was the concern is that they felt low income families wouldn't be able to afford these new EVs.
Gov. Ned Lamont: EVs are still a little more expensive. If you want it, they're coming down. They dropped, you know, 30% in cost just in the last couple of years. But in the meantime, the hybrids are very competitive right now, and a lot less expensive to operate because you don't need nearly as much gasoline.
Mike Hydeck: Does the word mandate scare people, do you think? Might that have not been the way to go, do you think?
Gov. Ned Lamont: …"Pretty please," or "it's a good thing to do." And you know, about 40 to 50% of the country is doing this. And if we don't get it right, we can change our minds later. But I think now's the time to stick to what we said we're going to do just a couple years ago.
Mike Hydeck: Now for years, you said making Connecticut more affordable was one of your goals. Affordable housing has been a problem here for decades. It's no surprise. One of the things that advocates of affordable housing propose is we need a statewide zoning system with teeth in it. As far as, if you're going to build a new structure, say around Yard Goats Park, 10% has to be affordable housing. How do you feel about that?
Gov. Ned Lamont: Well you just asked me about mandates. So I'm less inclined that way. I'm trying to give all our localities and our cities all the incentives and the financial incentives to get it right. And we're getting it right. We've got $800 million to be invested in all types of housing, Mike. That's workforce housing, housing for single people, supportive housing, affordable housing, a lot of it in and around rail. I want them to create, you know, housing-friendly zones. We can speed up the zoning there, you get that done, the developers come to us, we'll get them over the top with gap financing. I think we're gonna build more housing, 10,000 units over the next few years.
Mike Hydeck: So we have, and you've said this and employers have said this, we have tens of thousands, in some cases, by some estimates, 80 to 90,000 jobs open. Are our schools preparing our kids properly for these jobs? We need welders, we need nurses, we need teachers, we need admin, we need everybody. Is the university system training them the right way? It seems like they can't hire.
Gov. Ned Lamont: Well, first of all, we've got the best K through 12 system in the country. That's a good foundation for any job you want. But you know, maybe four years of college isn't for everybody. So we've got free workforce training. I guarantee you a job if you go there, be it nursing or teaching or laser welding. There's a guaranteed job. We provide you daycare, we provide you rent relief. We give you all the free transportation, all the supports you need to make sure you can get that training. You want to move to Connecticut? A lot of people just pay you incentives. We say, we can guarantee you a job and the job training.
Mike Hydeck: So affordable, safe childcare is another component. If you want a single mom or a single dad to go to work, they need somewhere to have a safe place to bring their kids. That's a major problem in Connecticut. Paying the people who take care of our kids is difficult for us. It's one of the most expensive places in the country. It has been for years for childcare. How do we fix that?
Gov. Ned Lamont: Well, Beth Bye, our amazing commissioner, put together the task force, they made a big difference. I think we changed some of the staffing ratios so we can get more kids into, you know, above the infant and toddler space. We're paying our infant and toddler caregivers more. So we'll get more people who want to do that. We're providing incentives for businesses as well as individuals to make it easier for them to get their kids in the daycare. It's a big initiative. We're gonna keep building on it.
Mike Hydeck: Do employers need to be part of the equation?
Gov. Ned Lamont: Yes.
Mike Hydeck: EB has all these welding positions open. They can get a welder in, but they need some place to send their kids. Should General Dynamics be a part of the childcare solution, and other corporations?
Gov. Ned Lamont: I think so. And we're, I'll give you 25% tax credit. If you want to build something on site, we'll subsidize it 25%. We'll help your employees do it. You want to recruit moms and dads, they want a place for their kids. It was more popular 20 to 30 years ago. Right now, some of the businesses are saying let somebody else do it. I need them at the table.
