More Oversight Of Business Incentives

May 18, 2017

Dear Neighbor,

We all want to see businesses grow and create new jobs for Connecticut, but we also need to make sure that the state’s investments and financial assistance programs are meeting our goals.

To provide more transparency and oversight, the House voted unanimously this week to approve legislation expanding legislative review of economic development programs, including programs administered by agencies other than the Department of Economic and Community Development. It accomplishes this by requiring DECD to include information about the individual programs in its annual report and making it the basis for the review.

The department must submit the expanded report to state auditors and the legislature’s Appropriations, Commerce and Finance committees.

The legislation also requires the auditors to assess the performance of the assistance programs, evaluate the annual reports for accuracy and submit a report on their findings to the designated committees in the legislature.

With these new safeguards in place, I am confident that our tax dollars will be spent wisely, and businesses will continue to flourish and grow.

All the best,

Jason