Harding Supports Republican Deficit Mitigation Plan for Legislator Pay Cuts

Second of a two part series written by Scott Benjamin

• State Rep. Harding On Layoffs, The Legislative Session

State Rep. Stephen Harding (R-107) of Brookfield applauds Gov. Dannel Malloy’s (D-Stamford) decision to finally include Republican state House Leader Themis Klarides of Derby and GOP Senate Leader Len Fasano of North Haven in the budget negotiations to close the projected deficits for the current fiscal year and the year that starts July 1. The Republican leaders had been excluded until last fall.

“However, including them may be a way to place the blame on a lot of people instead of just the governor and his staff,” he said.

During his 2010 campaign Malloy said that Connecticut and Michigan were the only states with fewer jobs than they had in 1989. He said that he thought there could be growth in the nano-tech, bio-tech, bio-med and fuel cell sectors.

Harding said he has seen little growth in those areas. He added that he was encouraged by Malloy’s recent presentation to the Connecticut Business & Industry Association regarding efforts to shrink state operations. However, he said he has reservations on whether the governor will deliver on those proposals because he didn’t achieve all of the savings advertised with the state collective bargaining units in the 2011 Shared Sacrifice plan to offset an estimated $3.5 billion shortfall.

The legislator said the current tax structure discourages financial investment, which has been a prominent part of the economy through the Gold Coast of Fairfield County.

Harding said he supports the provision in the Republican deficit mitigation plan that would reduce legislators pay 10 percent from the current annual pay check of $28,000.

However, he acknowledged that it has been 15 years since the salary has been increased.

“Since we’re seeking concessions from state employees, I only think it is fair that we take a cut in pay,” said Harding who captured the seat in a special election in February of last year and announced this winter that he will seek a second term in November.

“I don’t think any of us do this job for the pay,” Harding said. “We do it for serving the people of Connecticut. A lot of us have full-time jobs outside the Legislature.”

Regarding his district, Harding said he is trying to make changes to boost revenue from the state Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula for Danbury and Brookfield, in particular.

He said that New Britain, a “similar city” to Danbury, currently gets considerably more funding under the formula. The legislator added that New Fairfield, which has almost the same suburban demographics as Brookfield, gets more than twice as much funding from the ECS formula.

In Bethel, Harding, said he is trying to acquire more money for further improvements to its train station.

On another topic, Harding and Brookfield First Selectman Steve Dunn have lobbied to revise the 1989 state Affordable Housing Appeals Act so that the threshold would be two percent instead of 10 percent or that it be eliminated completely.

Under the law, a municipality not meeting that criteria would be subject to having affordable housing projects built that might not conform to local zoning laws.

Some municipal officials across Connecticut have said through the years that the law is not realistic.

“My concerns are related to the law and not to affordable housing altogether,” Harding said.

The legislator said that he and Dunn, a Democrat who was elected last November, have forged a valuable working relationship.

Regarding other legislative issues, Harding said he doubts that action will be taken this year on the proposed 30-year, $100 billion transportation infrastructure proposal. A study committee chaired by former state Rep. Cameron Staples (D-New Haven) submitted a report in January.

When the committee was appointed in March 2015 it was expected that the report would be completed by the end of last summer and the General Assembly would vote on the package either during a special session last fall or during the 2016 regular session. It has been expected that transportation infrastructure improvements would be a hallmark of Malloy’s second term.

Harding said he is “adamantly opposed” to tolls. Elected officials and business leaders in his district have said that reportedly 40 percent of the customers at the Danbury Fair Mall are from out of state and that tolls would hurt business.

On another issue, he said he would seek constituent feedback before deciding how to vote on legislation to increase the smoking age to 21.

Regarding the current elections, Harding said he is encouraged that state Rep. Dan Carter (R-2) of Bethel is considering a bid for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Richard Blumenthal (D-Greenwich), who served for 20 years as Connecticut’s attorney general before getting elected to Washington in 2010.

“He’s been a genuine mentor to me,” Harding said of Carter.

On the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Harding said he is disappointed that the three remaining candidates – Donald Trump, John Kasich and Ted Cruz - are discussing “personal issues” more than “substance.”

He said Trump, the billionaire real estate mogul who is the frontrunner for the nomination, has made “a lot of comments that have been divisive.”

Harding said he “would like” for Kasich to capture the nomination, even though that is almost mathematically impossible at this juncture.