CRIME

Three Strikes Law

Mike will support provisions for a "Three Strikes Law" that will give prosecutors a valuable additional tool in charging those who have been convicted of two serious, violent felonies and are then accused of committing a third.  Individuals convicted of a third serious, violent felony (non capital murder, manslaughter, sexual assault, arson, carjacking, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, stalking in the first degree, felonious assaults, and home invasion) would be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Increased Penalties for

Uninsured, Unlicensed & Unregistered Drivers

Mike will support a substantial increase in penalties for unlicensed drivers operating a motor vehicle without insurance or the proper registration.  Repeat offenders should face mandatory jail sentences and substantial fines for such offenses.

EDUCATION 

We must stop the unfunded state-mandates to our local school systems that divert precious resources from the classrooms.  Local education budgets have grown at twice the rate of inflation. More money for education does not always translate into better education for our children.

TRANSPORTATION

I-84 in the greater Danbury area

urgently needs attention

Traffic in our area of western Connecticut is increasing due to interstate transporters avoiding I-95 from New York to Boston.  Regular traffic jams on I-84 spill over to local roads and creating gridlock for commuters during rush hours.  Mike will prioritize improvements to the I-84 corridor through Danbury, including interchange and local state road improvements.

OPEN SPACE

Mike will support aggressive tax credits to encourage property owners to preserve open space. We have lost most of our farms in Connecticut to development and we must urgently increase grant funding available to our communities for open space preservation efforts.

TAXES

State Government Must Adhere

to the Constitutional Spending Cap

In 1992, Connecticut voters approved a strict Constitutional spending cap that has never been implemented. This was the “bargaining chip” that also gave us Connecticut’s state income tax. The new revenue for state government has continued for fifteen years but the voters never got their end of the bargain – a fully implemented state spending cap.

Michael will strongly support initiatives designed to promote job growth and help to ensure Connecticut’s long-term economic security. We must expand the Job Creation Tax Credit to grow the state economy by helping small businesses create new jobs.

Elimination of counterproductive regulations will address a growing number of unnecessary, costly and often redundant business regulations. This has created a bureaucratic maze in which business owners have to seek multiple permit approvals from multiple uncoordinated state agencies, for the same project.

Extend the movie industry tax credit that created “Hollywood East” to emerging industries likely to provide employment to middle class working families in Connecticut. Targeted industries could include alternative energy, environmental remediation, optics and photonics, life science devices and nanotechnology. Companies who have not yet made a profit may trade their tax credits to profitable Connecticut companies.

Eliminate the business entity tax that charges $250 per year just for a business to exist in Connecticut.