Rep. O’Neill recently sat down with WFSB reporter Susan Raff to discuss several high profile legislative matters for the “Face the State” television program. The interview began with a discussion of the revisions that the General Law Committee made to the Governor’s “Sunday sales” bill. While he finds the bill in its current form to be a compromise between key stakeholders, he expressed concern about the effect that Sunday sales may have on public safety as it relates to alcohol-related fatalities.
Rep. O’Neill also responded to questions about the cap to the gross receipts tax. He explained some of the history of Connecticut’s gas taxes and voiced his opposition to the manor in which the legislature has increased a tax that was originally only 2%, but will next year by raised, again, to over 8%. He also stated that while the gross receipts tax was initially intended to fund bridge and road maintenance, a portion of that revenue steam is now being siphoned into the General Fund.
Rep. O’Neill also discussed the proposal to repeal the State’s capital punishment law. He spoke about many aspects of the law, including its effectiveness as a deterrent, the necessity for there to be a harsher punishment than life imprisonment in the cases of the most heinous crimes, the fact that statistically most residents oppose repeal and the significance the horrific Cheshire murders.
You can watch the full interview here:
