HARTFORD—State Rep. Sean Williams cast votes that supported Connecticut’s business community when a majority of lawmakers did otherwise, according to a recently-released report from the Connecticut Business and Industry Association. CBIA assigned each of the members of the state’s House of Representatives a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” for their votes on seven pieces of legislation the association’s membership considered crucial to economic growth—and job creation. The legislation covered topics such as the state budget, education reform and environmental cleanup of former manufacturing sites. Williams scored favorably on each bill.
Those votes, all cast during the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions, influenced organizations and media outlets that downgraded Connecticut’s already-poor reputation as a state that’s unfriendly to businesses, said Williams, who represents the 68th General Assembly District covering Watertown and part of Woodbury.
“Too few legislators understand that the decisions they make inHartford, though sometimes well-intentioned, produce negative consequences for businesses that are struggling to maintain the jobs they’re offering, let alone create more,” he said. “The Governor and his Democrat colleagues like to say ‘Connecticut is open for business,’ but their actions are roadblocks for struggling residents who just want this state to turn a corner toward an economy that offers solid jobs that can support families. These votes are classic examples of politicians saying one thing then doing another.”
Over the last two years Williams, ranking House Republican on the legislature’s Finance Committee, offered “no tax increase” budget proposals that included tax relief for small and mid-sized businesses. Williams has been a vocal critic of Gov. Dannel Malloy’s program that has Connecticut handing out hundreds of millions of dollars to major corporations to maintain existing jobs. He is instead a proponent of lower taxes and less regulation as a way to grow our economy and create jobs.
