Policymakers will be tasked with enacting a new biennial state budget this coming session. This presentation provides a brief snapshot of the state’s spending and revenue trends; the outlook for the next biennium; and an overview of the constitutional and statutory fiscal controls that shape the budgetary process.

Connecticut’s transportation system is critical to the state’s economy and residents’ quality of life. But eroding federal support, fluctuating state revenues, and rising costs, among other factors, have made it difficult to fund the ongoing needs of aging infrastructure and make investments to meet current and future demand. This presentation outlines the challenge facing the state, past and present funding, and policy options for the future.

The last national recession (March 2008 to February 2010) hit Connecticut hard, and the state has struggled to regain jobs and economic output even after it officially ended. This presentation provides an overview of job trends since the recession — how many jobs the state lost, which sectors were hardest hit, and where job growth has occurred — and discusses the actions the legislature took to jump start the economy and stimulate growth. It also examines two important questions: is the state out of the woods, and what challenges await it.

Connecticut’s legislature has recently enacted many changes to drug laws in areas such as drug possession penalties, medical marijuana, and opioid prescribing. This presentation provides an overview of these changes and related issues the General Assembly might consider in the upcoming legislative session.

The legislature may consider expanding casino gaming and legalizing sports wagering following the recent Springfield casino opening and Supreme Court decision allowing states to regulate sports betting. This presentation discusses the state’s existing gaming framework and examines possibilities for expansion.

Two significant federal tax law developments — the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the Wayfair v. South Dakota decision — have implications for Connecticut’s state budget and individual and business taxpayers. This presentation provides an overview of these developments and Connecticut’s response to them.

Connecticut offers a number of public schools of choice (e.g., magnet and charter schools) for students who do not wish to attend the neighborhood public schools in their home districts. This presentation discusses the policies behind these programs and related tensions they cause in public education.