REPORT ON THE 2014 ELECTIONS PREPARED & PRESENTED BY GUINAN ASSOCIATES CT Tax Collectors’ Annual Meeting

EVERY Seat up for Re-election 151 House 36 Senate 6 Constitutional Officers, including The GOVERNOR

AT THE TOP… NO CHANGE  Governor expanded his victory margin  Underticket races surprisingly close  All 6 Constitutional Officers Re-elected  All 6 are Democrats

A DIFFERENT STORY LEGISLATIVE RESULTS

STATE SENATE WAS 22 Dem – 14 Rep NOW21 Dem – 15 Rep 6 Open Seats. 1 changed party Rep. Betsy Ritter lost her bid to take Sen. Stillman’s Seat. Paul Formica the victor One celebrity victor – Ted Kennedy Jr One Incumbent Dem lost his primary 7 Freshman Senators including 3 State Reps.

HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES Here the national Republican tide affected CT WAS97 – 54 (incl 2 Rep. Special Elect wins) NOW87 – 64 Highest Count for House R’s since 1994 Up from low of 37 seats in 2008 HELD ALL 8 R open seats and won 2 D opens DEFEATED 9 Incumbent Ds 19 R Freshman. Net gain of 10 Only lost 1 Incumbent. Michael Molgano, Stamford

IMPACT Bolder Assertion Republican Agenda More Ability to Force Compromise 76 votes needed for passage – R’s only need 12 Democrats to break with Dem Majority. FAR more likely than when 22 needed. Empowering of ‘Moderate Democrats’ Expect it to impact what passes, what comes to vote. 19 R and 8 D Freshman = A Lot of New Energy

NOT SEEKING RE-ELECTION: 3 of 4 at the Top  Sen. President Don Williams  Sen. Minority Leader John McKinney  House Minority Leader Larry Cafero  6 Senators. 18 Reps.

Legislative Changes at the Top Senate Dems - Sen. Marty Looney, Sen. President Sen. Bob Duff, Majority Leader Senate Reps – Sen. Len Fasano, Minority Leader House Reps – Rep. Themis Klarides (a first) House Dems – Only caucus without change. Speaker Brendan Sharkey. Maj. Leader Joe Aresimowitz

Key Committee Vacancies Pending House Finance Chair (Widlitz) House Judiciary Chair (Fox) Senate Education Chair (Stillman) Senate GAE Chair (Musto) Senate Environment Chair (Meyer) Senate Commerce Chair (Lebeau) Senate Ranking Member P & D (Fasano) Both House Chairs, Dem Screening Ctt Domino Effect, esp. in Senate  Waiting to see if Sen. Cathy Osten remains at P & D

Finance and P & D Committees key for CTX Sen. Fasano will remain key. As ranking member of P & D, very involved in CTX bills and will remain so as Minority Leader. We will miss Betsy Ritter – Always in your corner!

2015 Session Is a Long Session Begins Wed. January 7, 2015 Ends Wed. June 3, 2015 Governor’s Budget Address Feb. 4 Budget expected to be … Difficult Likely to dominate Session

Other Key Dates Planning and Development Committee Deadline 3/26 – 4/2/2015 ** Finance Committee Deadline 4/17 – 4/24/2015 ** ** Dates are estimates. Under bi-partisan discussion. Will be adopted as part of the Joint Rules on Opening Day

WE EXPECTED A SLOW SESSION, BUT… IN 2014

It Ended Up Not Quite the Quiet Year Expected CTX TESTIFIED OR SUBMITTED TESTIMONY ON 4 BILLS. Wary of a 5 th.  Interest Rate on Delinquent Taxes  Free Access to DMV  Legal Notices  A Change to CTx 2013 Statute  Collecting a Marijuana Tax

In 2015, In Addition to CTX Bill… New Leaders, 7 Senate Freshman, 27 House Freshman = a vibrant stew of new ideas, new approaches and lots and lots of bills. There will be bills CTX does not like. Be prepared. The Car Tax got a lot of attention during the Elections. Expect another effort to change it. Speaker Sharkey and (then) Sen Maj Leader Looney had competing dramatic proposals for changes to local Property Tax. Likely to re-emerge in Major Tax Study Underway. Concluding Jan

YOUR PARTICIPATION IS VITAL EXPECT A BUSY YEAR CONTINUE TO BUILD ON CREDIBILITY AND RELATIONSHIPS WHICH EXPANDED DURING SESSION JOIN THE CTx LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE. CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS. And, You are in EVERY town and you know EVERYONE- YOU HAVE REAL INFLUENCE

THANK YOU. QUESTIONS?COMMENTS?