Senate Republican Caucus Unanimously Opposes SB 1098

The Senate Republican Caucus unanimously opposes Senate Bill 1098, An Act Modifying Corporate Laws Relating To Certain Religious Corporations. This bill is an unconstitutional assault on religious freedoms. Specifically, it represents a clear violation of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise of Religion Clause contained in the First Amendment. The right of a church to govern itself, free from governmental intrusion, has been repeatedly upheld by our highest courts, providing that ‘religious freedom encompasses the power [of religious bodies] to decide for themselves, free from state interference, matters of church government as well as those of faith and doctrine.’[1]

The state has long supported the right of the Roman Catholic Church to organize and incorporate itself as it sees fit, first codifying such self governing legislation in 1866. Senate Bill 1098 proposes to dictate the way the Catholic Church organizes and operates, replacing the control of the Bishops and pastors with that of a board of directors consisting of lay people elected from the parish. Once in place, this board would have administrative and financial powers, strategic planning authority, and control of the outreach and community services provided by the church.

Proponents of the bill site the embezzlement of funds by a pastor in Darien as the rationale for this unwarranted governmental intrusion into the affairs of the church. But, the priest in this case has already been arrested and imprisoned for his offenses. Criminal laws currently in place have done as they were designed to do – punish those who willingly misappropriate funds.

Equally troubling is the fact that this bill singles out the Roman Catholic Church. The bill does not simply stop at ordering the Catholic Church how to organize itself. It also includes a provision that allows any person who believes money donated to any religious corporation has been used for a purpose other than that for which it was donated, to report their belief to the Attorney General, who must investigate the claim and take any action he deems necessary. How exactly does one determine the ‘intended purpose’ of private donations given to the church? Under this provision, any person, whether or not they are a member of the parish, may challenge any donation made to the church, whether its $5 placed in the offertory basket, or $5,000 donated to the Bishop’s appeal, subjecting the free speech rights of the Catholic Church to be challenged by the unfettered actions of the Attorney General.

For these reasons, the Senate Republican Caucus will vigorously oppose SB 1098 in the Judiciary Committee and on the floor of the Senate.

[1] Serbian Orthodox Diocese v. Milivojevich, 466 U.S. 696, 721-22 (1976).

Connecticut Veterans' Wartime Service Medal Ceremony

I was honored to address recipients of the Connecticut Veterans' Wartime Service Medal at the special ceremony recently in Shelton. The medal is given by the Department of Veteran's Affairs to all military personnel who served in a time of war. During this moving ceremony, 347 medals were awarded to veterans with qualifying military service who live in Shelton. We did a similar ceremony in Stratford, and more are being held throughout the state.

Appearance on Face the State

On Sunday I appeared on WFSB's Face the State to discuss Connecticut's growing budget deficit. We need to take shift action to cut spending-- otherwise we will face an unacceptable tax increase. In this segment, I lay out some specific ideas to cut spending introduced by the Governor and legislative Republicans.

Since this taping the situation has grown more dire. On Tuesday, the Office of Policy and Management revised their deficit estimate for the current fiscal year to nearly $922 million. The current projected deficit for FY2010-11 will probably also grow from the current $6 billion estimate.

I am committed to working with Governor Rell to cut spending to eliminate the deficit, and I am prepared to help make the difficult decisions that face us. If you have additional ideas you believe we should be looking at, please e-mail me at dan.debicella@cga.ct.gov.

The Legislature of Too Little, Too Late

On Wednesday the Connecticut General Assembly again convened for the purpose of closing the state’s $356 million budget deficit, and again adjourned leaving the job unfinished. The mitigation plan passed by the legislature, but opposed by all 49 Republicans, resulted in only $120 million in savings to the General Fund and included new spending for a controversial Democrat-backed program that has never even received a public hearing.

That’s right – the General Assembly got together in order to cut spending and close the budget deficit and instead passed a bill that included new spending and left the deficit largely intact. And all this happened despite Senate President Don Williams’ promise in January that “any proposal that costs money, that doesn’t pay for itself, is almost assuredly dead on arrival.”

For her part, Governor Rell will reluctantly sign the mitigation plan into law, because she knows it is the most she can get out of the legislature at this time. But Governor Rell also acknowledged that the Democrats “didn’t make as many cuts as we needed” and “cannot continue to be the legislature of too little, too late” if we are to overcome our budget crisis, put people back to work and get our economy moving again.

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Connecticut's State Deficit.... growing by the second

Balance Budget Without Raising Taxes

As our nation faces an unprecedented financial crisis that threatens to wipe out jobs, investments, businesses and retirement savings, Connecticut confronts its greatest budget deficit in recent history. Both the non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis and the Office of Policy and Management agree that the deficit for the fiscal year ending in June will be approximately $300 million and is likely to grow to more than $2 billion over the next two fiscal years.

At the same time, the wages of working families aren’t keeping up with expenses. The rising cost of healthcare, home heating fuel, gasoline, food and other services, coupled with our state’s high tax rates have created conditions that many are finding hard to weather. It is clear that government at all levels is faced with very difficult choices.

We need to adjust our spending habits — now.

I discussed the budget outlook and the options we have address this growing problem with Speaker Jim Amann on Fox61's Beyond the Headlines this past Sunday.

Find Energy Assistance and Tax Breaks

Winter will soon be here. Record energy prices are on everyone's mind - and for good reason. Consumers could be paying more than $5/gallon for their oil this year and the cost of natural gas and electricity is rising as well. Connecticut offers many programs to help pay heating bills, improve energy efficiency in your home, provide incentives to install renewable energy systems, and to defray the cost of purchasing hybrid vehicles.

Because finding the program that is right for you can be a time-consuming challenge, many state programs are underutilized. We have put together an interactive citizen's guide to help you quickly identify the tax breaks and energy assistance you need for your home or business. Click the site icon above to explore this guide.