Rep. Giegler made all 271 votes on the floor of the State House of Representatives. She is just one of 41 House legislators to attain this accomplishment. There are 151 members serving in the House.

“My constituents demand and deserve a voice in the legislature, and I take that charge very seriously,” said Rep. Giegler. “Certainly, casting my vote in my committees and on the floor of the House is one of the most important functions I perform for the residents of the 138th District. Moving forward, I will continue to do my best to advocate on behalf of the people I represent in Danbury and New Fairfield. “

Representative Giegler also had a 100 percent attendance and voting record in the Public Health Committee for its Public Hearings and Committee meetings, where she serves as the Ranking Member. She was elected to her fourth term in the House in 2008.

The balanced plan preserves municipal and school aid, and sets aside $74.5 million to incentivize job growth. Companies that hire the unemployed can earn $17.5 million in tax credits, and the plan establishes a $25 million small business revolving loan fund, and eliminates the Business Entity Tax.

“Our state’s economy has been stagnant for years, dating back to before the start of the current recession, due to the levels of taxation and spending here in Connecticut,” said Rep. Giegler. “This budget will not only close the deficit for the 2011 fiscal year, but will also send a signal to job creators that Connecticut is once again going to be a destination that welcomes businesses and economic activity.”

The hallmarks of the savings plan:
• $58 million in line item cuts to 2009 levels;
• $64 million in early retirement for state workers;
• $10 million in state agency consolidations;
• $6.4 million to shed state office leases; 
• $20 million in privatization of state functions;
• $150 million in state worker concessions, including wage freezes, furlough days and health care;
• $3.8 million in legislative pay cuts, elimination of franked mail and travel.

The budget also makes significant investments in job creation and retirement security:
• $200 million will be paid into the state employee pensions;
• The Business Entity Tax is eliminated to save companies $32 million;
• A Small Business Revolving Loan Fund of $25 million is created;
• Tax credits of up to $17.5 million will be available to companies that hire off unemployment rolls.

Republicans outlined a variety of small and large potential savings in the state work force, including all state workers having wages frozen for one year, which would save $183 million, and one furlough day, which would result in a $9 million savings.

Women In Government is a national 501(c)(3), non-profit, bi-partisan organization of women state legislators providing leadership opportunities, networking, expert forums, and educational resources to address and resolve complex public  policy issues.

“ Women In Government congratulates Janice Giegler in her re-election as state director,” said Mary Brooks Beatty, President of Women In Government.  “State directors play a significant role in setting policy priorities for our organization. Rep. Giegler is a recognized leader in her state, and we are excited that she will continue to share her leadership skills with other legislators throughout the country.”

“I am pleased to have been re-elected to this position,” said Rep. Giegler. “Women In Government is a terrific resource for public policy ideas and I look forward to bringing back innovative proposals that have worked in other states for consideration here in Connecticut.”

Read the Common Sense Commitment to Connecticut.

Stop Digging
Why It’s Time To Try A Different Kind Of Budget

Not even two months have passed since the new state budget was implemented, and yet the State of Connecticut already finds itself $624 million in the red.

To remedy this situation, the Governor has announced that she will call lawmakers back in special session to pass a “deficit mitigation” plan to close the gap we’ve found ourselves in. I sincerely hope that my friends in the Majority join me in supporting that effort, though they have been loath to do so in the past.

After all, this is a group that thought spending $1.3 to study the impact on children of having their parents incarcerated was a good idea- even in the face of an $8 billion deficit. Most Connecticut residents could draw the conclusion that growing up with a parent in jail is bad, and they could do it for free.

However, “deficit mitigation” is not enough for the long term health of Connecticut’s economy. One overarching conclusion can be drawn from the situation we’ve found ourselves in: that budgets which try to tax, spend, and borrow our way out of trouble are not working. It is time for that fact to be acknowledged by the leadership in Hartford and a new fiscal course charted that rejects the pleas of special interests for more and more spending, and instead makes real reductions to the size of government.

While it sounds like common sense, budget reductions such as these have never been made in Connecticut. However, just because these cuts have never been made is no excuse not to do so now. After all, years of tax-and-spend budgeting has left Connecticut last in job growth, unattractive to businesses and investors, and a state that is shedding its young people at an alarming rate. This can hardly be called a record of success.

When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you should do is stop digging. It’s time that the Legislature heed this lesson, even if it’s a novel idea.
State Representative Janice R. Giegler (R-138th) represents Danbury and New Fairfield in the General Assembly.

New Fairfield Citizen-News

To the Editor,

On Sunday Oct. 4^th, Preserve New Fairfield hosted a very successful Cemetery Tour, making history come alive for the many people who attended.  This wonderful event would not have been possible without the help of so many dedicated people.

First, we would like to give a big round of applause to our very talented actors and actresses: Ellen Burnett, Sally Arconti, Jerry Gay, Kevin Casey, Chris Keenan, Jay Howard, Jessica Smith, and Joseph Coniglio.  Thank you to our guides, Joan Buszta, State Rep. Jan Giegler, Marilyn Juskiewicz, Carol Rosenberg, Betty Swan, Janice  Zackeo, Doug Carson, Marty Hornecker and Bill McNulty.  We also so appreciated the lively music played by: John Capalbo, Larry Brish, Niles Spaulding, Susan Spaulding and Dough Spaulding.  Thank you also, the New Fairfield Cemetery Association and the New Fairfield Historical Society.

To all others who helped sell tickets or in any way and to all those who attended the tour, many thanks.  We hope the tour gave a taste of some of the rich history of our town and we look forward to bringing you more interesting and fun events in the future.

Preserve New Fairfield

Please Join

State Representative Jan Giegler

138th District, Danbury & New Fairfield

For An Informational Forum

H1N1 (“Swine Flu”)

Prevention and Preparedness

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

6:00PM — 8:00PM

Danbury High School Auditorium

43 Clapboard Ridge Rd., Danbury, CT

Panelists:

Susan Rabatsky-Ehr, MPH:  Field Epidemiologist, CT Department of Public Health

Suzanne Levasseur:  Coordinator of Health Services, Danbury Public Schools

Melanie Bonjour:  Program Coordinator for School-Based Health Centers,  Danbury Health Department

Panelists will speak about state and local preparedness and prevention measures and answer questions from the public about the H1N1 pandemic.

The only thing compromised here is Connecticut’s future

As Connecticut’s budget impasse dragged throughout the summer, compromise became the word of the day.

The governor, staring down the barrel of a tax-hungry Democratic supermajority, backed off previous no-tax-increase pledges and made a modest offer to raise taxes.

In return, she asked for spending reductions that would force government to live within its means, and a sales tax cut that would create an estimated 8,000 jobs and give relief to middle class families.

And yet, the Democratic majority in Hartford passed a budget that was anything but a compromise.

The budget they passed is balanced on the backs of employers, despite having lost 26,000 businesses over the last two years.

It raises taxes, by nearly $1.5 billion, on the very same businesses and investors that we need to put the 70,000 Connecticut residents who have lost their jobs back to work.

Their plan also increases state spending in spite of the fact that nearly every family in our state has had to slash their own budgets.

The budget spends $1.55 billion more in 2010 and 2011 than the state did over the previous two years. Not a single meaningful reduction in government spending was made.

Yes, the Democrats claim they made “cuts,” but saying so doesn’t make it true.

Over the last two years, the state of Connecticut spent $36.01 billion. In the next two years under this budget, we’ll spend $37.56 billion. You do the math.

To fund this increase, the state borrows $1.3 billion, further cementing our status as the most indebted state in America.

The non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis estimates that the borrowing done in this budget will lead to a $5.9 billion deficit two years from now.

Instead of working to strengthen our future, this budget ensures we’ll be in the same predicament just a few years down the road.

Even the sales tax cut contained in this budget is a sham. It is linked to a “trigger” that cancels the sales tax reduction if state revenues dip by even 1 percent of current estimates.

Given that the decline in state revenues is projected to continue, the tax cut is unlikely to ever take effect.

I voted against this budget because it violated common-sense:

§         You cannot tax employers and expect them to hire more workers.

§         You should not increase spending when you cannot fund the programs you already have.

§         You cannot borrow your way out of a budget deficit.

But more than vote against this budget, I helped to offer an alternative. The plan I joined my caucus in proposing was balanced by reducing government to a size the taxpayers can afford in these tough times.

It protected jobs and positioned Connecticut for future growth by not raising taxes.

And while this budget made difficult choices to achieve spending reductions, important social services for those hit hardest by the recession were spared: community health centers, HUSKY, ConnPace, Home Care for Elders, AIDS services, and others.

Most importantly, my budget alternative made no cuts to municipal aid.

The Democrats summarily dismissed this proposal and derided it as “protecting the rich” because, unlike their budget proposal, it refused to raise taxes on anyone, including businesses or high income earners.

Despite the slings and arrows of this class warfare crowd, my anti-tax stand was NEVER about protecting the rich.

I opposed tax increases and fought to prevent them because the people the majority was seeking to tax are job creators, and I have no more important priority than to ensure that every Connecticut resident who needs a job can find a job.

I could not and would not support a proposal that raises taxes on those we’re relying on to reduce unemployment, wealthy or not.

Unfortunately, despite the opposition of me, my caucus, and the governor, the majority’s budget will become law.

The only thing compromised in this budget is Connecticut’s future, for which we will pay dearly in years to come. It contains tax increases that have made our state an even worse place to do business.

Job losses will mount and businesses will continue to close, straining state coffers and assistance programs.

At the same time, we’ll be handed a bill for the money the state has borrowed to fund a bloated and inefficient government that we cannot afford.

God help us when that bill comes due.

State Rep. Jan Giegler (R-138th) represents Danbury and New Fairfield in the General Assembly.