News Briefs

Conn. Democrats eye merger of departments

Senate Democratic leaders in Hartford have come up with several proposals they say will make Connecticut more business friendly, including the merger of the insurance and banking departments to “better serve the mutual needs of these vital sectors and to restore Connecticut’s prominence in the financial services sector.”

They have also proposed eliminating a tax on manufacturing equipment.

“The most important challenge facing the state of Connecticut is to grow the economy and to create the jobs that protect our standard of living and quality of life,” said Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr. (D-Brooklyn). “In talking to small business and corporate people alike, it became clear that we need to eliminate the manufacturing equipment tax and make state agencies more amenable to these sectors. This plan does exactly that.”