By Tyler Amorando
Affordability is a vital concern for many Connecticut residents, and Senator Ryan Fazio has made it the focus of his legislative efforts. From tax relief to energy costs and local decision-making, Fazio is advocating for policies that he believes will help lower the cost of living and improve the state’s economic well-being.
“Some of my top priorities in terms of proposals have been centered around affordability,” said Fazio. “This means lowering the tax burden, making sure the budget is fiscally responsible, lowering energy bills, and protecting local control of decision-making for towns and cities over planning and zoning, among other things.”
One of Fazio’s key concentrations is in energy policy. He has been quite vocal about the need to lower energy rates, particularly by reducing public benefits charges. Although getting broad support for this has been a challenge, he remains hopeful.
“My colleagues on the energy committee and the majority of the Democrats don’t support my proposal to take public benefits charges out of the electric bill,” he explained. “However, we’re going to continue to try to work in a bipartisan way to get some incremental improvements to policy.”
Even though his full proposal has not been accepted, Fazio remains committed to making progress. “I am disappointed that they won’t take my full proposal, but I’m going to work as best as I can to get as much positive movement as I can,” he assured.
Another priority for Fazio is protecting local zoning and planning rights. He has expressed strong opposition to efforts that would shift more control away from towns and cities and to the state level: “I’ll continue to try to fight against efforts to take away planning and zoning rights from towns and cities.”
However, Fazio believes there is a path forward with bipartisan reform. “I have tried to be proactive in offering bipartisan solutions to reform and to giving towns more local input on housing and zoning issues, while also trying to improve housing affordability and availability in our state.”
Fazio has also been a vocal supporter of fiscal responsibility. He has consistently supported the budget guardrails put in place, which he credits with preventing tax increases and keeping state finances in check.
“On the budget, I’ve been a strong supporter of the budget guardrails that were passed in 2017 on a bipartisan basis. Those budget guardrails have stopped major tax increases from happening over the last seven years even after we’ve had many major tax increases in the state.”
Fazio has also worked on more targeted measures aimed at reducing costs for Connecticut residents, focusing on lowering occupational licensing fees, which he argues place an unnecessary financial burden on workers.
“For three years, I’ve been proposing to lower licensing fees on the hundreds of thousands of Connecticut workers who have to pay hundreds of dollars to the state government every year just for the right to work,” he stated. After years of advocating for change, he was able to find common ground with Governor Ned Lamont on the issue.
“After three years of proposing it, I’m glad to report that the governor has signed on to a proposal,” Fazio said. “We’ve made a bipartisan announcement, him and I, on our support for that type of policy. We’re going to hopefully be able to pass it into law, along with other efforts to find common ground with colleagues across the state.”
Bipartisanship remains a key focus in Fazio’s approach. While he acknowledges the challenges of working across party lines, he continues to look for areas where cooperation is possible.
“I’ve been working on some very specific bipartisan proposals to improve quality of life and lower the cost of living in the state,” he said.
Fazio’s proposals reflect his broader goal of making Connecticut a more affordable place to live while ensuring that fiscal responsibility remains a priority. Whether through energy policy, zoning regulations, or licensing fees, he continues to push for changes he believes will benefit residents across the state. His focus remains on incremental progress and finding bipartisan solutions wherever possible.
