Lyddy Hails Employment, Lab Bills As

‘A Model For Moving Forward’

By John Voket

Newtown’s State Representative Chris Lyddy supported a comprehensive jobs bill October 26 in a special session of the state legislature, saying he expected the sweeping package of initiatives would boost Connecticut’s ability to grow and retain jobs, as well as putting Connecticut back on the map as a worldwide resource in the field of bioscience.

Rep Lyddy was referring to a nearly $300 million commitment to Jackson Laboratory — an investment he said “unlocks the potential of thousands of jobs in the field of genomic medicine and the biosciences.”

“The work we did today will put Connecticut to work and undoubtedly bring our state into a new era of science, technology, and job creation,” Rep Lyddy said in a release, adding that Connecticut was the only state in the nation to craft and pass a bipartisan agenda to support small businesses, grow jobs, and spur innovation.

“Working together in a bipartisan manner for the good of Connecticut is what we should always strive to accomplish,” Rep Lyddy said, referring to the comprehensive jobs bill. “We need to use what we accomplished today as a model for moving forward.”

Democratic Governor Dannel P. Malloy agreed, praising lawmakers for coming together and working with him to come up with the sweeping legislation, saying, “Making Connecticut more business-friendly aren’t goals owned by any one party.”

Rep Lyddy lauded the Jackson Laboratory plan to build a $1.1 billion research facility at the University of Connecticut Health Center campus in Farmington. The State of Connecticut will invest $291 million and Jackson Laboratory will raise the balance of $860 million for the project.

The Newtown lawmaker told The Bee that he voted for the Jackson proposal after meeting with UConn President Susan Herbst and health center officials to discuss the expected economic impact of the new research facility.

“In approving this project today, we sent the world a message that Connecticut is going to establish itself as a world leader in the field of bioscience,” Rep Lyddy said. He added that the development of a research triangle with Farmington, the main UConn campus at Storrs, and a partnership with Yale University in New Haven, could make the state a global destination and focus for bioscience development.

Referring to the state’s past preeminence as an early 20th Century manufacturing center, Rep Lyddy said the World War I and II era “was our last glimpse at the potential Connecticut could have in the global marketplace.” He said the massive investment to create the infrastructure required for this bioscience cluster would pay off not only in the laboratory jobs created, but in collateral benefits in communities across the state.

“We are creating spin-off jobs in everything from construction to local grocery stores, more homes will be sold, our communities will be improved as a result of this investment,” he said.

20-Year Expectation

According to the state Department of Economic and Community Development, the project is expected to create more than 660 positions at Jackson Laboratory in Farmington within 20 years. The department estimates more than 4,600 bioscience jobs would be generated through spin-off companies and another 2,000 would be added to local service and area retail stores.

The project would yield more than 840 construction jobs as well, Rep Lyddy said.

Partisan disagreement did break out, however, over whether it makes financial sense to borrow nearly $291 million to help build a $1.1 billion research lab at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, in conjunction with The Jackson Laboratory of Maine. As a result, that measure passed the House and the Senate but along mostly party-line votes, with most Republicans in opposition.

Members of the legislature’s minority party questioned whether the project is worth the taxpayers’ large investment.

“This is no ordinary economic development deal,” warned Senator Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, a former chairman of the Connecticut Development Authority, referring to the nearly $300 million price tag. “We have to be very, very careful about making a decision to put this many resources into something that has somewhat of an unclear outcome.”

Jackson, a nonprofit, independent organization, has promised 320 jobs over ten years, for a total of 661 over 20 years. An estimated 6,900 long-term and indirect jobs are projected — a figure questioned by Republicans.

Rep Frantz and other Republicans said they felt they did not know enough about the deal reached between Gov Malloy and The Jackson Laboratory and argued it was being rushed through the General Assembly. Rep Frantz said he did not believe the state has done its proper due diligence of the deal to make sure the taxpayers are protected, and urged Gov Malloy to restructure the agreement, which turns the facility over to the private Jackson Laboratory.

Rush To Judgment?

State Economic Development Commissioner Catherine Smith said many of those concerns will be addressed during the second phase of talks with Jackson, when the state finalizes a definitive agreement with the lab. The $626 million will come out of the approximately $1.2 billion in bonding already authorized in the two-year budget.

Senator Len Suzio, R-Meriden, urged his fellow lawmakers not to get carried away by the excitement of building a lab that will focus on the growing field of personalized medicine. The specialty involves determining a person’s genetic makeup to help tailor care and determine the most effective treatment for cancer and other illnesses.

“Don’t rush to judgment. Don’t let your euphoria, your enthusiasm, your emotions, to rule over your brain,” said Sen Suzio, who said he worked for a biotech research company 25 years ago.

He warned that it could take decades to see any results and recalled how the firm had promised an AIDS vaccine, which has yet to materialize.

Rep Lyddy said his overall goal in supporting the jobs bill was to jump-start job creation and foster long-term economic growth through small-business incentives, less government red tape, innovation, economic development tools, and workforce development and training.

A key part of the legislation is the Small Business Express Package, which Rep Lyddy said will make $50 million a year available to small businesses through incentives, grants, and loans.

“Small business continues to be the engine that drives our economy,” Rep Lyddy said. “Investing in the future of Connecticut’s small businesses is essential to our continued economic growth.”

Another vital component is aligning programs at vo-tech schools, community colleges, and universities with high demand job needs of employers, including the state’s manufacturing technology companies.

(Associated Press content was used in this report. See related story for a breakdown of particulars in the new state Jobs Bill)