On the same day as grim employment figures were released nationally, the state Senate today approved Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's premier economic development initiative.
The measure, dubbed "First Five" by the administration, empowers the state Department of Economic and Community Development to package tax credits to reward the first five firms that add at least 200 jobs by July 1, 2013 or invest at least $25 million and create at least 200 jobs within five years.
It also expands a tax credit for urban reinvestment to $750 million and boosts the job creation tax credit to $20 million, from $11 million.
"If this bill is passed...we're looking at 2,000 jobs created in the state,'' said Sen. Gary LeBeau, an East Hartford Democrat and co-chair of the legislature's commerce committee. "Two-thousand jobs, folks."
The bill passed the Senate on a vote of 32 to 4; it now moves to the House of Representatives.
Malloy, who has made the initiative the cornerstone of his economic development plan, hailed its passage.
"For too long, Connecticut has been reactive to news that jobs are leaving the state or companies are closing their doors, instead of being proactive in trying to keep them here. That stops now,'' Malloy said in a press release emailed minutes after the bill cleared the chamber.
"I urge the House to pass this legislation as soon as possible so we can start inking those First Five deals and ultimately increase it to more than just five. We need new jobs, and we need them now," Malloy said.