Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget director acknowledged Monday there’s little likelihood all of the tax relief promised on the campaign trail can be provided in the next state budget, which faces a major deficit projection. And while the governor promised new tax relief for college graduates struggling with student loan debt, budget director Benjamin Barnes said Connecticut’s public colleges and universities probably won’t be spared emergency budget cuts due out this week.
Keith M. Phaneuf and Jacqueline Rabe Thomas
Posted inEducation
Fact check: Who really protected teacher pension funding?
Since their endorsement of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, leaders of the largest teachers’ union in Connecticut have portrayed the governor as defender of what teachers worry about most: the future of their pensions. But while touting Malloy as the first governor to “fully fund” the long-neglected pension system, the leadership message of the Connecticut Education Association doesn’t mention that Malloy had little choice but to do so.
Posted inEducation, Energy & Environment, Health, Money, Politics
Legislature adopts financing for education, job initiatives
The Legislature approved a major financing bill late Tuesday that dramatically expands pre-school programs in public schools, and tackles overdue repairs and renovations at the state universities and community colleges.
Posted inMoney
House OKs $400M tax break for UTC expansion
Connecticut moved one step closer Thursday toward providing up to $400 million in tax breaks to United Technologies Corp. to trigger a major UTC investment in its research, training and corporate facilities.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT legislative leaders want to repeal Keno
The majority leaders of the Connecticut General Assembly Wednesday said they support repealing Keno, a bingo-style gambling game that lawmakers approved last year when facing a deficit to generate new revenue.
Posted inEducation
House GOP, teachers’ union want to revisit Common Core
With the 2014 General Assembly session one week away, House Republican lawmakers Wednesday called for a public review of the controversial Common Core education standards.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy hints CT could get a tax cut
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy offered his strongest hint yet Thursday that he might propose some tax cut in two weeks when he delivers his latest budget plan to the legislature.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Bye to lead CT legislature’s budget committee
Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, was named Wednesday as the co-chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, succeeding the long-serving Sen. Toni Harp, D-New Haven, on the eve of an election-year General Assembly session likely to be dominated by fiscal issues.
Posted inNews
Agencies hope CT’s checkbook can cover costs until federal shutdown ends
The federal government shutdown could sorely test the state’s checkbook, particularly when it comes to social service and health care programs, according to contingency plans state departments have filed. Nonpartisan state analysts identified about 30 percent of the federal funding Connecticut normally receives that likely would be interrupted. In some cases that’s because a particular […]
Posted inNews
Are business taxes that high given what Connecticut companies can earn?
Connecticut’s business taxes don’t loom quite so large when compared with the revenues companies rake in throughout the Nutmeg State. A recent study commissioned by a national coalition of nearly 600 multi-state corporations found Connecticut continues to offer one of the most favorable business tax climates in the country – even after the hefty tax […]
Posted inNews
Senate budget debate offers opposing visions of fiscal future
The state Senate sent a $37.6 billion biennial budget to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s desk Monday night after nearly seven hours of partisan debate that offered opposing visions of Connecticut’s fiscal future. Majority Democrats described it as a responsible plan that meets a rising demand for social services, preserves municipal aid and builds on the […]
Posted inNews
House adopts $37.6 billion budget for next biennium — or is it $44 billion?
The Connecticut House voted at sunrise Sunday to adopt a $37.6 billion, two-year budget that preserves municipal aid and meets a rising demand for social services, while relying on one-time revenues and the exemption of an unprecedented $6 billion from the spending cap. The Democrat-controlled House began debate minutes after midnight and passed the budget 95-48 […]
Posted inNews
Anti-smoking forces push higher cigarette tax to solve state’s budget woes
With shrinking revenues complicating state budget talks, anti-smoking advocates pitched a nearly 30 percent hike in the cigarette tax Wednesday as an increase most voters would welcome. Key state officials responded warily to the 95-cents-per-pack hike proposal, and Connecticut’s grocery stores argued it would harm retail sales in a vulnerable economy. “The answers are loud […]
Posted inNews
Panel proposes borrowing to avoid tax on power plants
A key legislative panel adopted plans Tuesday to end a controversial tax on power plants this summer — but the lawmakers would finance it with borrowing and by delaying other debt costs that would be paid off after the November 2014 elections. Majority Democrats on the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee defended the borrowing, arguing […]