Keith M. Phaneuf

Republican gubernatorial contender Michael Fedele pledged today that if elected, he would include no new taxes in the budget he would propose next February to close a nearly $4 billion hole in state finances in 2011-12. Fedele, the lieutenant governor, outlined a plan to shrink government spending that includes: imposing a four-year hiring freeze, capping future state […]

Anticipating a huge crash in state funding, municipal leaders urged legislators Monday to expand their ability to levy taxes and fees, particularly through a regional sales tax surcharge. But while members of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee agreed communities need new revenue sources, lawmakers from both parties expressed fears that Connecticut could be left […]

The nation’s largest online retailer threatened Monday to end its advertising relationships with Connecticut businesses if the legislature enacts a new measure to collect sales taxes tied to Internet transactions. And though Amazon.com did not disclose specific numbers, the head of a California-based marketing association that represents the online giant estimated nearly 2,000 Connecticut businesses – […]

Democrats on the State Bond Commission blocked funding Tuesday for a new public health lab in Rocky Hill, prompting charges from Gov. M. Jodi Rell that lawmakers don’t want the long-planned construction to begin until after the November elections. Rell, a Republican, also said the 5-5 vote that blocked release of $69.4 million in bonding […]

A 2008 New York law that has sparked a growing feud between states and online sales giants such as Amazon.com is being considered by Connecticut’s legislature as officials scramble for new dollars to close growing budget deficits. But while taxing Internet sales could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, efforts by other states to […]

Add the state’s tax chief to the growing list of officials uncertain about how Connecticut should pursue hundreds of millions of dollars in uncollected sales taxes tied to Internet transactions. Department of Revenue Services Commission Richard Nicholson testified on several tax-related bills today before the legislature’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, but said nothing regarding […]

A state legislative panel has scrapped a controversial plan to auction off firearms seized in Connecticut crimes. The Public Safety Committee opted not to act on the bill, which had been raised on behalf of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, before the committee’s deadline on Thursday. “I didn’t have one legislator come to me and […]

State government has emptied its savings to reduce the budget deficit, and Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s budget chief said this week it’s time for cities and towns to do the same. But municipal officials said their budget reserves already have been reduced to compensate for shrinking state aid. More importantly, they added, communities can’t exhaust […]

Minority Republicans in the state House of Representatives called Thursday for the cancellation of tens of millions of dollars in bonuses due next month to senior state employees. House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero, R-Norwalk, said the legislature and Gov. M. Jodi Rell should immediately repeal the law giving longevity bonuses to employees with 10 […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell took a hit from within her party today when a leading Republican lawmaker accused her of going easy on unionized state employees in her latest plan to eliminate this year’s budget deficit. Rep. Craig A. Miner of Litchfield, ranking House Republican on the Appropriations Committee, told Rell’s budget director during a […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell came under fire from within her own party Wednesday when a top Republican on the Appropriations Committee accused her of pursuing minimal cuts from unionized state employees’ salaries in her latest bid to reduce the budget deficit. Rell’s plan should call for greater sacrifice by state workers “if the governor really […]

With nearly 170,000 Connecticut residents struggling to find employment, a state legislative panel has endorsed new restrictions on when businesses can research individuals’ credit and criminal backgrounds. “Nearly half of the employers in this country go into workers’ credit history during the hiring process,” said Rep. Matthew Lesser, D-Middletown, co-sponsor of the bill restricting credit background checks. […]

An appeal from moderate Democrats for decisive leadership to close the state budget deficit left some lawmakers questioning Tuesday whether a rift has opened within the General Assembly’s majority party. A coalition of four senators and 11 representatives sent a letter to party leadership urging immediate action to close the $518.4 million deficit for 2009-10 […]

A coalition of 15 moderate Democratic state legislators sent a letter to their leadership urging immediate action to close the $518.4 million deficit for the current fiscal year without borrowing. The letter, signed by four senators and 11 representatives, also expressed concerns about more than $4.6 billion worth of deficits projected in total for the […]