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Senate votes to cancel projects slated for future borrowing

The Senate voted unanimously Friday to tighten the limit on state government’s credit card as lawmakers adopted a bill to cancel or reduce planned borrowing for dozens of community and regional projects in their home districts. The measure, which now heads to the House of Representatives, also reduces bond authorizations for tourism programs, open space preservation […]

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Rell proposes traditional borrowing to replace securitization: Ratepayers, energy efficiency programs still would pay.

Just two weeks after raiding the next state budget to balance the current one, Gov. M. Jodi Rell unveiled a plan this afternoon to do the reverse – and thereby replace $1.3 billion in planned securitization with nearly $1 billion in more traditional borrowing. The odd back-and-forth maneuver still would place new burdens on residents […]

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Talks over early retirement program break down

State employee unions have rejected Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s call to offer the second worker retirement incentive program in two years, according to a written statement released late tonight by the administration. But the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition responded that it didn’t reject anything, but rather insisted that Rell first assess how a second […]

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Betting on federal aid to balance the budget suddenly looks riskier

Connecticut’s hopes of getting a balanced state budget for the next fiscal year may have been dealt a fatal blow by new warnings that nearly $366 million in proposed-but-not-approved federal aid is in jeopardy. Top legislative leaders from both parties conceded Monday any failure to receive the anticipated, expanded federal stimulus aid for health care […]

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Gubernatorial candidates try to define themselves at UConn Law forum

After months on the campaign trail,the Democrats and Republicans hoping to be the next governor already have worked out their answers to toughest questions, particularly those about state government’s fiscal woes. But with the nominating conventions just four weeks away, the 11 candidates who attended Tuesday’s forums at the University of Connecticut Law School in Hartford […]

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Rell pitches retirement incentive plan in meeting with legislative leaders

Gov. M. Jodi Rell Monday signed on to an idea proposed by legislative Republicans last week to offer another round of retirement incentives to state employees. The Republican governor confirmed late Monday that an early retirement incentive program–the second in two years– was among a package of budget-cutting options she outlined in closed-door talks earlier […]

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No pleasant surprises likely as state income tax returns are tallied

If the Capitol seems quiet over the next two weeks, it could be because state officials are collectively holding their breath. Data compiled shortly after the April 15 income tax filing deadline traditionally have been a key indicator of how Connecticut’s economy, and its government finances, will fare over the rest of the calendar year. […]