Keith M. Phaneuf

After being rebuffed during her late November attempt to cut town aid, Gov. M. Jodi Rell steered clear of that public relations minefield in February, proposing no reductions to major grants in her budget plan for the coming fiscal year. But less than four weeks later, despite virtually no change in an already dismal deficit […]

Connecticut’s hospitals are wary of Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s plan to reinstate a 10-year-old tax on revenues, rejecting the administration’s claim that overall payments to the industry would remain constant, although individual hospitals would experience gains or losses. An official with the Connecticut Hospital Association also said that numerous spending cuts also proposed in the […]

Legislative leaders were lukewarm at best Tuesday in their reception of Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s latest deficit mitigation plan, but they were even vaguer about when – or even if – they would adopt any plans to erase state government’s deficit before the regular General Assembly session ends on May 5. “We’re intending to pass […]

The new state watchdog panel charged with safeguarding hundreds of millions of dollars worth of annual contract awards is stuck at the starting line awaiting a final appointment from Gov. M. Jodi Rell. The Contracting Standards Board, which was supposed to have started work on Jan. 1, still is waiting for an executive director, which […]

After repeatedly declaring that more taxes won’t solve the state’s budget problems, Gov. M. Jodi Rell Monday proposed reinstating a tax on hospital earnings as well as raiding the next fiscal year’s revenues as part of a plan to close a half-billion-dollar budget shortfall. Rell’s second deficit mitigation plan of 2009-2010 would strip nearly $220 […]

At least things haven’t gotten much worse. State Comptroller Nancy Wyman reported Monday that the state budget deficit for this fiscal year has inched downward by $3.4 million over the past month, reaching $518.4 million. The $18.64 billion budget, which has been plagued by monthly deficit forecasts close to $500 million since October, continues to […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell proposed stripping nearly $220 million in revenue from the next state budget Monday to help close a $500 million-plus shortfall in the current one. But the $18.93 billion budget approved last fall for 2010-11 has a $726 million deficit of its own, according to legislative analysts. And though the governor’s proposal […]

Fed up with telemarketing calls? The next one could help Connecticut pay its bills. Looking to buy a used gun?  The state might get in the business of selling weapons seized by the police. And if you’re not paying your fair share of taxes-at least in the state’s view-lots of folks in Hartford are thinking […]

A state legislative panel agreed this week to consider a bill that would bar a controversial funding cut for work and social programs for the mentally retarded. The Human Services Committee raised a bill that would block the reduction until after Jan. 1, 2011, when a new group studying program rates is scheduled to report […]

The state’s Judicial Branch either is at risk of losing its independence due to crippling budget cuts, or wants to be handled with fiscal kid gloves, depending on who was offering testimony Friday before a state legislative panel. Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s budget director urged the Judiciary Committee to reject a measure that would restore […]

When they adopted a budget in September, state legislators and Gov. M. Jodi Rell balanced the books-at least on paper-by assuming an unprecedented level of savings to be achieved later. For Connecticut’s nonprofit social services industry and the clients they serve, later has arrived. These providers are accusing Rell’s administration of testing the spirit — […]

Cities and towns clamored Tuesday for state road maintenance grants they’ve been awaiting since July, warning that projects could be deferred or canceled unless the $30 million Town Aid Road program is launched before the spring construction season begins in a few weeks The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, the New Haven-based lobbying arm for the […]

There’s a $515 million hole in this year’s budget, and four months left in which to fill it. The question now percolating around the Capitol is, will Gov. M. Jodi Rell try to raid next year’s budget to plug the gap? It’s not a new idea: Since Rell and the legislature’s Democratic majority deadlocked on […]

Along with concerns about technology, traffic jams, enforcement and lost federal grants, a new question is popping up in the debate over whether to restore tolls to Connecticut’s highways. Gubernatorial candidates, legislators and transportation advocates point to a series of controversial fuel tax hikes ordered five years ago, and the hundreds of millions of dollars […]

One of the incumbents’ perks in a legislative election year, bragging on state funds won for pet projects in the district, is getting turned on its head this year. Gov. M. Jodi Rell is asking legislators not only to hold off on new earmarks, but also to cancel projects that they have touted–but not yet […]