File this one under the least anticipated proposals of the 2011 General Assembly session. The state’s largest trucking association is asking Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and lawmakers to impose an even larger diesel fuel tax hike on its members than originally proposed. But of course there’s a trade-off: The Motor Transport Association of Connecticut wants […]

With hundreds of millions of dollars worth state tax credits and exemptions on the books, a Groton lawmaker says Connecticut should disclose which specific businesses enjoy tax breaks, and how much in savings each one receives. But while Rep. Edward E. Moukawsher‘s bill recently received a public hearing, both Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration and […]

Those who spoke out on the state budget Monday in one of Connecticut’s poorest cities Monday pressed Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to seek more in taxes from the state’s wealthiest citizens and corporations. The crowd of more than 250 who attended Malloy’s budget hearing at the Kinsella Magnet School on Van Block Avenue also included […]

The General Assembly’s committee on energy unveiled a bill Tuesday that would replace a controversial surcharge on electric customers and a raid on energy conservation funds with a huge new tax on Connecticut’s two active nuclear power plants. The bill, raised by the Energy and Technology Committee, is patterned partly after the controversial windfall profits levy […]

As one of the worst winters in recent history finally retreats, state government will give municipalities $30 million to fix potholes and otherwise repair local roads and bridges– the same funding it provided 25 years ago. And while state officials grapple with a budget deficit of historic proportions, municipal leaders are concerned about the state’s […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy reached back again to his Stamford roots Thursday, this time to find someone to head Connecticut’s tourism promotion, a topic Malloy raised often during the campaign for governor as an example of the state’s failure to develop jobs. Malloy selected Christopher “Kip” Bergstrom, who has been executive director of Stamford’s urban […]

Three Connecticut communities would have new leverage to press owners of blighted commercial sites to redevelop or sell their property under legislation raised by the General Assembly’s Planning and Development Committee. The land valuation measure developed by Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, would allow participating communities to modify how municipal taxes are levied […]

WATERBURY– Residents of Connecticut’s fourth-largest city had no trouble defining their priorities Tuesday night as they enjoyed their turn grilling Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on his plan to close the state budget deficit. Sure there were a few advocates for universal health care. A few state employees complained about top-heavy administration. And a contingent from […]

Departure was the theme of the day as legislators heard testimony on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s new tax plan: dire predictions of the customers, airplanes, boats, businesses, residents and jobs that would flee the state to avoid the plan’s myriad proposed tax increases. “To state the obvious, airplanes fly,” Eric Zipkin, owner of Trade Winds […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy named Correction Commissioner Leo C. Arnone, originally an appointee of former Gov. M. Jodi Rell, to continue to oversee Connecticut’s prison system as the administration undertakes efforts to further reduce the inmate population. Arnone, 59, who was originally appointed Aug. 1, 2010 following the retirement of then-Commissioner Theresa Lantz of Manchester, […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s new budget doesn’t go far enough to accelerate Connecticut’s economic recovery and create better-paying jobs, according to the latest report from the University of Connecticut’s Center for Economic Analysis. State government needs to invest more heavily in high-technology, cutting-edge projects particularly by overhauling “moribund” research and development tax credits to underwrite […]

Legislation requiring most Connecticut employers to provide paid sick leave narrowly cleared its first hurdle Thursday when the Labor and Public Employees approved it by a 6-5 vote. The Democrat-controlled panel adopted the bill over Republican objections in a vote largely along party lines. The only defection involved Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, who backed […]

NEW LONDON–A predominantly blue-collar audience urged Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Wednesday night to spare them from his proposed tax hikes–among the largest in state history–and pressed the governor instead to seek more revenue from the rich and major concessions from state employees. The crowd of more than 300 that packed the Jennings Middle School gymnasium […]