Connecticut is one of 21 states counting on Congress to approve billions in emergency health care aid for next year – and lacking any back-up plan if the funding doesn’t come through, according to a new report from the National Conference of State Legislatures. And a senior policy specialist for the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group […]

Veteran state Rep. Arthur J. O’Neill of Southbury announced this afternoon he would seek the Republican nomination for state attorney general, jumping into the race one day before the opening of this weekend’s Republican State Convention. O’Neill, 58, who co-chaired the bipartisan House Committee appointed in 2004 to consider impeachment charges against then-Gov. John G. […]

The projected state budget surplus has crept slightly higher to nearly $167 million with less than six weeks left in the fiscal year, Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s office announced this afternoon. The Office of Policy and Management reported in its monthly letter to Comptroller Nancy Wyman that the $18.64 billion budget for 2009-10 now stands […]

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz’s bid to become Connecticut’s next attorney general was dashed Tuesday when the state Supreme Court ruled she doesn’t meet the legal requirements to serve in that office. The ruling ended the Bysiewicz campaign for attorney general just three days before the Democratic State Convention, apparently throwing the nomination to […]

For Sale: Armory building, 87 years old, brick exterior, just off of Main Street in Manchester. Estimated value: $2.8 million. If interested, call the state of Connecticut. Not looking for an armory? The state has more than 260 other properties on the market according to an administration report prepared in February, including: juvenile detention facilities […]

The Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz does not meet the minimum statutory qualifications to serve as attorney general. The ruling ends the Bysiewicz campaign for attorney general just four days before the Democratic State Convention, apparently throwing the nomination to the remaining Democrat in the race, George Jepsen. The […]

Despite a warning that the state employee “whistleblower” process is inefficient and unable to promptly review a growing backlog of cases, the General Assembly failed to adopt several proposals from its chief investigative and policy review panel. But the co-chairmen of the Program Review and Investigations Committee said recently they would re-introduce their plan in […]

Though motorists could be seeing some modest relief at the pumps by Memorial Day, the gradual rise in oil prices over the past year has gasoline marketers and retailers pressing for new safeguards against price gouging – by both private corporations and state government. Associations representing 560 petroleum marketers and 450 gasoline station owners recently […]

The state auditors recently suggested reconvening the Connecticut Progress Council, a “permanent” fiscal accountability agency that stopped functioning after issuing one report 14 years ago. A second panel charged in the early 1990s with finding $10 million in annual state budget savings through efficiencies “never met or filed annual reports,” according to another report from […]

Connecticut’s retired teachers are worried that if trends in the latest state budget are any indication, they might be the next group called upon to balance government finances in the near future. A subpanel of the state Association of Retired Teachers’ met with key legislators in Farmington this week, warning that it believes the state […]

The newly adopted state budget counts on a $100 million cut to the employee pension fund contribution, a savings that’s allowed if revenues slip by $300 million. There’s only one problem: That same budget doesn’t project any revenue loss. In fact, it expects revenues to run nearly $72 million higher than the level assumed in the preliminary 2010-11 budget […]

Democratic State Rep. Tom Reynolds of Ledyard announced late today that he would seek his party’s nomination for state comptroller if incumbent Nancy Wyman opts to become the running mate of Democratic gubernatorial contender Dan Malloy. Reynolds, 43, said he would confirm his plans after Malloy’s 11 a.m. press conference Tuesday at the Capitol, at […]

The state legislature balanced the next budget before it adjourned, but some major proposals to build new fiscal safeguards into the appropriations processed died when the session ended last week. Lawmakers declined to act on proposals to increase by 50 percent the maximum budget reserve – commonly known as the Rainy Day Fund –  that […]

The top Democrats in the General Assembly are the-glass-is-half-full kind of guys, at least when it comes to fiscal matters. Sure there’s a deficit looming 14 months down the road, they said, but by working in harmony with Gov. M. Jodi Rell, they closed budget deficits for this fiscal year and next. What’s one more? […]

Major state tax increases may be in the cards next year given the massive deficit projections, but that doesn’t mean the General Assembly is ready to think about it now. A controversial bill to order a sweeping study of Connecticut’s state and municipal tax network died on the Senate calendar Wednesday as the 2010 session’s […]