Former Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr., who drove the adoption of the state income tax as one of the chief solutions to state government’s fiscal crisis in 1991, will make a rare public appearance later this month to discuss how he would resolve Connecticut’s current economic woes. Weicker, a three-term U.S. senator who was elected […]

State officials recently got their first glimpse of the cost of escaping a pay-as-you-go health insurance program for retired workers, and it wasn’t pretty. But on a long-term basis, the state’s health care consultants said, it’s far less expensive the the current practice of paying the bills out-of-pocket. A preliminary analysis issued last week to […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed a bill today that would have created a new commission within the Office of Policy and Management to review state sentencing policies. The governor argued the legislature’s Judiciary Committee already performs this function, and that the bill would have required an extra $130,000 in spending to provide salaries and benefits […]

Connecticut may be headed for the largest budget deficit in its history in just 13 months, but some consumers will actually be enjoying a state tax cut later this summer. Thanks to a drop in the world price of crude oil and a relatively new system for calculating tax rates, the levy on diesel fuel […]

Though Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s administration hasn’t had much success to date selling surplus property to balance the budget, the General Assembly is planning to all-but-give some away later this month to help out their districts back home. But House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, and Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, […]

State government’s standing on Wall Street took a hit today when one of the three major credit rating agencies lowered Connecticut’s bond rating, citing the state’s repeated efforts to close budget deficits through borrowing, rather than spending cuts or tax hikes. But the downgrade by Fitch Ratings Services should not have much of an effect […]

Proposals to close prisons and speed up inmate releases have become increasingly popular in recent years as state officials grapple with continuing budget deficits of massive proportions. But while Connecticut’s inmate population has receded from the record mark of nearly 20,000 two years ago, research from criminal justice planners says the number of prisoners the […]

State government’s credit card still carries a large balance, but it’s no longer on pace to shatter its limit. That’s due to dozens of projects being scrapped and modest revenue growth that expanded Connecticut’s borrowing capacity. According to new estimates from state Treasurer Denise L. Nappier, the state will enter the new fiscal year on […]

Despite hopes for an early resolution, state officials are still waiting to to see whether Congress will provide more than $360 million in extra stimulus aid – money already built into the new state budget. A major stimulus expansion bill advanced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday – but only after being stripped […]

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman certified a $166.9 million surplus this afternoon for the fiscal year that ends on June 30. The latest monthly figure, up $61.9 million from the comptroller’s May forecast, also stands $27.6 million above the surplus target the legislature and Gov. M. Jodi Rell are counting on to help balance spending in […]

State legislators enthusiastically touted more than $220 million in projected tax revenue growth as a sign that Connecticut’s economy is on its way back from the worst downturn since the Great Depression. But while that $220 million helped the Democrat-controlled General Assembly and outgoing Gov. M. Jodi Rell balance their last budget without tax increases, […]

When Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr. tried to put the best face on the majority Democrats’ work in the 2010 General Assembly session, he took aim at a criticism leveled by Republican gubernatorial contender Tom Foley. Foley’s oft-stated charge that state government is “broke and broken” has been “blown out of the water,” Williams […]

If Republican attorney general candidates Arthur J. O’Neill and Ross Garber qualify for a primary at today’s GOP State Convention, it might depend on how much coffee they can pump into their supporters. Delegates, already weary from the opening day battle over the U.S. Senate nomination that wasn’t resolved until after 11 p.m., streamed into […]

Former state Rep. Lenny T. Winkler of Groton jumped into the race for lieutenant governor this morning at the Republican State Convention, saying she was asked to do so by gubernatorial contender Tom Foley. The front-runner among GOP gubernatorial candidates in the last Quinnipiac poll, Foley had surprised some political observers by coming into this […]