A new $10 million grant for the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, approved Thursday – without going through the legislature and despite a state budget deficit – sparked new questions about its legality and fairness.
Money
Stories about Connecticut’s budget, the federal budget, jobs and employment, state investments and casinos.
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U.S. House approves terrorism risk insurance
Washington – To the relief of the property and casualty insurance industry, the House on Wednesday approved legislation that would reauthorize a program that serves as a backstop for insurers when they are faced with large claims resulting from a terrorist attack.
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Malloy outlines transit goals, puts off cost for another day
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy opened his second term Wednesday with a warning of a sclerotic Connecticut whose economy and quality of life are threatened by crumbling and clogged highways and inadequate and underfunded mass transit. The solution will be expensive, but how expensive was a topic for another day.
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Malloy gets two extra weeks to solve next budget deficit
Despite insisting throughout the campaign that state government really wasn’t facing a deficit next year, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy asked for and received legislative approval Wednesday to postpone his next budget presentation by two weeks until Feb. 18.
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Fiscal issues in forefront as Malloy, legislators start new terms
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is to focus on how to modernize the state’s aging web of highways, bridges and railroads in a State of the State Address as he begins his second term today, but he and the General Assembly will be facing significant fiscal challenges in 2015. An overview of the key issues confronting the 2015 legislative session.
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Lembo wants state to save more for those rainy days
Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo intends to change state government’s saving habits with a new reserve system that takes into account Connecticut’s lucrative-yet-volatile relationship with Wall Street.
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Administrator Susan Weisselberg named governor’s deputy budget director
An administrator for the New Haven public school system will become the new deputy budget director for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy later this month. Susan Weisselberg, who also has served as chief legal counsel to the state House Democratic Caucus, will succeed Karen Buffkin as deputy secretary of the Office of Policy and Management on Jan. 26.
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With ‘lockboxes’ for toll receipts, there are lots of ways to pick the lock
Though Gov. Dannel P. Malloy would consider restoring tolls if Connecticut creates a legal “lockbox” to ensure receipts are spent on transportation, other states’ have struggled to keep their “boxes” locked. And because Connecticut’s transportation program relies on many sources for funding, guarantees to protect toll receipts might mean little if other sources are diverted.
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Lembo reports CT budget deficit shrinks to $32M
The state budget deficit shrank modestly over the past month to $32 million, Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo reported Friday. But the state’s chief fiscal watchdog also noted that the deficit would have been larger were the budget not bolstered somewhat by borrowing that has become increasingly controversial in recent years.
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Malloy keeps options open on tolls for Connecticut highways
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy tried to give himself more flexibility Monday to re-establish tolls, warning he would force a Capitol debate in 2015 on the costs necessary to upgrade the state’s long-neglected transportation network. And while the governor insisted on the campaign trail last fall that two conditions must be met for tolls to be considered, he abandoned one – a precipitous drop in federal transportation funding – on Monday.
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Expert has idea that could lessen federal taxes for CT taxpayers
Connecticut’s low- and middle-income households could pay tens of millions of dollars less in federal taxes each year while state officials simultaneously gain access to a wealth of new economic data. But for that to happen, according to one of the state’s leading economists, Connecticut officials first take a fiscal leap of faith – and repeal arguably the state’s most popular tax break.
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The Mirror’s 3rd Podcast: Taxes, social services and a big budget deficit
Connecticut Mirror Budget Reporter Keith Phaneuf discusses the state budget, taxes and social services with Sen. Beth Bye, co-chair of the Connecticut legislature’s budget writing panel.
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So far, few bet on adding gaming sites
Since Mohegan tribal leaders declared their interest six weeks ago in offering casino games at a new site, state officials responses have ranged from negative to lukewarm. But if the concept is to get even a public hearing this spring, someone at the Capitol is going to have to step up and champion the issue, according to the leader of the legislative panel with jurisdiction over gaming issues.
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Senate’s failure to act on terrorism risk insurance roils industry
WASHINGTON – Insurers like The Hartford and Travelers are contemplating what to do following the U.S. Senate’s failure to approve a federal backstop for coverage the insurers offer businesses to protect them from a terrorist attack.
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Leonardi to step down as Connecticut Innovations CEO
The top executive as Connecticut’s quasi-public economic development agency, Claire Leonardi, will step down next month, the board of directors for Connecticut Innovations announced Thursday.
