Majority Democrats proposed a one-year cap Monday on the state’s escalating wholesale fuel tax — but set it to expire one day before one of the largest fuel tax increases in state history is set to kick in. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate pledged to consider extending the cap beyond June 2013, but […]
News
Posted inHealth
Without federal law, some pieces of health reform could continue in Connecticut
Connecticut officials are working to create a new health insurance market that will open next year, hire a CEO to run it and prepare for an influx of new Medicaid recipients by 2014. In effect, they’re racing to implement a law that might not exist for long, at least in its current form.
Posted inNews
Sen. Blumenthal, remember Mr. Bechard? You sued him.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal attended a news conference Monday to support a bill promoted by anti-prostitution crusader Raymond Bechard — the same man Blumenthal sued as attorney general over allegations of charities fraud in 2009. Was Blumenthal unaware of the connection? Or, as Bechard suggested, did the senator’s presence signify that the still-pending lawsuit was […]
Posted inHealth
“Inconvenient truths” and the politics of health reform
It’s a big couple of weeks for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The federal health reform law turns 2 on Friday, days before the U.S. Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments on a challenge to the act.
Posted inHealth
Wethersfield nursing home lays off 74
The operator of a Wethersfield nursing home has laid off 74 workers and cut the hours of another 44. The number of residents at Wethersfield Health Care Center has fallen to 92, down from 182 last fall, shortly before the home’s operator, HealthBridge Management, announced that it was seeking to close the facility. The state […]
Posted inEducation
Connecticut is ready for changes in its education system
Senate Bill 24, the education reform bill put forward by Governor Malloy, is now under consideration in the Education Committee. Plenty of folks around the state have weighed in with their opinions about where the bill doesn’t go far enough, where it goes too far, and everything in between. We know that Connecticut residents – […]
Posted inNews
Watchdogs worried clean elections fund could run dry in next race for governor
Connecticut’s public financing program for state elections has “adequate resources” to fund this year’s legislative campaigns, according to a new report released Friday from the state’s chief elections watchdogs. But the State Elections Enforcement Commission warned that due to fiscal raids, the Citizens’ Election Fund could come up short in 2014, when races for governor […]
Posted inNews
A gentle evening at the Bushnell with Bill Clinton
Hartford — Bill Clinton returned Friday night to the Bushnell stage, where he debated Bob Dole in 1996 on the way to an easy victory for a second term in the White House. “We were civil, and we committed what I think would be mass heresy today,” said Clinton, a guest of the 20-year-old public-speaking […]
Posted inNews
DeLauro’s clout in Washington to be more important to Connecticut
Washington — Californian Lois Capps was a congressman’s wife and new to Washington some years ago when she decided to attend a National Cancer Institute briefing. At the briefing, Capps was struck by one animated, impassioned speaker. It was Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, describing her experience with ovarian cancer and the importance of cancer research. […]
Posted inEducation
Pryor, CEA huddle in LOB cafe
State Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor was huddled at lunch in the Legislative Office Building cafeteria today with the leadership of the Connecticut Education Association and a senior aide to House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan. They did not appear to be reviewing their NCAA brackets. The mood was light, despite the increasingly rancorous tone of Gov. […]
Posted inNews
Malloy delivers dig over rewrite of his liquor reforms
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy offered a modest dig Friday at the General Law Committee over its intention to revise his liquor reform bill and keep minimum-pricing laws on the books. “I am pro-consumer,” Malloy said. “Sometimes I get disappointed there aren’t more pro-consumer advocates on this issue and others in state government.” But Malloy was […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Sophomore jinx for hard-charging CT, NY governors?
We explained earlier this week how Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is having a more challenging time with the Connecticut legislature in his second year. Today, the New York Times tells us that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is having a more challenging time with the New York legislature in his second year. The Times piece is notable […]
Posted inNews
Bill to allow public boards more discretion to meet privately hits a snag
A proposal to give public agencies greater discretion to meet in closed sessions with their attorneys has fallen into political limbo at the Capitol. The legislature’s Government Administration and Elections Committee, which originally raised the bill and scheduled a public hearing on the measure, suspended the latter and may not reschedule it in the face […]
Posted inNews
Donovan’s minimum-wage compromise: $8.75, not $9
House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, backed away Thursday from his proposal to raise the minimum wage by 75 cents on July 1, a month before his expected primary for the congressional nomination in the 5th District. With Donovan’s consent, the Labor and Public Employees Committee voted 8-3 for a revised bill that would raise […]
Posted inHealth
Middlesex, UnitedHealthcare contract up April 1
Middlesex Hospital and UnitedHealthcare have until April 1 to reach a new contract agreement before becoming the latest hospital and insurer to sever ties in the state. Representatives for both say they’re working toward a settlement, but if the two sides fail to reach an agreement, the Middletown hospital could be out of UnitedHealthcare’s network, […]