News

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal issued a legal opinion today that does nothing to diminish the questions surrounding Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz’s qualifications for attorney general. Blumenthal said that a state law requiring that the state attorney general have “at least 10 years’ active practice of law” is constitutional, but he declined to clarify […]

Companies, organizations and others hoping to influence government decisions spent $38.6 million lobbying, said a report released on the eve on the 2010 legislative session – $1 million less than was spent the previous year, but $11.2 million more than the year before passage of a state law barring campaign contributions by lobbyists. In 2009, […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell is again calling on the legislature to expand her budget-cutting authority as the state’s financial mess continues. “I am reiterating my call to give not just this governor but all who will follow me expanded authority to make budget rescissions,” Rell said. In recent months, Rell cut $67.2 million from the […]

A group of Democratic lawmakers laid out their recommendations to create jobs and jumpstart the economy the day before the legislature convenes. The plan – compiled from input from business owners, economists and legislators – recommends the state bond $12 million for “high-potential entrepreneurs”, create a tax credit for those investing in start-up companies, use […]

As Connecticut spends millions of dollars a year to meet a court desegregation order by building and running racially-integrated magnet schools, parents like Iraida Sanchez of Hartford would be happy with a far less expensive alternative. Year after year, Sanchez has put her son Nathaniel’s name in a lottery. She is not aiming for one […]

Tom Foley is OK with the minimum wage. Just don’t ask him to endorse paid sick days, health mandates, tax increases or other policies that he says hobble the Connecticut economy. In a far-ranging interview, Foley discussed gay marriage, abortion, gun control and the death penalty, but the early front-runner for the Republican gubernatorial nomination […]

Sen. Gary D. LeBeau, D-East Hartford, ended his gubernatorial explorations today. “With deep regret and strong sense of achievement, I am ending my bid for the Democratic nomination for Governor,” he said in an email. “I thank you and my many supporters who have given me encouragement, advice, time and donations over the past 12 […]

State Comptroller Nancy S. Wyman said today that the estimated budget deficit for 2010 rose by $1.7 mllion last month to $515 million. “While revenues are showing some signs of stabilizing, virtually every tax category is still down from where it was last year at this time,” Wyman said. Sales tax revenue was off 7.3 […]

Senate Democrats Monday proposed a package of measures to help small businesses, funded by a tax on employee bonuses over $1 million paid by companies that received federal bailout money last year. Among the proposals for small businesses: Eliminate the $250 business entity tax for small businesses, create a small business loan fund and hold […]

The retirement incentive program offered state employees last year may have cut payroll costs, but it put even more pressure on the strained pension system. One hundred and ten state employees retired with pensions of at least $100,000 last year, boosting by one-third the number retirees with six-figure state pensions. They were led by 66-year-old […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell will deliver her budget proposal on Wednesday, re-igniting a debate over what the state can afford as it looks ahead to several more years of difficult times. But the debate begins with Connecticut tightly constrained by the commitments of previous governors and legislatures. If the state fired every employee, closed every […]

NEW HAVEN — In public education circles in Connecticut, Alex Johnston has not always been a welcome guest. As head of the New Haven-based school reform group Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN), Johnston often rankled the public school establishment with his blunt criticism of schools he believes are failing to educate the state’s poorest […]

Text messaging while driving may soon be illegal if Gov. M. Jodi Rell has her way. Rell said Saturday she plans to submit legislation that will expand current law that forbids drivers from talking on their cell phones without a hands-free device to include prohibiting sending text messages as well. “Over and over again we […]

Lobbyists and legislators debate if a ban on campaign contributions has lessened the influence of lobbyists at the Capitol. One thing is undisputed: It hasn’t hurt their bottom line. The top-ten lobbying firms grossed $17.5 million in 2008, up $3.7 million since the ban passed in 2005. Gaffney Bennett & Associates, the perennial top earner, […]

Young workers are leaving Connecticut at alarming rates, in part because of the lack of affordable housing. But House Majority Leader Denise W. Merrill and the chairman of the state’s Planning and Development Committee Brendan J. Sharkey said Wednesday the state can and should do only so much to address the problem. “There’s no money. […]