WASHINGTON – As the hours tick down toward Puerto Rico’s default on a massive debt payment Sunday, Congress has so far rejected solutions offered by Connecticut lawmakers and some Republican leaders to save the commonwealth from economic ruin.
News
Posted inEducation, Justice
House overwhelmingly adopts affirmative-consent bill
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill late Thursday that requires colleges and universities in Connecticut to use a standard of “affirmative consent” when developing policies on sexual assault.
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut Senate debates, for a while, a $12 minimum wage
The leader of the Connecticut Senate introduced a surprise measure Thursday to raise the hourly minimum wage to $12 by Jan. 1, 2020, only to retreat in the face of an immediate Republican filibuster and a cool reception by the House of Representatives.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Blumenthal leads bipartisan Senate effort to reform VA
WASHINGTON — With continuing scandals at the nation’s veterans’ hospitals, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and a Republican colleague introduced a sweeping new bill Thursday aimed at protecting whistleblowers and speeding the firing of bad actors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
House blocks bill prompted by Niagara, MDC bottling issue
Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, conceded the failure Thursday of an effort to pass a bill that would have regulated but not prohibit a plan by Niagara Bottling to bottle up to 1.8 million gallons of Metropolitan District Commission water a day in Bloomfield.
Posted inPolitics
Rep. Geraldo Reyes, Jr. takes office — just in time for budget mess
Geraldo Reyes Jr., the winner of a special election Tuesday, took the oath of office Thursday as the state representative from the 75th House District of Waterbury, arriving in time help make difficult budget choices.
Posted inEducation, Health, Money, Politics
Legislators send Malloy an invitation and a proposed fiscal plan
A week after suspending budget talks with the administration, the Democratic leaders of the General Assembly offered an olive branch and a proposal for a new fiscal plan Thursday to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
Posted inEducation
Students now picking up half the bill for CT’s public colleges
Connecticut’s public colleges and universities turned to tuition hikes more than any other state between 2014 and 2015 to cover their budget deficits, according to a report released this week by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association.
Posted inHealth
Yeah, CT health care costs are high, but which ones are highest?
The amount paid for a cesarean childbirth and newborn care in the hospital, for example, averaged $20,107 in Connecticut – 26 percent above the national average of $15,917, according to data based on claims paid by three private insurance companies. But costs also ranged within the state, averaging $20,773 in the Bridgeport area, $19,715 in the Hartford region, and $18,915 in and around New Haven.
Posted inJustice
House conservatives lose battle to block domestic violence law
By a surprisingly strong vote, the House of Representatives overcame tenacious opposition from conservatives Wednesday night to pass and send to the Senate a bill requiring gun owners to surrender their firearms within 24 hours of being served with a temporary restraining order in domestic violence cases. The fight had drawn the notice of the White House.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Senate passes bill limiting doctor non-compete agreements
The Senate passed a proposal Wednesday to limit non-compete clauses in physician contracts and broaden the types of organizations that can employ doctors, a measure intended to address concerns among Senate leaders about doctors’ ability to remain in independent practice or return to it after joining a hospital system.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT may entice businesses to pay more taxes — voluntarily
Majority Democratic legislators want Connecticut to invite businesses to pay more taxes — voluntarily — next spring — in exchange for a contractually guaranteed tax break down the road, according to several sources within the House and Senate Democratic caucuses.
Posted inPolitics
Geraldo Reyes Jr. declared winner in Waterbury special election
Geraldo Reyes, Jr., was declared the winner Wednesday of a special election to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Rep. Victor Cuevas, D-Waterbury, the secretary of the state’s office said.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Esty asks feds for money to combat lead in tainted CT water systems
WASHINGTON – Connecticut does not have the type of water problems that are harming Flint, Mich., but staff cutbacks in the state’s drinking water monitoring program – in addition to problems and incidents of lead-tainted water in some state water systems – have prompted U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty to ask the federal government for help.
Posted inPolitics
Fiorina keynote speaker for a CT GOP that went big for Trump
Carly Fiorina was announced nine days ago as the keynote speaker of the Connecticut GOP’s annual fundraiser, the Prescott Bush Awards Dinner. She signed on Wednesday to the stop-Trump movement as Ted Cruz’s running mate, less than 24 hours after Donald J. Trump won the Connecticut primary in a landslide.