Connecticut Republicans open their two-day state nominating convention Friday afternoon at Foxwoods Resort Casino, where Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and Tim Herbst arrive as the consensus leaders in a field of gubernatorial contenders that just shrank by one: New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart is seeking the nomination for lieutenant governor.
Politics
Stories about CT politicians, elections, state legislation, the state’s congressional delegation and the impact of federal legislation on Connecticut.
Posted inHealth
Consumers brace for premium hikes while lawmakers grasp at remedies
As some insurers angle for hefty premium hikes and concerns grow that more Americans will wind up uninsured, the federal health law is likely — once again — to play big in both parties’ strategies for the contentious 2018 election.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy delivers a funny farewell in midnight address
With a self-deprecating humor, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy addressed a joint convention of the General Assembly for the last time early Thursday, celebrating accomplishments of the past eight years and wryly acknowledging that he will leave politics as one of the least popular governors in the U.S.
Posted inPolitics
As clock strikes 12, minimum wage among legislative casualties
The General Assembly’s regular session ended Wednesday night without the Democratic legislative leadership delivering on a promised progressive agenda of a livable wage, paid family medical leave and an overhaul of state laws on sexual harassment in the workplace.
Posted inMoney
Legislature overwhelmingly enacts bipartisan CT budget
The legislature overwhelmingly approved a new state budget shortly before their midnight deadline Wednesday that restores aid for towns; reverses health care cuts for the elderly, poor and disabled; and defers a transportation crisis — at least for another year.
Posted inPolitics
Eunice S. Groark dies at 80, lieutenant governor to Weicker
Eunice S. Groark, the first woman in Connecticut to become lieutenant governor, bolting the Republican Party in 1990 with Lowell P. Weicker Jr. to win election as members of the breakaway A Connecticut Party, died Tuesday at the Duncaster retirement community in Bloomfield. She was 80.
Posted inMoney
Collective bargaining, not money, dominates this budget fight
Connecticut’s legislative leaders struggled into the early morning Wednesday in negotiations to resolve what may be the state’s strangest budget fight: It’s not about money.
Posted inPolitics
On bipartisan vote, Connecticut bans bump stocks
The state Senate voted 26 to 10 Tuesday night for final passage of a bill that bans the sale and ownership of bump stocks in Connecticut, joining a growing number of states that have prohibited the rapid-fire rifle accessory used by the Las Vegas shooter who killed 58 people and injured hundreds last October.
Posted inMoney
Bill to limit Hartford bailout faces opposition — from other cities
A compromise measure to effectively end the state’s fiscal bailout of Hartford after five years has stalled in the House — because of opposition from Bridgeport and New Haven.
Posted inEducation, Politics
Holocaust bill gets a vote, and CT House gets a blessing
It was a unique ending to a legislative debate: Rabbi Philip Lazowski, a Holocaust survivor who has watched the rise of a neo-Nazi movement that denies history, blessed the House of Representatives on Monday after it unanimously passed a bill requiring schools to teach a lesson about the Holocaust and other genocides.
Posted inMoney
Fight for $15? Try for $12? It depends on Sen. Joan Hartley.
The most powerful leaders at the State Capitol want to raise Connecticut’s minimum wage. But in a Senate evenly split, the assumption is they need all 18 Democratic senators and the tie-breaking vote of the lieutenant governor. And that means doing business with Sen. Joan V. Hartley, the conservative Democrat with a history frustrating her party’s liberal leaders over issues of taxation, spending, business regulations and, yes, the minimum wage.
Posted inMoney
Aiming for bipartisan deal, Dems add funds for seniors, towns
Trying to avoid a repeat of last year when conservative Democrats defected to support a Republican state budget, Democratic legislative leaders unveiled several proposals Monday aimed at striking a bipartisan compromise. The plan restores funds for municipal aid and for a medication assistance program for seniors and the disabled.
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut commits to national popular vote for president
A decade-long lobbying campaign in Connecticut ended Saturday with a surprisingly strong 21-14 vote by the Senate for final passage of a bill committing the state to an interstate compact intended to sideline the electoral college and elect the president by the popular vote.
Posted inMoney
House leaders won’t block GOP bid to limit Hartford bailout
One day after Connecticut approved a five-year fiscal recovery plan for Hartford, House Democratic leaders said they wouldn’t block a Republican proposal to effectively end the state bailout of the capital city after the upcoming fiscal year.
Posted inPolitics
Women celebrate passage of pay equity, domestic violence bills
By a vote of 35 to 1, the Senate gave final passage Friday night to a pay-equity bill that places Connecticut in the growing ranks of states that bar employers from asking applicants about their pay history, capping a 24-hour whirlwind of bipartisan support for legislation demanded by women at the General Assembly.