After stalling out during the regular legislative season, Gov. Dannel Malloy’s proposal for a Second Chance Society is awaiting action by the General Assembly later this week. Among other things, the governor asked for the elimination of bail bonds for misdemeanor offenses and that 18- to 20-years be tried as juveniles — an idea that engendered both support and opposition. The governor has now dropped the age adjustment idea as a political compromise, but a long list of witnesses provided testimony both for and against the idea during a Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this year. Here are some excerpts from witnesses on the age issue and the bail legislation as well:
Legislative witnesses hold forth on how old a juvenile should be
Posted inPolitics
DNC delegates picked with eye toward diversity and loyalty
A postscript to Connecticut’s Democratic presidential primary played out Tuesday in caucuses to select 36 delegates to Democratic National Convention on the basis of gender, race, sexual orientation and pledges of loyalty to Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.
Posted inNews
Malloy vetoes first bill of 2016
The first bill vetoed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in 2016 is Senate Bill 302, An Act Concerning the Impact of Proposed Regulations on Small Businesses. In a veto message delivered Tuesday, Malloy said he supports the concept, but the bill was overly broad and burdensome to state agencies.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Malloy bows to legislature, narrows ‘Second Chance’ to bail
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy publicly acknowledged Tuesday what has been increasingly clear: The only portion of his “Second Chance” criminal justice reforms with a chance of passage in special session this week is a provision eliminating bail for minor crimes. Legislators effectively set a deadline of Thursday for agreeing on the parameters of a bail measure.
Posted inEducation
Charter school enrollment set to rise
More students than ever are about to have the chance to enroll in charter schools in Connecticut. The State Board of Education is expected to sign off Wednesday on increasing enrollment at these schools by 4 percent next school year.
Posted inMoney
Pew report: CT deep in debt, even considering its high income
Even weighed against Connecticut’s high per capita income, the state’s bonded debt and unfunded retirement benefits outrank most other states’, according to a new analysis by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Posted inHealth
Opioid epidemic fueling hospitalizations, hospital costs
Every day, headlines detail the casualties of the nation’s surge in heroin and prescription painkiller abuse: the funerals, the broken families and the patients cycling in and out of treatment. Now, a new study sheds light on another repercussion — how this public health problem is adding to the nation’s ballooning health care costs and who’s shouldering that burden.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
A day to stop, remember… and ask an important question
I took this photo with my Instamatic on Oct. 15, 1969. I was in Hartford at the anti-war demonstration known as the Vietnam Moratorium. That day, 90,000 peoples joined protests around Connecticut to stop what they were doing and concentrate on the enormous costs of the U.S. war in Southeast Asia. There was no business as usual that day, for millions of people around the country.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Bond panel OK’s $22M for hedge fund expansion; Lembo votes no
The State Bond Commission approved $22 million in financing to help one of the nation’s largest hedge funds expand in Fairfield County. But Democratic state Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo joined with a prominent Republican state representative to oppose assistance for Westport-based Bridgewater Associates.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Malloy’s new budgeting system is hurting children and families
When he released his budget back in February, Gov. Dannel Malloy announced what sounded like a simple accounting change: Connecticut would no longer use “current services” estimates when building its budget each year. The change may sound technical, but it has a real, harmful effect on funding for state programs that serve children and families.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut’s budget priorities couldn’t be more backwards
I want to make structural changes to the way our government runs this state, because it’s our prized community at home that’s suffering. The way our businesses and schools are being treated is not acceptable. This is not the reality that our taxpayers deserve; I won’t accept another deficit in six months, and I wouldn’t expect you to accept one either.
Posted inEducation
UConn shifts toward more fiscal transparency
The university’s practice of barring the public from budget discussions ended this week – and other changes are in the works that will make the fiscal habits of UConn and its fund-raising foundation more transparent.
Posted inEducation
UConn and UConn Health pitch $50 million in budget increases
But UConn said there would still be pain because it would have had to increase spending more to maintain current services and provide pay raises.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Murphy presses for action on mental health bill despite obstacles
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chris Murphy and Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana have bipartisan support for a bill that would reform the nation’s mental health system and are pressing for Senate action on the legislation. But they are facing hurdles common to those who push for change on Capitol Hill.
Posted inNews
Senate appropriators OK federal funds for Coast Guard museum
WASHINGTON — Senate appropriators for the first time on Thursday approved federal funding for efforts to build a Coast Guard museum on New London’s waterfront. Although the money, $5 million, is a small fraction of the projected $100 million cost of the museum, supporters hailed the move.