Taxes owed to Hartford on two cars owned by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy are listed in arrears, a subject of some gleeful emails among tax collectors opposed to Malloy’s plan to end the Department of Motor Vehicles’ role as a municipal debt collector. The bill was due Jan. 1. Malloy paid the bill on one car when told Tuesday night it was overdue. The other car has been sold.
Um, governor, about your car taxes…
Posted inCT Viewpoints
A budget built on the bones of Connecticut’s youth
Rationality devoid of humanity often masks cruelty. “I was only following orders,” is a problematic justification. Which brings me to Gov. Dannel Malloy’s proposed budget and the disproportionate gutting of behavioral health services in Connecticut. This in the midst of an epidemic of heroin and opioid abuse and an unprecedented number of overdose deaths.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Change to hospital regulation again looms – but direction unclear
As hospitals join larger systems and critics worry about access to care, a key legislator said the time is ripe for lawmakers to revisit the way the state regulates major changes in health care. But it’s not yet clear what shape such changes will take – or whether they would leave the state with more regulation or less, a sign of sharply differing views on its role.
Posted inMoney
A governor’s search for fiscal ‘balance’ on the road
On Sunday night, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was seated at a table with the president at the White House, where he is appreciated for pushing criminal justice reforms the Justice Department would like to implement on a broader scale. On Tuesday night, he was at a high school in New Haven, listening to complaints about the shrinking reach of state government.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
State budget panel sends mixed message on raises for UConn professionals
Despite huge looming state budget deficits, the legislature’s Appropriations Committee sent a mixed message Tuesday on a contract granting University of Connecticut non-teaching professionals annual raises ranging from 3 to 4.5 percent over the next five years.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal blasts GOP refusal to hold hearing for Supreme Court nominee
WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s blasted GOP senators on Tuesday because they said they won’t hold a confirmation hearing for any candidate for the Supreme Court that President Obama selects.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
CT Senate bill 175 stifles parents’ right to dissent on standardized testing
There is no rational explanation to support SB 175, a newly-proposed bill with the innocuous title “An Act Concerning Recommendations of the Department of Education”. There is no excuse for elected officials to take away a citizen’s right to peacefully protest and dissent. Vote NO on SB 175!
Posted inPolitics
Cable, satellite TV balk at paying for new ‘civic network’
The cable and satellite television industries are lining up against a proposal for a new State Civic Network that would provide unprecedented cable and streaming video access to the legislature, courts and other aspects of public life in Connecticut. Their customers would pay for the new network, though proponents say it could cost as little as 40 cents per subscriber.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Governors ask for money, share strategies to combat opioid crisis
WASHINGTON — The nation’s governors have pressed the federal government for money to help them combat the opioid abuse and heroin addiction that has resulted in a spike of overdoses and strained state public health systems. They also shared with the Obama administration and each other policies they’ve implemented to confront the crisis.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
UConn contract seems iffy as Appropriations vote nears
On the eve of a critical legislative committee vote, some members of the Democratic majority were still undecided on whether to approve a five-year salary contract for 1,900 University of Connecticut employees.
Posted inEducation
Program that trains teachers for hard-to-fill slots faces big cut
With hundreds of students in low-performing districts already being taught by a revolving door of substitute teachers because schools cannot find enough qualified teachers, the state’s largest producer of teachers in high-need subject areas might have to close its summer program.
Posted inHealth
About 8,000 CT exchange customers didn’t pay first bill
About 8,000 people who signed up for coverage through Connecticut’s health insurance exchange missed the deadline for their first payment and lost coverage, exchange CEO Jim Wadleigh said Monday.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Legislators, stop using the disabled as a fiscal punching bag!
There is no honor in how the state has disrespected persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities(IDD). Their plight is dire. With the last rescission, the IDD population since 2013 has lost nearly $100 million from its agency — the Department of Developmental Services(DDS).
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut needs a rational, fair, school funding system
Three weeks ago, in his sixth State of the State Address, Gov. Dannel Malloy laid out his five “budget principles” and called for a “more predictable, more sustainable, and more transparent” Connecticut budget that “prioritizes funding for core services.” Rightfully, one of the core services Malloy listed was public education. However, for Connecticut to prioritize education and achieve the governor’s budgetary goals, the state must fundamentally change the way it funds its public schools.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Is a last-minute budget the only one sure to be balanced?
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy challenged legislators recently to break their bad habit of resolving the new state budget in the waning hours of the General Assembly session. But while legislative leaders recognized that last week as a laudable goal, they also said that — if recent history is any guide — an early finish could produce a budget that is unbalanced before the next fiscal year even begins.