The prospect of tapping Connecticut’s emergency budget reserve for the first time in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s tenure loomed larger Wednesday. Facing deficit forecasts ranging up to $191 million for the current fiscal year, the administration mustered emergency cuts of less than $14 million to offset that problem.
As deficit options dwindle, Malloy may be staring at a rainy day
Posted inMoney
Lembo: Time to fix worsening state budget deficit is now
State Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo agreed Wednesday with nonpartisan analysts that the budget deficit is worse than Gov. Dannel P. Malloy administration is projecting. But while Lembo also urged the governor and legislature “proceed without delay” to reduce the shortfall, his $172.8 million deficit forecast falls just short of the level that would compel the governor to prepare a deficit-mitigation plan.
Posted inNews
F-35 program facing new challenges
WASHINGTON – Lockheed Martin, maker of the F-35, whose engines are produced by Pratt & Whitney, recently held a glitzy reception in the atrium of the Rayburn House Office Building, complete with a buffet and the chance to “fly” the F-35 in a cockpit simulator, to press home a point — don’t cut funding for the program. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter faces a host of challenges.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut’s SBAC testing will bring an egregious contradiction
Generalizations like “efficiency,” “accountability,” and “reliability” have been used time and again to describe the benefits of standardized tests. SBAC is no different. However, before Connecticut lawmakers authorize SBAC testing in Connecticut, they should understand what those terms mean for the parents, teachers, and, most significantly, students who will, day in, day out, live with the realities these terms eschew.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut lawmakers should pass comprehensive charter school reform
Connecticut children need new, high-quality school options, and Connecticut taxpayers need an updated charter law that ensures those schools are well run and successfully monitored. We encourage the General Assembly to focus on passing comprehensive charter authorizing reform that implements all of the policies above – but to leave the moratorium on the cutting room floor.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
House Democrats step off on long, difficult road to a state budget
Majority Democrats in the House of Representatives tried Tuesday afternoon to get their arms around the daunting deficits facing state finances. But after two hours behind closed doors, they left still trying.
Posted inMoney
Malloy’s big ask: Find $100 billion for transportation
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy named a group Tuesday to identify means to pay for a 30-year, $100 billion effort to modernize and maintain Connecticut’s transportation infrastructure. He gave them a late summer deadline, meaning he is unlikely to place a funding plan before the legislature until a special session this fall or the 2016 regular session.
Posted inHealth
Mental health cuts threaten treatment system, providers say
Mental health and substance abuse treatment providers say they’re planning to limit access to programs if a proposed $25.5 million cut to grant funding goes through. A recent analysis by the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services says even with more insured clients, the providers will only be able to make up a fraction of the proposed grant cuts. But the governor’s budget director said funding those grants is “a luxury that we can’t afford right now.”
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Anguish for her loss, but no support for assisted suicide
Let’s spend our scarce state resources improving access to modern palliative care techniques, increasing funding for home health-care aides and research into treatments that will improve care for the elderly, not fulfill suicide fantasies.
Posted inPolitics
Campaign finance reform left for high-level negotiations
The Senate Democratic majority’s leadership yielded Monday to a toothless compromise on the question of capping the unlimited expenditures the state parties now can make on General Assembly races in Connecticut. The compromise: a $250,000 cap that wouldn’t have meant a difference in any campaign last year.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy keeps heat on Pence in gay rights controversy
Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, the incoming chairman of the Democratic National Governors Association, poured fuel Monday on the gay rights controversy engulfing Republican Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana. He banned state-funded travel to a state now slated to host the women’s Final Four next year.
Posted inPolitics
CT Mirror/AARP Google Hangout: Banning variable electric rates
Connecticut’s consumer counsel, the Senate co-chairman of the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee, and the AARP’s director of advocacy explained their proposed ban on variable electric rates for residential customers in The Connecticut Mirror’s first Google Hangout of the 2015 session.
Posted inHealth
Delphin-Rittmon promoted to lead mental health department
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has named a clinical psychologist with experience working in state and federal mental health agencies to lead the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
Posted inHealth
The special Obamacare sign-up period: What you need to know
The deadline to sign up for private insurance under the federal health law this year is long past, but some state residents who are currently uninsured will have a 30-day window to sign up for plans during April — if they meet certain criteria. Here are the details.
Posted inAnnouncements
Today’s launch: Welcome Trend CT and CT Viewpoints to The Mirror family
The Connecticut News Project, Inc., welcomes two new offerings today for its growing audience — Trend CT, which will focus on public-interest data, and CT Viewpoints, an opinion forum.