Questions about changes to their health coverage are the biggest concern state employees have about the $1.6 billion concession deal between the Malloy Administration and union leaders, workers who attended a closed-door briefing at the State Armory Saturday told reporters afterward. “People are always concerned about change. None of us do change well,” Paul Kalajian […]
State workers say health care concessions are biggest worry
Posted inNews
Wyman breaks tie to get marijuana decriminalization past Senate
Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman used her tie-breaking vote for the first time Saturday to win Senate passage of a bill significantly decreasing the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. The bill, which is backed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, now goes to the House, where its prospects are uncertain. “Time’s running short, we […]
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Senate adopts airport authority bill
The state Senate unanimously approved a measure Saturday creating a new quasi-public authority to operate Bradley International and the state’s five smaller airports. The bill, which would create a new nine-member Connecticut Airport Authority composed of public- and private-sector representatives to replace the existing Bradley Board of Directors, now moves to the House of Representatives. […]
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House passes paid sick days bill after GOP talks 11 hours
One by one, Republicans stood Friday to take turns denouncing the nation’s first state mandate on private employers to offer paid sick days, but they could only delay, not stop, final passage. At 3:01 a.m. today, the House passed the bill, 76 to 65. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, the first Democratic governor in 20 years, […]
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With no GOP votes, Senate gives final passage to transgender bill
The Senate voted 20 to 16 early today for final passage of a bill outlawing discrimination against people who are transgendered, ending a years-long fight in the General Assembly. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has promised to sign the bill as soon as it reaches his desk. As was the case in the House, every Republican […]
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New bonding would restore capital program to pre-recession level
After tightening its capital projects budget over the last two years, state government will borrow more than $4.6 billion during the next biennium to build schools, roads, clean water projects and a new technology park, based on the bonding package passed in the House and Senate on Saturday. The bill, which also preserves an expiring 80 […]
Posted inHealth
Health insurance exchange clears House, heads for Malloy’s desk
State Representatives have voted to establish a quasi-public agency to launch and run a health insurance exchance that will play a key role in expanding coverage under the federal health reform law. The exchange will have a wide range of responsibilities. It will offer a choice of health plans–all or most are expected to be […]
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Community colleges should help students keep hope alive
The Connecticut Mirror last week reported Higher Education Commissioner Michael Meotti’s belief, seconded by Gov. Dannel Malloy, that Connecticut’s community colleges might need to turn away people who, as Meotti put it, “have no ability to be successful in a college classroom.” Our campuses are crowded, Commissioner Meotti said, and there is little funding expansion. […]
Posted inEducation
Community colleges should help students keep hope alive
The Connecticut Mirror last week reported Higher Education Commissioner Michael Meotti’s belief, seconded by Gov. Dannel Malloy, that Connecticut’s community colleges might need to turn away people who, as Meotti put it, “have no ability to be successful in a college classroom.” Our campuses are crowded, Commissioner Meotti said, and there is little funding expansion. […]
Posted inNews
Robert Hohler, leader of social justice efforts, dies in England
Robert Hohler, the executive director of a Boston-based charitable trust whose projects included broad efforts in Connecticut to end homelessness and shape public policy, died Thursday while hiking in England with his family. Hohler, 78, was a civil rights activist who marched on Selma, Ala., with Martin Luther King, then helped produce an acclaimed television […]
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Democrats, Republicans find rare moment of unity with jobs bill
In a move rarely seen this legislative session, Democrats and Republicans united on major legislation Friday when the Senate overwhelmingly adopted Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s incentive plan to create 1,000 new full-time jobs in the next two years. The Senate voted 32-4 to adopt the “First Five” measure, which now heads to the House of […]
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Senate postpones plan to raise age for children entering kindergarten
The state Senate has put off for at least two years a proposal to raise the minimum age for children to start kindergarten–a move that would have delayed enrollment in public school for almost 7,000 students. Instead, they have opted to have a task force figure out how to close the large age disparity in […]
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No Weinergate here: State delegation plays it safe on Twitter
WASHINGTON–Here’s a tweet, the likes of which you will almost certainly never read from anyone in Connecticut’s congressional delegation: “Sorry for all the unwanted attention on #WeinerYes follows. I didn’t mean to make you famous. #CollateralDamage.” Sure, the younger Connecticut lawmakers, like Reps. Jim Himes and Chris Murphy, try to be edgy and real with […]
Posted inNews
With no negotiated limits on debate, House to tackle paid sick days
The General Assembly is staggering toward the final weekend of the 2011 legislative session with unfinished business that includes the nation’s first state mandate on private companies to offer paid sick days. Debate began this afternoon. Ten days after the Senate passed the bill by a single vote, the House of Representatives today opened today […]
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As session end draws near, massive energy bill is on the table
SB1 – the massive omnibus energy bill that establishes Connecticut’s first energy department in three decades, creates new energy programs, alters old ones, sets ambitious policy goals and overhauls parts of the energy business – is headed for a vote in the Senate as early as today, even as its final details are unresolved. “It’s […]