State Board of Education members said Wednesday it would take $92 million to get the vocational-technical schools the equipment and building repairs needed to bring the schools into the 21st Century–but in a challenging budget year, the prospects for state funding remain uncertain. “The ability to secure capital funding has become even more challenging,” Pat […]
Vo-tech schools still awaiting answers on equipment funding
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Legislature hopes to expand school breakfasts for low-income students
With Connecticut ranking near the bottom among states in providing breakfast to low-income students, lawmakers are holding out a $600,000 carrot to entice districts to launch or maintain their breakfast programs. “School districts are really feeling the pinch,” said Beth Gankofskie, director of food services at Mansfield Public Schools, which serves about 600 students breakfast […]
Posted inEducation
House votes to delay education reforms
The State House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted on a bill that delays the package of school reforms passed last year in the state’s bid to capture federal Race to the Top money. The legislature’s budget office estimates the increased graduation requirements alone would cost up to $29 million to hire the additional teachers needed for […]
Posted inEducation
Education changes headed for Malloy’s signature
The Senate has sent a bill to the governor’s desk that allows some towns to cut education funding when enrollment declines, reduces the state’s share of the cost of building new schools, merges several of the state’s public colleges and universities into one system and increases funding for urban students to attend surburban schools. The measure reflects most of […]
Posted inHealth
House passes bill requiring approval to close hospital programs
The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would require hospitals to get state approval before eliminating inpatient or outpatient services. The bill, which passed 93 to 53 and now goes to the Senate, was inspired by the closure of the birthing center at Rockville General Hospital last year. Until last year, hospitals seeking to […]
Posted inHealth, Money
Social service providers cheer state budget
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget might not have won him points in polls, but it did get administration officials several rounds of applause and more than a few “thank yous” from nonprofit social service providers and their clients Wednesday morning. They praised the administration and legislative leaders for protecting the safety net. Office of Policy […]
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Greenhouse gas debates continue in state houses
Gov. Chris Christie’s announcement last week that New Jersey would leave the Northeast’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative was a major setback for the nation’s only operating cap-and-trade system, Josh Goodman writes at Stateline.org, but it’s only one development in the ongoing debate whether and how states should fight global warming. Though Christie’s decision pleased conservatives, his […]
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Rep. Murphy says Navy should allow chaplains to perform same-sex marriages
Rep. Chris Murphy has asked Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to allow military chaplains to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies in Connecticut, as long as it doesn’t violate their personal beliefs. Murphy wrote to Mabus today, after the Navy reversed itself on the issue. In April, the Navy issued guidance that would have allowed the branch’s chaplains […]
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Democratic leaders back bill to shorten leash on elections watchdog
House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan’s appointee to the State Elections Enforcement Commission says a budget bill co-sponsored by the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate is about to put the watchdog agency on too short a leash. A sweeping budget-implementation bill approved Tuesday night by the House limits the tenure of every elections commissioner […]
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Budget bill postpones changes to accounting rules for two years
Despite Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s campaign pledge to convert state government to a more accurate and transparent accounting system, a budget policy bill passed by the House of Representatives Tuesday delays most of the changes–including starting to pay off the $1.5 billion conversion cost–for another two years. The measure, which was approved 91-54 and now heads […]
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Senate passes health insurance exchange bill
The Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to create a health insurance exchange, laying the groundwork for a new insurance market that will play a key role in expanding coverage under the federal health reform law. The bill, which passed the Senate 23 to 13 and will now go to the House, establishes a quasi-public agency […]
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Both parties hope to win by losing in gridlocked Congress
WASHINGTON–The House killed a high-stakes proposal Tuesday to raise the debt ceiling, a vote that carried economic repercussions, budget implications, and political fallout. But its fate was sealed well before the roll call even began. On the off chance the bill could have garnered a simple majority in the House, Republican leaders decided to bring […]
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Dannel P. Malloy, Connecticut’s governor in a hurry
The question asked by an exasperated state legislator at an informational hearing last week was the one posed frequently, if not publicly, at the state Capitol about Connecticut’s always-in-a-hurry governor: “Why can’t this wait?” The query by Rep. Roberta Willis, D-Salisbury, concerned Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s fast-track plan to remake the UConn Health Center, but […]
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HHS tweaks high-risk insurance program
Top federal health officials announced Tuesday that they would drop a major requirement for sick patients to get access to a new insurance option offered under the health reform law. The health reform law created new high-risk insurance plans for patients with pre-existing conditions. But participation has been limited, in part because applicants had to […]
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Amended inmate early-release bill passes House
The state House of Representatives put an end Tuesday afternoon to the running partisan debate over allowing inmates to earn credits for early release, sending a message that would create such a system to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s desk. The Democrat-controlled House voted 90-56, largely along party lines, to approve the measure following more than […]