WASHINGTON–Here’s a political pitch you don’t hear too often: “Nobody’s going to like this plan. We understand that.” That’s how Sen. Tom Coburn, a hard-edged fiscal conservative from Oklahoma, described the Medicare reform proposal he’s been working on with Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut independent. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (l) with Sen. Tom Coburn: ‘Some strong […]

Though state employees have voted down a concessions package worth an estimated $700 million in the next budget year, there are elements of that plan that don’t require a vote and–on paper–could save as much as $170 million. But Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday that he’s not confident those savings–which were supposed to come […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said today he will explore legislative options to curtail what he called state government’s unsustainable, long-term health and pension costs, but he refused to say if he will seek a curb on collective-bargaining rights for state employees. “We attempted to do that through negotiation. That has failed,” Malloy said. “The people […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was challenged by his critics Monday to reduce his own office’s staffing–where total salaries are up 9 percent in annual value over May 2010–before deciding how many state employee layoffs are needed to balance the budget. “We’re not going to balance the budget on cuts to the governor’s office alone, but it’s important, it’s symbolic, to […]

Leaders of state employee unions said today they will explore salvaging a concession deal rejected by a minority of union members, but they acknowledged having no obvious means under their by-laws to reconsider the vote before the Malloy Administration responds with mass layoff notices. Two things were clear after an early evening press conference: The […]

STAMFORD–Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said today he worked over the weekend to limit the number of state employee layoffs he will impose this week in response to labor’s rejection of a tentative agreement for concessions and other labor savings. In remarks after delivering a pep talk on economic development to the Business Council of Fairfield […]

WASHINGTON–A narrowly-divided U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that supplemental grants triggered by an opponent’s spending in state public funding systems are unconstitutional. The 5-to-4 decision means Connecticut will not be able to revive the matching grants that helped fuel the bids of both Democrat Dannel P. Malloy and Republican Michael C. Fedele in last […]

Catherine H. Smith, the commissioner of economic development, joins Gov. Dannel P.  Malloy in kicking off a jobs tour today at Blue Sky Studios, a company whose stream of tax-credit revenue nearly was dried up by an oversight in state budget revisions. Smith played a role in making sure the tax credits were saved in […]

WASHINGTON–Rep. Rosa DeLauro and other food-safety advocates say the Obama Administration is holding up a new rule that could protect Americans from potentially deadly outbreaks of emerging food-borne pathogens. The issue has taken on fresh urgency in the wake of the devastating outbreak in Germany, where more than 35 people have died and more than […]

A final, negative footnote to the failed effort to ratify the state employees’ concession deal: two more unions rejected the tentative agreement in voting tallied Sunday, leaving a final vote of 11 unions in favor and four opposed. A labor source said the 1,150-member Connecticut State Police Union and IBPO/SEIU, a union representing 750 judicial […]