As the Malloy administration prepares to cut spending in social service agencies–part of the plan the governor released Tuesday and wants the legislature to approve today–the nonprofits that provide many safety net services for low-income and disabled residents are wondering what the changes could mean for them and their clients. People who work with nonprofits […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will ask legislators today to suspend a linchpin of the state’s “clean contracting” law as he seeks to privatize state services in the face of nearly 5,500 recommended state employee layoffs. As part of a proposal to fill the $1.6 billion two-year budget gap created when state employee unions rejected a concession deal, Malloy is […]

WASHINGTON–The Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Wal-Mart v. Dukes sex discrimination lawsuit was re-litigated on Wednesday–in the political arena, with the debate focused on the court’s approach to corporate cases. The Wal-Mart case was Exhibit A at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing probing whether the nation’s highest court has tilted too much toward big […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said today he intends to ask the General Assembly to pass legislation changing the way state employee pensions are calculated, reducing their sick days and freezing longevity payments–relatively modest first steps in narrowing collective bargaining for union workers. In a conference call with editorial writers, Malloy said he is submitting legislation […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has recommended nearly 5,500 state employee layoffs, elimination of 1,000 other vacant positions and a $54 million cut in municipal aid to help offset the unrealized savings from the failed union concession deal. It was unclear from limited details released late Tuesday afternoon how much savings could be achieved over the […]

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 […]