Time runs out for aid to towns: Officials frustrated by lack of help from legislature

State senators spent hours during the last day of the session Wednesday saying their goodbyes to retiring members, while frustrated town officials watched time run out on their number one priority bill, extension of a tax on real estate sales worth $25 million a year. “We’re shocked they failed to act after assuring us over […]

The countdown to state government’s real fiscal storm began late Wednesday, just 10 minutes before the gavel closed the 2010 legislative session. That’s when lawmakers wrapped up a revised $19.01 billion budget that avoids official tax hikes but places a new surcharge on consumer electric bills, borrows nearly $1 billion, raids an already weakened workers’ pension […]

To a politician’s eye, the choreography on display Wednesday at the State Capitol was as intricate as a dance. To the public, it was a series of disconnected moves, if visible at all. It is how nine white lawyers, their judicial nominations blocked by concerns over diversity and state finances, became confirmed as Superior Court […]

State legislators gave final approval Wednesday to a landmark education bill designed to raise graduation standards, turn around failing schools and hold teachers more accountable for student progress. The bill grew out of the state’s effort to win millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds under the Obama administration’s $4.3 billion Race to the Top […]

Major state tax increases may be in the cards next year given the massive deficit projections, but that doesn’t mean the General Assembly is ready to think about it now. A controversial bill to order a sweeping study of Connecticut’s state and municipal tax network died on the Senate calendar Wednesday as the 2010 session’s […]

I’ve been fortunate to have an involvement in various elements of government since 1957. My lifetime has included tenures as a newspaper reporter, radio newsman, state employee (health, judicial and legislative departments) and a ten-year tenure on a congressional staff. My early working days as a reporter (Norwich Bulletin, Hartford Times, New London Day) developed […]

A bill forbidding texting while driving is headed for Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s signature. The measure also would crack down on talking on a cell phone while driving without using a hand-free device. It would end the policy of giving first-time violators a waiver if they buy a hands-free device, and instead imposes a $100 fine. […]

The Senate passed the budget 19-16, it now heads to the House for final passage. Gov. M. Jodi Rell has said she will sign the bill. Four Democrats voted against the budget — including Senators Edward Meyer, Joan Hartley, Donald DeFronzo and Andrew Maynard. Watch the House debate the bill live here and read an analysis […]

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is calling for an independent investigation into the most recent double-digit rate increases approved for numerous Anthem Health Plans for Connecticut residents. Likewise, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell yesterday asking her to do the same. The move comes after Anthem proposed […]

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz has engaged in the “active practice” of law in her constitutional office for the last 11 years, qualifying her to be attorney general, a Superior Court judge ruled today. The case was filed to resolve whether she meets the minimum statutory qualifications for attorney general. If her tenure as the […]

The House of Representatives won’t begin its final day of the 2010 session until 1 p.m. After staying until 6:01 a.m. to pass an energy bill, House Speaker Chris Donovan gave everyone the rest of the morning off. The Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee meets at 12:30 p.m. to adopt revenue estimates, then the House […]

At 2:55 a.m. today, a bat made its entrance in the House of Representatives, circling the ornate, high-ceilinged chamber to the amusement and discomfort of legislators. And then things got weird. House Republicans bitterly objected to the prospect of beginning a debate on a major energy bill at 2:55 a.m., a debate delayed by a […]

A sweeping education bill that calls for tougher high school standards, a more demanding evaluation system for teachers and a greater voice for parents in school governance won approval in the state House of Representatives early today. After some political maneuvering, lawmakers combined elements of two separate education bills into a single landmark bill that […]

The Democrat-controlled General Assembly will attempt to wipe a $726 million deficit from the next state budget today as the 2010 legislative session approaches its midnight deadline. Despite House and Senate leaders’ assertions that rank-and-file Democrats grudgingly endorsed the $19 billion package, which avoids tax hikes but cuts nearly $172 million from current programs and relies on […]

A bill creating tax incentives to school systems that use buses with 3-point seat belts, paid for by increasing the fines to reinstate suspended licenses, has unanimously passed the Senate. It now heads for Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell‘s desk. “A lot of schools are going to take advantage of this,” said Rep. Antonio Guerrera, […]