State employee unions have rejected Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s request for a second concession package that would have allowed layoffs under certain conditions, required four more furlough days, deferred one cost-of-living raise and canceled longevity bonuses for senior workers. The proposal, which the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition said showed “cynical disrespect” to state government’s 45,000 unionized […]

State Rep. James F. Spallone of Essex decided against a campaign for secretary of the state, endorsing fellow Democrat Denise W. Merrill of Mansfield, the state House of Representatives’ majority leader. Spallone, who has visited dozens of Democratic town committees since launching his exploratory effort 14 months ago, said ‘the response has been positive.” But […]

A bill backed by 19 Senate Democrats that would tax executive bonuses is “likely constitutional”, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said today. The bill would affect employees who earned bonuses in excess of $1 million from eight firms in Connecticut that received money from the federal bailout last year known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Critics, […]

A landmark state Supreme Court ruling Monday gave renewed hope to a coalition of municipal officials and education leaders hoping to force the state to pump billions of dollars more into its public schools. But with the state already facing years of massive budget deficits, the price tag for the coalition’s effort to overhaul the […]

The race for governor intensified Monday as Dannel P. Malloy pitched himself to the Connecticut AFL-CIO as labor’s strongest ally and repeatedly jabbed at Ned Lamont, his chief rival for the Democratic nomination. On Friday, Malloy smiled and shook Lamont’s hand at a televised debate. On Monday, no small talk passed between them, even though […]

Finding $1.3 billion in revenue for next year’s budget by selling future income for pennies on the dollar means weighing a series of unpalatable options. Legislators don’t want to give up their revenue streams for too little, but they also don’t want to sell the blue-chip revenue-raisers, like the income tax, that would fetch the […]

A temporary employee who worked at the state Office of Policy and Management is a suspect in the theft of personal information about applicants to a furnace rebate program from 2008 through this month, OPM said today. The state learned of the theft Friday from Hartford police, who have a potential suspect, said Robert Genuario, […]

The Connecticut Supreme Court today at 11:30 a.m. is releasing a long-awaited decision in an education-funding lawsuit brought to establish that children have a right to an “adequate” education, not merely a free and public education. The decision will be accompanied by two dissenting and concurring opinions, indicating a deeply divided court. The justices have […]

It’s spring, when the fancy of nearly every Democratic gubernatorial candidate turns to organized labor. Over the weekend, five Democrats romanced 400 activists from the bargaining coalition that represents 51,000 state employees. State employee union lawyer Dan Livingston, left, introduces Democrat Ned Lamont at a union gubernatorial forum Today, about 200 members of the Connecticut […]

In 2003, when the General Assembly created what is now known as Project 150, it was widely anticipated that most if not all of the renewable energy projects it was supposed to spawn would be operational or close to it by now. Today none of Project 150’s 13 plants is even under construction, and only […]

After battling Gov. M. Jodi Rell over spending and taxes for most of last year, majority Democrats in the General Assembly are developing their own fiscal rift, a divide that could widen during the session’s final month. While House Democrats were finding common ground against deep spending cuts in a closed-door caucus, their Senate counterparts […]

The late George Carlin had his “Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television.” Then there are the “Words You Don’t Use If You’re A Democrat Who Hopes To Become Governor.” So the first televised debate between the six Democratic gubernatorial contenders, which aired live Friday on NBC Connecticut, didn’t include terms like “tax increases,” […]

U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5th District, who had been described in national press accounts as undecided, said today he will vote this weekend to pass health-care reform, a potentially pivotal issue in his re-election campaign. “The message from the people I represent is clear – health care costs and health insurance practices are out of […]

Picture the lightning round of “Jeopardy.” Substitute Gerry Brooks for Alex Trebek, invite eight contestants, and make sure every category and question involves Connecticut politics. That was the look and feel of a brisk, 60-minute debate between eight Republican candidates for governor Thursday night that focused on jobs, the economy and the state’s fiscal crisis. […]