‘We’re stuck’: As deadline nears, House Democrats are still groping for solutions to $1.2 billion in deficits

With time running short to develop a plan for closing $1.2 billion in deficits, the legislature’s budget-writing panels received little help Wednesday from majority Democrats in the House of Representatives. In a closed-door meeting, the 114-member caucus came down strongly against any deep cuts in spending, particularly those aimed at social services and health care, […]

Rep. Matthew J. Conway, Jr. is a confident lacrosse coach at Suffield High School. He is not as confident in his ability to diagnose a concussion. To play it safe, he benches players he suspects might have a concussion until a medical professional has cleared them and 24 hours has passed. “I have to tell […]

A legislative committee Wednesday approved bills that would salvage the state’s endangered public financing system for campaigns with new rules, smaller grants and a greater reliance on private dollars. If approved by the full legislature, the bills also would preserve a ban on contributions by lobbyists and state contractors. Without the legislation, a court ruling […]

Employers are increasingly misclassifying their employees as contractors to trim costs, so Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office said they want to substantially increase the fines. “This is cheating, plain and simple,” Blumenthal said about employers labeling full-time employees as independent contractors. “We will no longer tolerate misclassifications.” Blumenthal said the […]

Republican gubernatorial contender Michael Fedele pledged today that if elected, he would include no new taxes in the budget he would propose next February to close a nearly $4 billion hole in state finances in 2011-12. Fedele, the lieutenant governor, outlined a plan to shrink government spending that includes: imposing a four-year hiring freeze, capping future state […]

With a House vote expected later this week, Connecticut voters disapprove of health reforms, 48 percent to 40 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. But the poll found 70 percent believe that Congress should keep trying to pass a health reform bill, with the heaviest support coming from Democrats (88 percent) and […]

Linda McMahon, a political newcomer spending her personal fortune on campaign commercials and mailings, has taken a 10-point lead in the Republican race for U.S. Senate, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal continues to hold wide leads in matchups with each of his three Republican rivals: McMahon, former […]

As angry teachers protested, the Hartford Board of Education voted Tuesday to ask the State Board of Education to change a contractual guarantee of seniority job rights, a provision that officials say disrupts the teaching staffs of the district’s many specialized magnet schools. “It is a necessary step in order for high-performing schools to survive the […]

With a public slap delivered on Wall Street, United Technologies Corp. has embarrassed Connecticut and given new force to old grievances about the state’s business environment. Gov. M. Jodi Rell expressed a mix of disappointment and understanding as she publicly commented for the first time Tuesday on complaints by the state’s largest employer to stock […]

One legislative committee has rejected Keno gambling in the state, but another–the one that would have to come up with a revenue alternative if the proposal dies–isn’t ready to let go. “We will make our own decision on Keno,” said Rep. Cameron C. Staples, D-New Haven and co-chairman of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee. […]

State and local officials representing Rocky Hill insisted they weren’t trying to block a new public health laboratory planned for their town when they outmaneuvered Gov. M. Jodi Rell Tuesday and stalled almost $70 million in state bonding for the project. Rep. Tony Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, and Sen. Paul R. Doyle, D-Wethersfield, also said election-year […]

A bill that would require public hearings and disclosure of data justifying health insurance rate hikes was approved by the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee today on a 14-5 vote. “It’s needed,” said Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr. of Woodbridge, co-chairman of the committee, following the vote. The proposal was launched last year after […]

Thousands remain with out power following this weekend’s storm, and Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced today the state is investigating the response from the two largest electric companies. “I’m concerned about the response in the first hours of the storm,” Rell said during a press conference, noting that almost 40,000 customers remain without power. Rell […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell said that the chairman of United Technologies Corporation told her today that his company is under pressure from the federal government to move its manufacturing from Connecticut to lower-cost states. Rell said she called UTC chairman and chief executive Louis Chenevert about his company’s complaints to Wall Street analysts about the […]

Democrats on the State Bond Commission blocked funding Tuesday for a new public health lab in Rocky Hill, prompting charges from Gov. M. Jodi Rell that lawmakers don’t want the long-planned construction to begin until after the November elections. Rell, a Republican, also said the 5-5 vote that blocked release of $69.4 million in bonding […]