Legislators get message to reform state schools

An overflow crowd, including a parade of schoolchildren that marched past lawmakers, left little doubt Monday the General Assembly is under pressure to reform Connecticut’s public schools this spring. Dozens of spectators jammed a hearing room and hundreds of students, parents and educators filled the atrium of the Legislative Office Building while legislators heard hours […]

Rep. Antonio Guerrera, co-chairman of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, set out to require installation of seat belts on all school buses now, but he’s satisfied with a compromise that will have every child buckled up sometime around 2024. “This was a huge, huge move,” the Rocky Hill Democrat said Monday after the committee approved the […]

The nation’s largest online retailer threatened Monday to end its advertising relationships with Connecticut businesses if the legislature enacts a new measure to collect sales taxes tied to Internet transactions. And though Amazon.com did not disclose specific numbers, the head of a California-based marketing association that represents the online giant estimated nearly 2,000 Connecticut businesses – […]

Anticipating a huge crash in state funding, municipal leaders urged legislators Monday to expand their ability to levy taxes and fees, particularly through a regional sales tax surcharge. But while members of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee agreed communities need new revenue sources, lawmakers from both parties expressed fears that Connecticut could be left […]

The legislature’s Transportation Committee backed away from a proposal to immediately implement electronic toll collection at major state border crossings, but directed the Department of Transportation to study the idea. Rep. Antonio Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, had been pushing for tolls to open immediately at seven state border locations, but said he did not have the […]

After months of hearings and negotiation, U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Connecticut, today proposed financial legislation that he called the “most significant reform since the 1930s.” “It creates a sound economic foundation to grow jobs. It protects consumers. It reins in Wall Street. It ends too-big-to-fail, and it prevents another financial crisis of this magnitude,” […]

A state legislative panel has scrapped a controversial plan to auction off firearms seized in Connecticut crimes. The Public Safety Committee opted not to act on the bill, which had been raised on behalf of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, before the committee’s deadline on Thursday. “I didn’t have one legislator come to me and […]

A proposal requiring seat belts on school buses moved one step closer to reality, as the legislature’s Transportation Committee voted in favor of the bill Monday 29-7. A compromise was made prior to the vote that would require only new buses have seat belts beginning July 2012. Originally, co-chairman Rep. Antonio Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, sought […]

Add the state’s tax chief to the growing list of officials uncertain about how Connecticut should pursue hundreds of millions of dollars in uncollected sales taxes tied to Internet transactions. Department of Revenue Services Commission Richard Nicholson testified on several tax-related bills today before the legislature’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, but said nothing regarding […]

CROMWELL – U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, D-1st District, said today that the state’s congressional delegation did not appreciate United Technologies’ threat last week to relocate more manufacturing out of state. UTC’s complaints to Wall Street analysts about the cost of doing business in Connecticut came as the congressional delegation is pushing for military aircraft […]

Correction Officer Kevin Brace doesn’t know why a convicted arsonist at the prison where he works was able to get his personal information through a Freedom of Information request that can reveal his home address, but he can’t imagine it’s a good thing. “It’s paper terrorism,” said Brace. “They can get my personal information and there is […]

Connecticut failed in its first try to win millions of dollars in federal stimulus money for school reform, but its second attempt could lead to some of the most significant changes in public schools in years. The legislature’s Education Committee will hold a public hearing today on a dozen bills on school finance, teacher evaluations, […]

A 2008 New York law that has sparked a growing feud between states and online sales giants such as Amazon.com is being considered by Connecticut’s legislature as officials scramble for new dollars to close growing budget deficits. But while taxing Internet sales could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, efforts by other states to […]

Proposals to reinstate tolls on state roads have failed in recent years, but with Connecticut facing huge deficits, the Transportation Committee’s co-chairman says the idea is gaining momentum. “If we implement them today we are talking millions of dollars this year,” said Rep. Antonio Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, whose committee will hear testimony on tolls today. […]

Minority Republicans in the state House of Representatives called Thursday for the cancellation of tens of millions of dollars in bonuses due next month to senior state employees. House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero, R-Norwalk, said the legislature and Gov. M. Jodi Rell should immediately repeal the law giving longevity bonuses to employees with 10 […]