The state legislature balanced the next budget before it adjourned, but some major proposals to build new fiscal safeguards into the appropriations processed died when the session ended last week. Lawmakers declined to act on proposals to increase by 50 percent the maximum budget reserve – commonly known as the Rainy Day Fund –  that […]

Among the bills passed by the General Assembly and sent to Gov. M. Jodi Rell: Expediting State Permits A bill passed by both the House and Senate establishes a procedure for expediting issuance of state permits for projects that create jobs or provide other economic benefits. If signed into law, the bill would require creation […]

In the current discussion on bullying and its tragic consequences, the strategic role that school nurses can play is overlooked. Research has shown that students who are bullied are likely to present to the school nurse with multiple health symptoms–difficulty sleeping, wetting, headaches, stomach aches, nervousness, and depression to name a few. In a 28-country […]

Last week’s five-way race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination race is down to three with Friday’s withdrawal of Juan Figueroa. Figueroa, who was trying to become the first Latino to hold statewide office in Connecticut, said he could not raise the money to compete with businessman Ned Lamont or Dan Malloy, the former Stamford mayor […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed the state’s $19.01 billion budget Friday that avoids official tax hikes but does place a new surcharge on consumer’s electric bills. The budget — passed Wednesday in the Senate 19-16 and the House 93-57 — also borrows nearly $1 billion, raids $100 million from the state workers’ pension fund and […]

The Rasmussen poll has the main two Democratic gubernatorial contenders, Ned Lamont and Dan Malloy, leading in matchups with Republicans Tom Foley and Michael C. Fedele. Lamont is ahead of Foley, 42 percent to 35 percent, and Fedele, 48 percent to 28 percent. Malloy is ahead of Foley, 38 percent to 35 percent, and Fedele, […]

After declining to address the closing session of the General Assembly the previous night, Gov. M. Jodi Rell put a positive spin Thursday on what she and the Democratic legislature accomplished in 2010. Rell praised the passage of a $19.01 billion budget unanimously opposed by fellow Republicans and described a bipartisan, $362 million plan to remake […]

The top Democrats in the General Assembly are the-glass-is-half-full kind of guys, at least when it comes to fiscal matters. Sure there’s a deficit looming 14 months down the road, they said, but by working in harmony with Gov. M. Jodi Rell, they closed budget deficits for this fiscal year and next. What’s one more? […]

Connecticut competes on the productivity of its people. In today’s global economy, productivity is innovation-driven.  Innovation, of course, rests on creativity, versatility, imagination, restlessness, energy, ambition and problem-solving prowess. That is the hypothesis of Chester Finn and Diane Ravitch, who say emphatically that technical skills alone will not provide the edge Americans need to stay […]

When it comes to how money influences elections, state lawmakers were quick to deal with a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing organizations to spend unlimited dollars on political speech. But they decided to put off addressing another federal court ruling that threatens their own system of publicly financing campaigns. “I would have preferred to take […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed into law today a bill that increases the fine for employers who illegally lower their costs by misclassifying employees as independent contractors. The bill was sought by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office to go after employers who misclassify employees to avoid paying contributions for unemployment compensation […]

Democrat Richard Blumenthal has a double-digit lead in head-to-head matchups with any of his Republican opponents in a Rasmussen poll released today. It’s Blumenthal over Rob Simmons, 55 percent to 32 percent; over Linda McMahon, 52 percent to 39 percent; over Peter Schiff, 54 percent to 29 percent. Blumenthal, the long-time attorney general, has no […]

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 […]