The Senate recessed at 1:30 a.m. today without debating an energy bill whose prospects are growing dimmer as the General Assembly nears its annual adjournment deadline of midnight Wednesday. The Senate Democratic majority followed Monday night’s session with a caucus to review changes in the bill and determine if there is the support to take […]

Texting while driving, budget transparency, vocational-technical education, child day care subsidies and concussions: While much attention is focused on the state budget, the state legislature is spending its last few days of the regular session dealing with myriad other issues as well. One bill sent to Gov. M. Jodi Rell Monday is aimed at improving […]

After hearing for the past three months about “ugly” budget-balancing options like imposing surcharges on electric bills and raiding clean energy programs that sustain thousands of jobs, state legislators could be asked as early as today to approve them. Sources said Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the legislature’s Democratic majority reached a tentative deal late […]

Connecticut has 792,934 Democrats. For the second time in four years, a Democrat trying to be elected governor has picked the same one to be his running mate: Mary Messina Glassman. Ned Lamont named her Monday as his partner in the race to become the first Democrat elected governor since 1986. Lamont’s chief rival for […]

Now that Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s administration has reviewed the federal health reform law, her office said Monday she will not join the multi-state lawsuit to challenge the act–despite calls from all 12 state Republican Senators to do so. “No, she will not be joining that suit,” said Rell’s spokesman Donna M. Tommelleo. “She wants […]

The clock appeared to run out late Monday on a controversial measure hailed by advocates as the key to stopping corporate tax cheats and panned by critics as the surest way to drive businesses out of Connecticut. The so-called “combined reporting” bill lay trapped on the Senate calendar, caught amidst a likely veto from Gov. […]

The Senate now appears likely to postpone until tomorrow a debate of a major energy bill. With a veto threat from the Rell administration, the proponents of the bill have been trying to shore up support by negotiating changes. Senate staff now says the bill will not go forward tonight. The Senate Democratic majority will […]

The House has rejected the Senate’s attempt to water down a bill requiring that student athletes suspected of suffering a concussion sit out for 24 hours and get a licensed medical professional to clear them before returning. The Senate last week approved an amendment essentially undoing the original intent of the bill by giving coaches […]

For the first time in 20 months, state government’s finances are officially in the black. State Comptroller Nancy Wyman reported this afternoon that Connecticut is on pace to finish the fiscal year on June 30 with a $105 million surplus. The change from negative to positive was due largely to a $323 million deficit-mitigation plan […]

A bill aimed at improving the state’s vocational-technical schools is headed for Gov. M. Jodi Rell‘s desk. Rep. Andrew W. Fleischmann, D-West Hartford, co-chairman of the Education Committee said, the bill “addresses all of the shortcomings” at the state’s vo-tech schools. The bill passed unanimously in the House today and in the Senate last week. […]

The House voted unanimously today to put a searchable database of the state’s checkbook online for public review. The site will mirror a new website launched by a conservative think tank earlier this year. Proponents say it is necessary for the legislature’s non-partisan budget office to launch its own site because of inaccuracies on the […]

NEW BRITAIN — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont introduced Mary Glassman today as his running mate and partner in their campaign to elect a Democratic governor for the first time in 24 years. “Mary’s not going to be just a great lieutenant governor, she’s going to be my full partner as we go forward to […]

Today the General Assembly begins a three-day countdown to its midnight Wednesday adjournment with a calendar crowded with bills deemed largely irrelevant to broad constituencies. Exceptions include an ambitious energy bill, education reforms, efforts to streamline environmental permitting and a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, a chore that brought key legislators and budget […]

Minority Republicans are pushing for legislation to establish a procedure for investigating misconduct complaints against state senators – a move critics say could stall important bills as the legislature nears its deadline. In an attempt to assure their proposal will be heard and debated, Senate Republicans have added it as an amendment to more than […]

On paper, Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the legislature’s Democratic majority are very close to a tentative plan to balance the next state budget. In reality, though, one sticking point remains, and according to sources close to both sides, it is arguably the most controversial item in the preliminary, $18.93 billion budget adopted last September […]