Had state government slashed its way out of a deficit five years ago, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy often has said, Connecticut’s quality of life would be unrecognizable. But the Democratic governor now is urging spending cuts over the next two years that key Democratic lawmakers argue could have an impact similar to cuts Republicans sought – and Malloy decried – in 2011.
Dannel P. Malloy
Posted inHealth, Justice
Malloy, state health officials sued over Ebola quarantine policy
People quarantined in Connecticut during the height of the 2014 ebola crisis sued Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and state health officials on Monday, saying the quarantine policy the governor imposed is unconstitutional.
Posted inMoney, Politics
After five years, Malloy says he still can be a force for change
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy cast himself Wednesday in his sixth State of the State address as a vigorous agent of change, not the stolid defender of an entrenched administration wobbling under the weight of bad polling, dwindling revenues and growing debt.
Posted inPolitics
Text of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s 2016 State of the State
This is the text as prepared for delivery of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s address to the legislature.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy’s budget speech to call for reforms, sustainability
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy intends to frame his budget proposal today as a reform of Connecticut’s much-maligned and unpredictable process of budgeting, as well as a blueprint for taming unsustainable spending. In excerpts released ahead of his noon speech, he also challenges legislators: “We can’t be opposed to tax increases, but unwilling to cut the spending those taxes support.”
Posted inMoney, Politics
New Malloy budget falls $720M below current-services level
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy would spend $720 million less than what’s necessary to maintain current services next fiscal year, but his new plan, due to the legislature Wednesday, won’t say how about 40 percent of that reduction would affect specific programs, according to an administration presentation.
Posted inPolitics
New leader, but same result: CT GOP trails in fundraising
The Connecticut Republican Party struggled to compete financially during J.R. Romano’s first six months as state chairman, collecting about 29 cents for every dollar contributed to the state Democratic Party, according to reports filed over the weekend.
Posted inPolitics
Among CT campaign donors, Clinton overwhelms Sanders
WASHINGTON — The tight race in Iowa between Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders is not reflected in Connecticut among donors to the two candidates. As of Dec. 31, Clinton’s campaign had taken in six times as much as Sanders’.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy to seek greater executive branch control over budget
After struggling to extract spending cuts from legislators last year, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will propose a new state budget that gives departments much greater discretion to decide how their money is spent. Sources familiar with the governor’s 2016-17 budget proposal say it won’t assign agency funding to many specific programs, moving instead toward the block-grant system used for state colleges and universities.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Malloy dubs bail, sentencing reforms as ‘Second Chance 2.0’
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy came to the Citadel of Love, a black church in the North End of Hartford, on Thursday to roll out “Second Chance 2.0,” a second round of proposals to negate the permanence of criminal mistakes, especially those committed by the young. He will ask the legislature next week to curtail bail for minor crimes, treat many defendants younger than 21 as juveniles and broaden the reach of a record-expunging youthful offender law.
Posted inNews
At Harvard, hints of what Malloy intends on justice reform
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is to present details on his plans for criminal justice reform Thursday in Hartford, but he shared his thoughts on bail reform and treating criminal defendants as juveniles until they turn 21 at Harvard. A preview on what’s to come this week.
Posted inPolitics
Scott Jackson headed to DOL, Dennis Murphy to DMV
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is breaking with long practice by going outside the ranks of organized labor for a new commissioner of labor by naming former Hamden Mayor Scott Jackson, one of several key personnel moves made Monday. Malloy also sent Dennis Murphy, the administration’s long-time trouble-shooter to DMV as acting commissioner.
Posted inPolitics
On MLK Jr. Day, a look in Connecticut at challenges ahead
A suburban pastor recalled Monday how Connecticut was the place where a teenaged Martin Luther King Jr. first escaped the Jim Crow laws of the racially divided South, a bittersweet experience that would profoundly shape King’s view of racial injustice in America. And a gay, white adoptive father of three black sons spoke of living a “transcultural life.” It was all in observance of the 30th Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Fight begins over lessons to draw from GE’s departure
Connecticut’s political elite raced Wednesday to frame General Electric’s decision to abandon its 1970s-era campus in suburban Fairfield for a new global headquarters in downtown Boston as everything from merely disappointing to politically cataclysmic. Business feared politicians would draw the wrong lessons.
Posted inPolitics
Obama puts CT accomplishments on national ‘to do’ list
WASHINGTON — In his State of the Union speech, President Obama’s “to do” list was much like Connecticut’s “already done” list. “I’ll keep pushing for progress on the work that still needs doing,” the president said. “Protecting kids from gun violence, equal pay for equal work, paid leave, raising the minimum wage.”
