Talks between Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and legislative leaders are growing testy as Connecticut inches closer to a June 30 deadline to craft a budget for the next two fiscal years. “My gut reaction is we’re going to get past July 1” without a budget, Senate Republican President Pro Tem Len Fasano said.
Len Fasano
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy, Fasano team up to push for plan to cover current deficit
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Senate Republican leader Len Fasano teamed up to block some last-minute spending changes until the full legislature and administration can adopt a plan to cover the current budget deficit.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Malloy says senators ‘unnecessarily antagonistic’ to insurers
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy delivered a public rebuke Wednesday evening to the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate, accusing them of misrepresenting his insurance commissioner’s position on a consumer-protection bill and taking an “unnecessarily antagonistic approach toward Connecticut’s insurance industry.”
Posted inMoney, Politics
Concessions draw Democrats’ praise, Republicans’ skepticism
Top Democrats in the House and Senate praised the deal and said trying to close a $5.1 billion deficit in the next budget without the $1.5 billion in potential savings from concessions would be the worst-case scenario. But their GOP counterparts had a very different perspective.
Posted inPolitics
Campaign finance, minimum wage bills in the mix despite budget crush
With a little more than two weeks remaining until the session’s June 7 adjournment deadline, dozens of bills unrelated to the state’s budget are certain to be voted upon. Legislative leaders say campaign finance reform and a minimum wage increase are among the contentious issues that could come up in the session’s final days.
Posted inMoney, Politics
GOP House, Senate divided over budget politics, tactics
House and Senate Republicans parted ways Tuesday, at least temporarily, over how to frame the GOP’s approach to resolving the mammoth deficit looming over the next state budget. Should they match Democrats in releasing their alternative? Or release nothing until Republicans and Democrats see each other’s plans?
Posted inMoney, Politics
Senate GOP not ready to share CT budget fix with the public
Unlike Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and three of the legislative caucuses, the Senate Republican Caucus is reluctant to share its latest proposal to balance the next state budget with the public immediately upon completion.
Posted inEducation
Legislators question shielding DCF from budget squeeze
Legislators are growing increasingly concerned with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s push to lock in an $800 million budget for the state agency responsible for the care of thousands of abused and neglected children – while he promises to slash spending elsewhere.
Posted inPolitics
Senators face a tough session but open with collegiality
Republican leader Len Fasano said a power-sharing agreement between the parties in the evenly divided chamber was rooted in the friendship he has with Democratic leader Martin Looney, which dates back more than 30 years.
Posted inEducation, Health, Money, Politics
As the 2017 legislative session opens: What to know
The 2017 legislative session begins today, kicking off a five-month frenzy as lawmakers work to craft a budget in the face of bleak fiscal problems and debate topics ranging from school funding to legalizing pot. Here’s a look at what to expect.
Posted inPolitics
Deal gives Democrats edge in evenly split CT Senate
Senate Democrats and Republicans finalized a deal Thursday on how an evenly divided Senate will operate in 2017, agreeing that Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, will remain as the top leader, while sharing some authority with the GOP.
Posted inPolitics
Talks stall, then resume over how to run a divided CT Senate
Negotiations over how to share power in an evenly divided Connecticut Senate progressed over the weekend before being suspended Monday as Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, broke away to prepare for a kidney transplant Tuesday at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Fasano taps Yelmini to help with GOP labor agenda
The Senate Republican leadership has hired Linda Yelmini of Windsor, chief labor relations official for several administrations until her awkward departure from government under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy late in 2014, as a part-time consultant and legislative researcher.
Posted inHealth
A lot at stake for Connecticut as Trump, GOP eye Medicaid changes
Medicaid is Connecticut’s largest source of federal funding and the largest single line item in the state budget. It covers close to one in five state residents – more than 750,000 poor children, adults and people with disabilities. A major change in federal Medicaid funding is a big worry for the state’s budget director.
Posted inPolitics
Q&A: Wyman talks budget, her role in the legislative discussion
Democratic Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman may not have been elected in one of 36 districts of the Connecticut Senate, but she will effectively be the 37th state senator in the next legislative session. The Mirror sat down with Wyman to talk about her role.