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.”
Martin Looney
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 inHealth
Insurance coverage mandates would face more analysis under Malloy proposal
The prospect of requiring health insurance plans to cover specific treatments or services is an annual debate in the Connecticut General Assembly, often pitting patients who faced problems against critics who say mandates raise insurance premiums. Now the governor wants to change the process – a proposal that’s drawn both praise and opposition.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Malloy begins making a case for changes to local school funding
Malloy, a Democrat, has been reminding everyone that Connecticut covers the entire cost of municipal teachers’ pensions in both affluent and impoverished school districts, and those costs are escalating quickly. This has left many local leaders worried their overall state aid may be cut to help close the 8 percent deficit in the next state budget.
Posted inNews
Senate leader Martin Looney needs a kidney transplant
A Roman Catholic church has made a public appeal on Facebook for a kidney donor for Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, whose only kidney is failing.
Posted inEducation, Health, Justice, Money, Politics, Transportation
Nonpartisan analysts: Tentative CT budget wipes away lots of red ink
The tentative plan to close a $1 billion hole in Connecticut’s finances starting July 1 also would wipe away more than 40 percent of the red ink threatening state government after the November elections, nonpartisan fiscal analysts reported Tuesday evening.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Senate passes bill limiting doctor non-compete agreements
The Senate passed a proposal Wednesday to limit non-compete clauses in physician contracts and broaden the types of organizations that can employ doctors, a measure intended to address concerns among Senate leaders about doctors’ ability to remain in independent practice or return to it after joining a hospital system.
Posted inNews
A divided CT House passes retirement security legislation
The Democratic majority in the House of Representatives outlasted a Republican filibuster early Tuesday to pass legislation that would create a quasi-public authority to offer private-sector workers a retirement savings program. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was non-committal on the bill, but says he favors a key provision: a mandated payroll deduction for retirement savings.
Posted inEducation
Financial aid for undocumented students garners support
The Higher Education Committee, for the second year in a row, is expected to approve a bill that would open a $140 million pool of financial aid to undocumented residents at the state’s public colleges.
Posted inMoney
Is pension fund in play as remedy for state budget deficits?
Though Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s plan to restructure state pension payments doesn’t provide any budget relief until 2019, some legislators are looking to the pension fund one more time to help Connecticut out of its current budget crisis.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
Senate Dems break with House, go own way on deficit
Senate Democrats issued their own deficit-mitigation plan Thursday, pressing for a retirement incentive plan opposed by House Democrats and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy as damaging to the state’s overburdened pension system.
Posted inEducation, Politics
Legislative hearings will probe conditions at state’s juvenile jails
Legislative hearings will be held to probe conditions and practices at the state’s jails for juvenile offenders after reports that they placed youths “at risk of physical and emotional harm.”
Posted inCT Viewpoints
CT special session should strengthen,
CT special session should strengthen,
not weaken, progressive budget
General Electric and other major corporations have demanded these changes while threatening to leave our state. But the General Assembly shouldn’t do GE’s bidding. They should build on this year’s progress instead. To help everyone, including GE (despite what they say), the General Assembly should continue with property tax reform.
Posted inEducation
Unexplained exit of CSCU provost prompts ban on non-disparagement agreements
State senators have approved a bill forbidding state officials from demanding that employees sign non-disparagement agreements when leaving their state jobs — a move directed at the state’s largest public college system.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut should demand more disclosure by the police
Some key Connecticut legislators are telling us to compromise on how much the people can know about crime and punishment, how much we can know about how the police are protecting the public from alleged criminals. I am not sure how to compromise on the right of the people to know what their government is doing in their name.