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.
Martin M. Looney
Posted inPolitics
Sen. Looney’s kidney transplant called a success
Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, was described by a spokesman as “doing fine” Tuesday night after receiving a kidney donated by a friend, Superior Court Judge Brian T. Fischer of New Haven.
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 inPolitics
Looney to undergo kidney transplant next week
Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, is to undergo a kidney transplant from a live donor next week, ending a four-month search for a kidney, but adding another element of uncertainty as to how an evenly divided Connecticut Senate will function in 2017.
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.
Posted inPolitics
Looney says response to failing kidneys ‘very gratifying’
NEW HAVEN — Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney joined Gov. Dannel P. Malloy at a downtown press conference on economic-development policy Tuesday, a reminder he does not intend to curtail his schedule as he awaits a kidney transplant. He says he is weeks or months away from needing dialysis.
Posted inEducation
Legislative leaders call UConn ‘tone deaf’ over raises for top staff
Legislative leaders Thursday blasted hefty pay increases University of Connecticut President Susan Herbst awarded to four senior staff members as the state and public university grapple with big budget cuts.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Senate postpones vote on Malloy’s ‘Second Chance 2.0’
The Senate postponed a plan to adopt Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s signature proposal to reform the bail and juvenile-justice systems after a tense day of negotiations Thursday over revisions aimed at bolstering Democratic support and blunting Republican opposition in an election year. The House now will make the first attempt at passing the bill.
Posted inJustice, Money, Politics
Looney says budget deal, ‘Second Chance’ are on for Thursday
The leader of the Connecticut Senate said Wednesday night he has the votes to pass Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s criminal justice reforms and last week’s budget deal when the Senate returns Thursday in special session. The House of Representatives has yet to schedule a vote.
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut Senate debates, for a while, a $12 minimum wage
The leader of the Connecticut Senate introduced a surprise measure Thursday to raise the hourly minimum wage to $12 by Jan. 1, 2020, only to retreat in the face of an immediate Republican filibuster and a cool reception by the House of Representatives.
Posted inEducation, Money
Taxing Yale: An attack or fair game?
While officials at Yale University call legislation that would implement a new tax on the growth of its endowment an “attack on independent higher education,” legislative heavyweights backing the bill say its just forcing the Ivy League school to be a good neighbor.
Posted inMoney
Sharkey, Malloy clash over UConn deal, hospital cuts
House Speaker J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, and the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy engaged in an extraordinary exchange of criticism Friday over two fiscal controversies, ratcheting up intra-party tensions over how to resolve a worsening budget shortfall.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Legislature considers furloughs; judiciary cancels raises
Underscoring the fiscal crisis facing Connecticut, the General Assembly is considering furloughs of legislative staff, a rollback of staff raises, and a rare rejection of a negotiated contract. Meanwhile, the Judicial Branch has canceled raises for non-union employees that were to take effect Friday.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Change to hospital regulation again looms – but direction unclear
As hospitals join larger systems and critics worry about access to care, a key legislator said the time is ripe for lawmakers to revisit the way the state regulates major changes in health care. But it’s not yet clear what shape such changes will take – or whether they would leave the state with more regulation or less, a sign of sharply differing views on its role.
Posted inEducation, Politics
Looney, Sharkey hedge on overriding Malloy veto
The Connecticut General Assembly expects to convene Monday for a one-day veto session, but legislative leaders expressed uncertainty Wednesday about whether lawmakers would attempt their first override of a veto by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.