If the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established women’s constitutional right to abortion were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, women would still have that right in Connecticut where it was codified into law decades ago, participants in a state discussion panel said Wednesday.
Themis Klarides
Posted inPolitics
Esty says she will not seek re-election
WASHINGTON – Embattled Rep. Elizabeth Esty announced Monday she will not run for re-election. “I have determined that it is in the best interest of my constituents and my family to end my time in Congress at the end of this year and not seek re-election,” Esty said.
Posted inEducation, Health, Justice
A debate over how government should identify our ethnicity
Using more detailed ethnic categories in student and health data could allow policymakers to better serve small populations, but some people in those small populations are anxious about extra scrutiny, the possibility of discrimination and being labeled as other than American.
Posted inPolitics
Themis Klarides says she will not run for governor
House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, ended months of speculation about her political ambitions Wednesday, telling her caucus she would forgo a run for governor in 2018 and focus on trying to win a GOP majority in the House.
Posted inHousing, Politics
Legislature musters enough votes to override Malloy housing veto
The General Assembly dealt a blow to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s housing agenda Monday after legislators voted narrowly to override his veto of a bill that loosens the state’s affordable housing standards.
Posted inMoney, Politics
House GOP renews pitch for its own version of next CT budget
Minority Republicans in the House renewed the pitch Tuesday for their own budget, a plan that relies on $2 billion in labor savings mandated by statutory changes — and not bargained collectively.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Budget talks testy as deadline inches closer
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.
Posted inMoney
Klarides: GOP won’t back new budget that extends benefits deal
Bipartisan negotiations to solve the next state budget crisis may be running on borrowed time since Republican legislators say they will bring few votes — if any — for the next state budget as long as it relies on a concessions plan that extends a costly employee benefits program five more years.
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 inPolitics
Insult? Overreaction? House leaders can’t agree
It might be a harbinger of a politically fraught session, evidence of a general deterioration of the relations between Democrats and Republicans. Or it might turn out to be a momentary flash. Whatever the case, a perceived insult quickly escalated Wednesday, then slowly cooled.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Aresimowicz offers phase-in compromise on pension bills for CT towns
House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz offered a compromise Wednesday on one of the stickiest points in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget: asking communities to gradually assume a portion of skyrocketing teacher pension costs.
Posted inMoney, Politics
House Democrats block GOP bid to require votes on labor deals
In the first partisan fight of 2017, Democrats in the House of Representatives blocked a Republican proposal Wednesday that would have ended a longstanding practice of approving state employee contracts without a vote.
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.