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Rowland: Legislature spends money ‘like after-dinner mints’
“Think about this: Rome is burning. We’ve got a $3.5 billion deficit,” said former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland at a May Yankee Institute luncheon. “By the way, even with this concession package, the budget deficit is still $1.2 billion. And, oh, let me insult...
State budget update for Windham cable-access show
The Windham cable-access show Face of Pro-Life invited Zachary Janowski to talk about the state budget and other topics on April 26. Related articles: Embryo mix-up doesn’t hurt doctor’s bonus $2 million claim pending against CT in embryo mix-up 1,126 Connecticut...
Centrists gathered in Hartford call for balanced budgets and fiscal responsibility
With the federal government on the precipice of default if the debt ceiling is not raised and Connecticut laying off thousands of employees, a group of centrists met Friday to discuss solutions for America’s fiscal problems. No Labels and the Comback America...
Reformatted utility regulator has a rocky start
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority met for the first time July 1 – but had to adjourn for half the day because it wasn’t sure if it existed yet. PURA, part of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, is the successor to the Department of Public...
Increase in union dues and layoffs for state police announced on the same day
Adding insult to injury, the State Comptroller announced state police union dues will rise 2.5 percent the same day the Hartford Courant reported 57 troopers will get pink slips. Gov. Dannel Malloy is laying off about 6,500 state employees to fill a $1.6 billion...
State employee layoffs will cut into union budgets
The 6,500 layoffs proposed by Gov. Dannel Malloy to balance the state budget – in addition to their impact on state government – will also cut into the budgets of the unions that represent state employees. The State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition and its...
State and local pension accounting takes a step toward transparency
The way states and local governments account for pensions is about to change – slowly. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board, a nonprofit based in Norwalk, Conn., will release a draft of changes to pension accounting rules Friday. These changes will first affect...
New Haven faces largest cut in state aid: $2.4 million
As part of his backup plan to balance the budget after state employee unions rejected a savings agreement, Gov. Dannel Malloy is cutting state aid to towns and cities by 2.4 percent or $54.4 million. According to a memo from the Connecticut Conference of...
Malloy proposes changes to collective bargaining along with layoffs
With state employees rejecting a $1.6 billion concession agreement, Gov. Dannel Malloy has just days to implement his backup plan before the new fiscal year begins July 1. Malloy intends to do the cutting in a decentralized manner, with each agency head responsible...
SustiNet won’t help those who need it most
I will be contributing about once a month to the Health Justice CT blog. A new version of the site will launch soon, but here is my first post on why SustiNet won’t help the uninsured, the poor or the sick. Some highlights: Although some see a public option or...