Connecticut Local Politics

A new study out by the Center for Public Integrity ranked Connecticut 12th in the nation and graded us a “C” for the financial disclosures required of elected officials.
The revelation has sparked a couple of stories (Stamford Advocate and CT Mirror) in recent days analyzing whether more disclosure should be demanded of those in state government.
Some advocates believe [...]

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Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose. This afternoon Governor Rell vetoed both of the deficit reduction bills passed by the legislature during special session on December 21st.
The Democrats managed to trim state spending by a feeble $12.4 million,” Rell said in her statement. “It is a repeat of the same pattern we [...]

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The comments section knows all. 
State Rep. Jason Bartlett has been arrested for driving on a suspended license:
Newtown Police Sgt. Dominic Costello says Bartlett was pulled over by an officer who saw him driving while speaking on his cell phone, without a hands free device. After a short investigation, the officer determined that his registration had [...]

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Looks like CT GOP Chairman Chris Healy has some egg on his face. Last week he made a statement Twitter Me When You Can
“concerning the laughable request by the CT Democrats that the CTGOP take down our website and Twitters accounts that focus on legislative Democrats” in which he stated:

“The purchase and construction of [...]

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Facing legal threats, the micro blogging site Twitter has been cracking down on fake accounts set up to impersonate others. These accounts are in breach of Twitter’s Terms of Service, which state:
Content Boundaries and Use of Twitter
In order to provide the Twitter service and the ability to communicate and stay connected with others, there are [...]

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A new strategic plan for the state’s economy suggests shrinking the size of the State House of Representatives:
The 542-page strategic plan for the state’s economic future doesn’t recommend a specific number of representatives, only a number proportionate to the state’s population. But it notes New York state has four times as many people as Connecticut [...]

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There’s activity at the Capitol tonight as the legislature tries to get its act together to finalize the budget and take care of other business. As usual, they are taking their time.
Here’s what’s going on:
The probate court system consolidation has been approved by the House.
Minority Leader Larry Cafero and Speaker Christopher Donovan sparred over various [...]

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The Citizens’ Election Program, which I have always strongly supported, has been ruled unconstitutional.
This is an awful shame. That program was intended to accomplish a couple of goals: first, to remove a huge barrier to entry to running for public office; second, to remove some of the corrupting influence of large donors (it’s impossible [...]

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The General Assembly has overridden seven of Gov. Rell’s vetoes, the most any legislature has overturned since the 1970s.
There were two really meaningful bills passed over the governor’s objections: the SustiNet board of directors bill and a bill that would require deficit disputes like the one between the governor’s office and the legislature this [...]

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The legislature will reconvene for its constitutionally-mandated veto override session next week. Democrats are currently trying to figure out which bills to hold a vote on–but they may not get to all of them. A choice quote:
Derek Slap, a spokesman for the Senate Democrats, says lawmakers have enough votes to override a number of vetoes. [...]

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Jodi Rell has been busy with the veto pen lately. Most recently, she vetoed a bill that would have allowed MDC to use ratepayer money for museum exhibits, including one at the new Science Center in Hartford. Her reasoning is that ratepayers don’t need another charge passed along to them right now.
Rell also vetoed a [...]

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Rep. James O’Rourke has been reinstated to his position of deputy House speaker, now that he’s been cleared by prosecutors of any wrongdoing.
Several new laws went into effect yesterday.
The governor did veto the Democrats’ budget. Talks are said to be ongoing. The new fiscal year means that the governor is basically funding departments by executive [...]

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The Norwich Bulletin is disgusted with our legislative leaders after they failed to come to any sort of agreement with the governor over the budget despite labeling the continuing fiscal crisis as their top priority back in January, and has made their displeasure pretty plain. They want Speaker Donovan and Senate President Pro Tem Williams [...]

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Governor Rell reversed her previous position and announced today that she has signed the Senate Vacancy Bill, which takes away her power to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat and instead would require a direct election to choose a successor for senators who leave during their term of office.
Both the House and the Senate had [...]

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State Rep. James O’Rourke has been cleared in the death of a woman in Rocky Hill over the winter.
The chief state’s attorney decided that there wasn’t enough evidence to charge O’Rourke in the death of Carol Sinisgalli. O’Rourke was the last person to see her alive after she left his car, without shoes, more [...]

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Dean Pagani has an interesting post up (also published in the Hartford Business Journal) about the failure of the state leadership to really remake government as they had suggested they might, and the failure to get anywhere near any hard choices.
Even the scandal-plagued legislature of Massachusetts is making hard choices, raising the sales tax up [...]

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It isn’t just the budget that the legislature left unfinished this session, but several other noteworthy bills also did not pass or were never brought to a vote.
Paid Sick Days.
One of these was the paid sick days legislation that would have made Connecticut the first state in the country to mandate that employers give employees [...]

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The 2009 session has come to an end, and here are some of the last-minute highlights:

Senators approved a resolution apologizing for slavery.
A bill thought dead, which will block people from owning dangerous animals as pets, has passed both chambers.
Dairy farmers get a boost.
The governor is not delivering her traditional end-of-session speech tonight due to the [...]

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“These beastly government officials should be made an example of as a warning to others in government: Obey the Constitution or die.”
–New Jersey internet radio host Hal Turner, on his blog, inciting violence against Sen. Andrew McDonald, Rep. Mike Lawlor and Thomas Jones of the state Ethics office. Turner had pledged to release the home [...]

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The legislative session is entering its final day today. Expect the usual bonanza of last-minute bills. The House comes back into session at noon today after adjourning very late last night. The governor is not expected to give the traditional end-of-session speech, due to the fact that there is no budget agreement in place (and [...]

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