tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1 2008-05-09T15:49:00Z a Connecticut news site that understands the usual media offerings just...aren't...enough. Updated daily, we feature original reporting on the state's political, legal and business universe. Movable Type 3.34 tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3623 2008-05-09T15:36:10Z 2008-05-09T15:49:00Z

The debate on universal health care was postponed this year because the 2007 General Assembly wanted to study the issue before passing legislation like its neighboring states. In the absence of a statewide policy on access to affordable health...

Christine Stuart The debate on universal health care was postponed this year because the 2007 General Assembly wanted to study the issue before passing legislation like its neighboring states. In the absence of a statewide policy on access to affordable health care, the General Assembly did pass a number of health care bills being praised by health care advocates. With less than a day left in the legislative session, the General Assembly was able to approve a new Health Equity Commission, which will work to eliminate disparities in the health status of minorities. It expanded a pilot program, known as Money Follows the Person, to transition people from nursing homes to less restrictive community settings, amended the Medicaid program to include hospice services for low income people who are terminally ill, and eliminated a required three-day stay in an acute hospital setting before an insurance plan will allow payment for medically necessary psychological services in a residential facility. ]]> SB 167. The bill included an amendment which eliminated the three-day stay in an acute hospital setting before an insurance plan covers payment for residential services. "Many men, women and children are left floundering in their communities because, according to the current law, they don't qualify for residential coverage," Lembo said. "Residential care is a vital service on the mental health care continuum. It is the provider and patient who should decide the most appropriate treatment and level of care." This bill, if it's signed by the governor, will give "children and adults suffering from eating disorders and other serious psychological impairments a real chance for care they need to cope and transition back into their everyday life with the skills to thrive." The Connecticut Association for Home Care and Hospice praised the passage of SB 558, which amends the state' Medicaid program to include hospice services for low income people who are terminally ill and SB 561 which expands the Money Follows the Person pilot. "More people will be able to avoid institutional care and taxpayers are guaranteed to save money," Brian Ellsworth, president and CEO of the Connecticut Association for Home Care and Hospice, said. In 2006 alone the home care program saved the state more than $115 million by preventing or delaying nursing home placement. But with the good news always comes the bad. The state's current budget situation prevented home care agencies from receiving a cost of living adjustment this year and the federal Medicare program is reducing its payments for home health care. "The stark reality is that more than two-thirds of our member agencies are losing money on patient care services," Ellsworth said. "And that number is sure to rise unless something is done." The plan to increase nursing home staffing ratios, touted as historic by Democratic leaders in the legislature fizzled as lawmakers realized they would be unable to increase spending over the 4 percent in the fiscal 2009 budget approved last year. ]]> tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3622 2008-05-09T13:13:06Z 2008-05-09T13:16:59Z

(Updated 9:36 p.m.) City Hall now plans to start turning away some men from homeless shelters, kill an early-reading program, eliminate 160 positions, and close a senior center, three police substations, and the Dwight School in order to balance...

(Updated 9:36 p.m.) City Hall now plans to start turning away some men from homeless shelters, kill an early-reading program, eliminate 160 positions, and close a senior center, three police substations, and the Dwight School in order to balance the coming year's budget. The Shubert theater, Market New Haven and Tweed New Haven Airport would also receive budget cuts under a revised budget plan Mayor John DeStefano announced at City Hall Thursday afternoon. Click here to continue reading about the cuts New Haven will be making. ]]> tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3621 2008-05-08T21:48:54Z 2008-05-09T13:16:27Z

Democrats in the Senate and the House called separate press conferences Thursday to tout the successes of the legislative session, while Republicans in the House and the Senate held a joint press conference criticizing the majority Democrats for not...

Christine Stuart Democrats in the Senate and the House called separate press conferences Thursday to tout the successes of the legislative session, while Republicans in the House and the Senate held a joint press conference criticizing the majority Democrats for not adjusting the 2009 budget--an agreement that was reached in unison with Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell. Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, said by sticking with the $18.4 billion state budget, which increases spending 4 percent, it means the state is "living within our means," not unlike Connecticut families. Speaker of the House James Amann, D-Milford, said the current budget does not create any new taxes, however, it does include an increase in the state's petroleum gross receipts tax and it may include the extension of the real estate conveyance tax, if lawmakers call themselves back into special session. Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, said he's disappointed Rell and Democrat-controlled legislature agreed to stick with last year's budget and ignore the GOP's alternative budget proposal that hinged on an early retirement program for about 4,200 state employees. ]]> At the beginning of the legislative session, Republicans and Senate Democrats were tripping over themselves trying to figure out how to give taxpayers back the state's projected $260 million surplus. Four months later the state is running a more than $67 million deficit in 2008. Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Southport, said, the Republican Party was the only party to offer "a balanced alternative budget." "Our Democratic colleagues like to talk about living within our means, but talking is not good enough," he said. Amann said later in the afternoon that responsible legislating is not about sound bytes. When asked why he wouldn't allow a one-hour debate on the GOP's budget proposal, he said, "Why would give them an hour to talk about their 'do something' dumb budget?" "I'm not going to waste the legislature's time," Amann said. But anyone watching the last three days of the legislative session could see there seemed to be a lot of time wasted, including a more than four hour debate on a bill that would make it illegal for passengers in a car to drink an alcoholic beverage. There was also the now infamous ethics reform bill, which came to an impasse over whether there should be two different standards for public officials and state employees when it comes to pension revocation. Many chalked up the bill's defeat to the personality differences between the chairs of the General Administration and Elections Committee--Rep. Chris Caruso, D-Bridgeport, and Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford. Williams and Amann both included the mortgage relief bill as one of the successes of the session. The bill introduced as a response to the subprime crisis, includes new, affordable refinancing programs with flexible credit underwriting to help homeowners, and tightens restrictions on mortgage lenders. When asked if they were sending a mixed message by approving this bill and reconvening a special session to extend the real estate conveyance tax on all home sellers, including those selling their homes at a loss, both Williams and Amann said they weren't. The real estate conveyance tax levied on homeowners selling their homes averages about $2,500 and the revenue from the tax raises about $40 million for cities and towns across the state. By factoring out homeowners selling at a loss, "may have a significant impact on the revenue," Williams said. "The conveyance tax is extremely important tax," Amann said. "The best we can do is give some sort of relief." ]]> tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3620 2008-05-08T06:06:43Z 2008-05-09T13:16:27Z

With a special session on the horizon and an ever-growing list of retirements the end of the session was bittersweet for many. Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, who announced he would not seek re-election last month, described the past four...

Christine Stuart With a special session on the horizon and an ever-growing list of retirements the end of the session was bittersweet for many. Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, who announced he would not seek re-election last month, described the past four months as a "rollercoaster ride." Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Southport, said, "It's not the best session we've ever had." In fact, it was "less than stellar," he added. Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, said, "We got a number of good things accomplished," including the mortgage relief bill and a health care bill that provides relief to cities and towns. But there was also a list of bills lawmakers were unable to pass during the short four-month session. ]]> The ethics reform bill that revokes the pensions of corrupt officials and public employees died on the House calendar because the House and the Senate remained at odds over pension revocation. The two chambers agreed a judge should be able to revoke the pension of a corrupt elected-official, but were torn over whether that same standard should be applied to a state or municipal employee. "I'm very sorry the House was not able to put the senate bill up for a vote," Williams said. He said while he's upset there was gridlock he won't "close the door" to bringing it up in special session. Williams said if a majority of the members from the House and the Senate sign a petition they will be able to call themselves into special session to address the real estate conveyance tax, which sunsets on July 1. "We know the cities and towns need the money," Amann said. Republicans are not enthusiastic about coming back to the Capitol to address the conveyance tax. McKinney said he's willing to come in and talk about a budget, but little else. ]]> tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3619 2008-05-08T04:05:41Z 2008-05-09T13:16:28Z

A bill that would allow workers to accumulate one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked died Wednesday night. The Paid Sick Days bill passed the senate, but was stalled for the second year in a row...

Christine Stuart A bill that would allow workers to accumulate one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked died Wednesday night. The Paid Sick Days bill passed the senate, but was stalled for the second year in a row on the House calendar. Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, who championed the bill, said its defeat was making her sick. "It's dead," she said as the clock approached midnight. "Next year." There had been talk earlier in the day that if lawmakers intended to call themselves back into special session to extend the real estate conveyance tax then they could include Paid Sick Days in the call to special session. However, Democratic leadership in the Senate didn't want to make it part of the debate, since it had already passed the bill twice. "This is a disappointment for the thousands of Connecticut residents who called, emailed, and wrote to their legislators in support of Paid Sick Days," Jon Green, executive director of the Working Families Party said. "Of course, the real shame here is that a majority of legislators in both the Senate and the House -- and the vast majority of Connecticut voters -- support this policy and would like to see it become law," Green said. "This legislation offers something that really matters in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents, and Working Families will continue to fight for this issue on their behalf." tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3618 2008-05-08T00:13:48Z 2008-05-09T13:16:28Z

At an early evening press briefing, Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell said she would not be giving the traditional speech at midnight to adjourn the legislative session. However, she also noted that this is not like any other session...

Christine Stuart At an early evening press briefing, Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell said she would not be giving the traditional speech at midnight to adjourn the legislative session. However, she also noted that this is not like any other session she's ever experienced. Usually during the final days of session lawmakers are scrambling to get their bills passed, but with the budget in place lawmakers have "too much time on their hands," Rell said. "I've decided that everybody's temper is just getting a little too short right now and by midnight everyone is going to be a little tired and will want to go home," Rell said. ]]> Global Warming bill, which requires emissions to be capped at 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent emissions reductions from 2001 levels by 2050. She said she was happy the legislature was able to get the teen driving bill to her desk. The bill increases the number of required hours of training teens must undergo, increases restrictions on when a teen can drive and increases various penalties. She signed the bill into law on April 21. Rell said she would not comment on any other bills that may have received final passage, but had not yet reached her desk. As far as, the health care pooling bill that passed the Senate early Wednesday morning, Rell said she may be tipping her hand by saying this, but her biggest fear about the bill is the hole it could create in the budget. She said she spoke with someone in the state Comptroller's office who told her it could jeopardize the $54 million in savings the state negotiated in the current state employee health insurance plan. ]]> tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3617 2008-05-07T19:45:57Z 2008-05-09T13:16:28Z

(Updated: 5 p.m.) Hours before the end of the regular legislative session, Sen. President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, announced that his caucus was in favor of holding a special session this summer to address the real estate conveyance tax, which will...

Christine Stuart (Updated: 5 p.m.) Hours before the end of the regular legislative session, Sen. President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, announced that his caucus was in favor of holding a special session this summer to address the real estate conveyance tax, which will sunset if lawmakers are unable to pass a bill to extend it by midnight tonight. Williams said Wednesday that his caucus is "worried about driving up property taxes." The real estate conveyance tax levied on homeowners selling their homes brings in about $40 million in revenue to cities and towns across the state. Cities and towns love the tax because they can use it to reduce the local property tax burden. Real estate agents hate the tax because they say it takes sellers by surprise at closings. Speaker of the House James Amann, D-Milford, met with Williams Wednesday afternoon and it looks like a special session is possible, but they were still working out the details. A call to special session has to be very narrow and only the items listed in the call can be debated. Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, said "they should run the bill now." Cafero said if the session adjourns tonight without a bill on the conveyance tax," They'll have no one to blame but themselves." On Tuesday Republicans tried six times to force a floor debate on their plan to revise the fiscal year 2009 budget. Democratic lawmakers know if they run the conveyance tax that Republicans will try to attach their budget amendment to the bill. Late last week Democratic lawmakers and Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell agreed to use the $18.4 billion budget they passed last year. Republicans want to run their own budget proposal, which includes an early retirement plan for 4,200 state employees. Republicans say an early retirement plan will create $163 million in savings, which could be used to increase spending in certain areas and reduce taxes in other areas. Both Democrats and Rell doubt those savings could be realized when pension and health insurance costs are calculated. The GOP budget keeps the same bottomline, but closes the deficit and makes modest changes to town aid, nursing homes, and nonprofit social service agencies. It also eliminates the schedule July 1 increase in the gas tax, eliminates the business entity tax and phases out the estate tax paid by the state's wealthiest citizens. "All of this to avoid a one hour debate," Cafero said. tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3615 2008-05-07T17:27:18Z 2008-05-09T13:16:28Z

Not everything that happens at the legislature is serious. Rep. Chris Caruso, D-Bridgeport, showed off this gift from Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington. The Buddha in front of the sign is a piggy bank. The sign he is holding...

Christine Stuart Not everything that happens at the legislature is serious. Rep. Chris Caruso, D-Bridgeport, showed off this gift from Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington. The Buddha in front of the sign is a piggy bank. The sign he is holding reads as follows: You are a Republican and Chris Caruso gets you mad...25 cents You are a Democrat and Chris Caruso gets you mad...50 cents]]> Caruso kills your bill because you don't like campaign finance reform...$1.50 Caruso kills your bill for no apparent reason....$1 You kill your own bill because you think he's going to do it and you beat him to it...$2 You get confused debating your bill with him that you accidentally vote No...$3 You kill someone else's bill that Caruso wanted thereby killing your own bill because it is just...well...easier...$5 You kill your own bill because he has you so confused its the easiest way out...$10 You have not been summoned but need to talk to him about your bill anyway...priceless tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3616 2008-05-07T14:34:07Z 2008-05-09T13:16:28Z

Late Tuesday night after the House recessed for the day, Speaker of the House James Amann, D-Milford, lingered on the dais. With a budget deal in place getting bills passed has become increasingly difficult and has many rank-and-file lawmakers...

Christine Stuart Late Tuesday night after the House recessed for the day, Speaker of the House James Amann, D-Milford, lingered on the dais. With a budget deal in place getting bills passed has become increasingly difficult and has many rank-and-file lawmakers frustrated with the lack of action. When asked by a reporter why lawmakers should even come in Wednesday, Amann laughed. "We did get a few bills done," he said. "There are still some important things worth fighting for." On the agenda in the House Wednesday is Paid Sick Days and Ethics Reform part deux. Amann said he hopes lawmakers can sneak a few bills out here and there throughout the day. "And it's my last day," Amann said. To the surprise of many Amann announced last month that he wasn't seeking re-election next year, so Wednesday will be his last day as Speaker of the House. "I just want to soak it all in," Amann said. ]]> tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3614 2008-05-07T06:54:19Z 2008-05-09T13:16:28Z

The state Senate debated Majority Leader Chris Donovan's Connecticut Health Care Partnership bill that would allow municipalities, nonprofits and small businesses to join the state employees health insurance plan into the early morning hours Wednesday. The bill finally passed 22...

Christine Stuart Majority Leader Chris Donovan's Connecticut Health Care Partnership bill that would allow municipalities, nonprofits and small businesses to join the state employees health insurance plan into the early morning hours Wednesday. The bill finally passed 22 to 12 along a mostly party line vote around 2 a.m. Republicans tried to introduce their budget amendment twice to the bill, but were unsuccessful. Instead they continued with a flurry of amendments to the underlying bill, which the Governor's Budget Secretary has said could cost the state $54 million in health care savings in fiscal year 2009. ]]> Proponents of the bill said the bill would lower health care costs for cities and towns, while opponents said two out of the three health insurance companies that administer the plans for the state have said they would re-rate their bids if the state forced them to expand their pools to include more people and possibly more risk. "Anthem believes that if this legislation passes, the underlying assumptions used to develop the pricing of the State health insurance plans during the most recent RFP process would be negatively impacted," Anthem's President David Fusco said in an April 17 letter to the state. Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, said city's like Danbury could save $2.8 million by voluntarily joining the state employees pool. Sen. David Cappiello, R-Danbury, said that's not what his local officials have told him. "They said it would actually cost Danbury millions and millions of dollars a year," he said. Cappiello used the opening by Prague as an opportunity to amend the Republican budget to the bill. "With 24 hours to go, we in this body can make an attempt to do something to the state budget," Cappiello said. Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele ruled Cappiello's budget amendment germane to the underlying pooling bill, but the Democratic majority was able to overturn his decision on both Republican budget amendments. Standing outside the Senate chamber, Phil Sherwood, a New Britain alderman and lobbyist for Connecticut Citizens Action Group, said Cappiello shouldn't even be voting on this bill because his wife works for Anthem, one of the insurance companies that said it would have to re-rate its bids if the legislature passed this bill. Cappiello said he received a letter from the Office of State Ethics saying there was no conflict of interest because the bill would not directly benefit his wife. And "I argued the merit of the budget amendments, not the underlying bill," he said. Sherwood, a proponent of the bill, said it would save the city of New Britain $900,000. "This is really our only chance in this year of belt-tightening to provide some financial relief to cities and towns," Donovan said in a press release. "We believe that in many cases, participation in the Connecticut Healthcare Partnership will yield millions of dollars in savings. The governor should sign this bill." tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3613 2008-05-07T02:18:46Z 2008-05-09T13:16:28Z

The Democratic Black and Latino caucus in the House of Representatives was able to temporarily filibuster a bill that would prohibit having an open liquor, beer, or wine bottle in a motor vehicle while on a state highway. The...

Christine Stuart The Democratic Black and Latino caucus in the House of Representatives was able to temporarily filibuster a bill that would prohibit having an open liquor, beer, or wine bottle in a motor vehicle while on a state highway. The more than four hour debate, which mostly focused on racial disparity in enforcement of the proposed bill, came to a halt shortly after the Black and Latino caucus found some common ground with white lawmakers over the issue of tailgating at sporting events. White lawmakers wanted to know whether the proposed open container law could be enforced at a University of Connecticut home football game, while Black and Latino lawmakers wanted a racial, ethnic, and gender impact study on implementation of the bill. The bill was finally passed temporarily, while lawmakers tried to work out a compromise and give the bill final passage. ]]> tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3611 2008-05-06T22:11:44Z 2008-05-09T13:16:28Z

Earlier this afternoon the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives privately talked about a bill that would create a committee to work with the state's two tribal casinos on a smoking ban. The Democratic caucus decided not to bring the bill...

Christine Stuart Earlier this afternoon the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives privately talked about a bill that would create a committee to work with the state's two tribal casinos on a smoking ban. The Democratic caucus decided not to bring the bill up for a vote Tuesday, which disappointed the union representing 2,600 table dealers at Foxwoods casino. Julie Kushner, assistant regional director of the United Auto Workers Region 9A, said she's disappointed in Speaker James Amann for not letting lawmakers debate the bill in the waning hours of the legislative session. "I'm disappointed the Speaker didn't come through on his word," she said Tuesday afternoon. Amann said the UAW asked him to support the bill weeks ago when the state still had a surplus. He said Tuesday that the Democratic members in the House overwhelmingly opposed it. ]]> this letter. Rell and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal have said they would continue to negotiate the smoking issue with the tribes. ]]> tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3610 2008-05-06T19:50:49Z 2008-05-09T13:16:28Z

The extension of the real estate conveyance tax levied on homeowners when they sell their home is in jeopardy. Local cities and towns that have already seen their increase in state aid drop in recent days are mad about their...

Click here to continue reading CCM's press release and here to find out how much money your town gets from the conveyance tax. On the other side of the debate are the real estate agents, who are in favor of getting rid of the tax. Click here to read what they have to say about the tax. ]]> tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3609 2008-05-06T14:57:05Z 2008-05-09T13:16:28Z

The House is set to privately caucus the Paid Sick Days bill and casino smoking ban Tuesday one day before the legislative session adjourns. Both bills have already passed the Senate and may be brought up in the House...

Christine Stuart The House is set to privately caucus the Paid Sick Days bill and casino smoking ban Tuesday one day before the legislative session adjourns. Both bills have already passed the Senate and may be brought up in the House on the final day of the legislative session Wednesday. Also of note is the real estate conveyance tax, which is scheduled to sunset on July 1, if no action is taken. The Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee voted to continue the conveyance tax levied on people when they sell their homes long before Democratic leaders and Gov. M. Jodi Rell agreed to stick with last year's budget. Traditionally the conveyance tax would be something negotiated with the budget, however, since there are no budget negotiations extending the tax becomes more difficult. The real estate conveyance tax raises about $40 million for cities and towns statewide. If Democrats in the House try to bring the bill out on the floor, it's more than possible that Republicans would try to attach their alternative budget proposal to it making for a lengthy debate with little time left on the clock. ]]> tag:www.ctnewsjunkie.com,2008://1.3608 2008-05-06T04:12:13Z 2008-05-09T13:16:28Z

The House passed a bill along party lines that calls for mental illness to be treated the same as physical illness under Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell's Charter Oak Health Plan for uninsured adults in the state. The Charter...

Christine Stuart The House passed a bill along party lines that calls for mental illness to be treated the same as physical illness under Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell's Charter Oak Health Plan for uninsured adults in the state. The Charter Oak Health Plan was passed last year by the legislature and is expected to be offered July 1 to any uninsured resident in the state. The bill, which Rell has promised to veto, passed by a vote of 104 to 44, but only after Republican lawmakers made their first attempt to attach their budget proposal to it. ]]> Click here to read her letter and see the number of bills already passed by at least one chamber that may need to be revised.]]>