The budget is the most complicated and difficult thing that the legislature does, which is probably why politicians, pundits, and partisans try to turn it into a one-line riddle with easy, obvious solutions.

Continue reading "OP-ED | On State Budget, No Easy Solutions" »

Tags: budget, governor's budget, 2014 election, budget deficit, Republicans, Susan Bigelow, dh

Some political theater planned by the Democratic state party went off-script Thursday when Capitol police prevented an intern dressed in a chicken costume from delivering chicken wings to legislative Republican leaders.

Continue reading "Democratic Intern In Chicken Costume Stopped By Police" »

Tags: Donald Williams, John McKinney, Lawrence Cafero, Elizabeth Larkin, intern, chicken

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proclaimed that his “Small Business Express Program” was a success and that the closure rate of businesses that receive the low-interest loans is much smaller than small businesses that don’t receive assistance.

Continue reading "Malloy Defends Small Business Loan Program" »

Tags: small business express program, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Lawrence Cafero, dh

There may be a light at the end of the tunnel for the 37,500 parents who face the possibility of being kicked off the state’s HUSKY insurance program.

Continue reading "Barnes Floats State Subsidy Idea During Budget Negotiations" »

Tags: HUSKY, Ben Barnes, Sheldon Toubman, Toni Walker, Toni Harp, parents, subsidy, dh

Developmental disability advocates, clients, parents, and providers warned lawmakers Tuesday that nearly $40 million in proposed cuts will have an adverse impact on the services they receive or provide.

Continue reading "Advocates Rally Against Cuts for Individuals With Developmental Disabilities" »

Tags: community providers, nonprofits, CCPA, budget cuts, dh

The Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee killed a bill Monday that would have created a new personal income tax credit for premiums paid on long-term care insurance policies.

Continue reading "Finance Committee Passes On Tax Credit For Long-Term Care Insurance" »

Tags: Long-term care, insurance, tax credit, Patricia Widlitz, Finance Committee, dh

Law enforcement officials on Friday requested more funding to deal with a backlog of paperwork related to firearm purchases and transfer-of-ownership applications that have grown exponentially since the passage of new gun regulations.

Continue reading "Lawmakers ‘Alarmed’ By Firearm Paperwork Backlogs" »

Tags: gun control, state police, background checks, gun permits, fingerprints, stebbins, bradford, dh

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy joined charter school advocates Thursday at the state Capitol to rally against $47.1 million in cuts proposed by the Democrat-controlled Appropriations Committee earlier this month.

—More photos.

Continue reading "Charter School Advocates Rally Against Education Cuts" »

Tags: charter school, education, funding, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Steve Perry, dh

Normally the fact that the state is running a $150.1 million surplus would be good news, but state Comptroller Kevin Lembo’s monthly budget report was dampened by consensus revenue figures that show a nearly $500 million shortfall over the next two years.

Continue reading "Budget Numbers Offer Mixed Bag" »

Tags: Kevin Lembo, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Lawrence Cafero, John McKinney, budget, deficit, surplus

Budget analysts predicted that over the next two years revenue will drop more than $488 million, creating new challenges in negotiations over a state budget that doesn’t increase taxes.

Continue reading "Budget Analysts Predict $488M Drop In Revenue" »

Tags: Ben Barnes, Office of Fiscal Analysis, consensus revenue estimates, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Lawrence Cafero, John McKinney, dh