Posts Tagged ‘Connecticut’
Rainy Day Funds tough to use in some states
Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 March 2011 01:37 Written by rslcpol Friday, 11 March 2011 01:05
From NewsTribune.com:
While budget deficits threaten to cripple government services across the country, a handful of states with billions of dollars socked away in “rainy day” funds for troubled financial times are discovering they can’t use that money to offset their cuts.
Amid the worst financial crisis facing states in decades, stringent rules governing the use of reserve funds have tied the hands of lawmakers in nearly a dozen states even as they consider raising taxes, slashing health and social services and shuttering education programs.
About three-fourths of states have used rainy day funds in the past three years to alleviate budget cuts, but some have had difficulty accessing the money or have shied away from doing so. They would have to repay it quickly or were worried it would hurt their bond ratings.
Tags: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Neveda, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma | Posted under State Legislature News | No Comments
CT AG Race Settled
Last Updated on Friday, 19 November 2010 01:11 Written by rslcpol Friday, 19 November 2010 01:11
From Courant.com:
Sixteen days after Connecticut’s long-count election, Republican Martha Dean, the unsuccessful candidate for state Attorney General, quietly conceded to Democratic victor George Jepsen and said she is dropping her legal challenge of Jepsen’s eligibility to hold office – perhaps reluctantly.
“Unfortunately, the Supreme Court informed the public and the AG candidates of the eligibility criteria too late in the election cycle for this issue to be brought to the voters’ attention properly,” Dean said in a statement posted on one of her campaign web pages. “Mr. Jepsen, the voters, and I all learned of the Court’s interpretation of the statutory eligibility criteria’s full-meaning just days before the election.”
On the eve of the Nov. 2 election, Dean, who was trailing, went to court in an effort to block Jepsen’s candidacy by arguing that he lacked the legal experience required by state law to serve as attorney general. Jepsen disagreed.
Tags: Connecticut | Posted under Attorney General News | No Comments
CT: Democrat Secretary of State in middle of WWE Shirt Controversy
Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 October 2010 10:29 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 27 October 2010 10:24
From CNNPolitics:
The controversy began last week when reports surfaced that Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz had told poll workers they could ask voters wearing clothing bearing the WWE logo to cover it when at the polling place because Linda McMahon is so closely associated with the company.
She left the CEO’s post to cast her lot in the Senate race.
State Republicans and McMahon reacted as if Bysiewicz had ordered a complete ban on such clothing and decreed that poll workers could turn voters away if they wore clothing with WWE-logos.
“On what grounds does Bysiewicz base this ridiculous act of voter intimidation?” asked Republican State Party Chairman Chris Healy last week.
Tags: Connecticut | Posted under Secretaries of State | No Comments
CT: GOP Best for Attorney General
Last Updated on Thursday, 21 October 2010 01:19 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 21 October 2010 01:19
From Republican-American:
The incumbents, those departing as well as the one remaining, served too long. Each, in his or her own way, grew bored with the routine duties of the office and acquired what Republican secretary of the state candidate Jerry Farrell calls “wanderlust”: they drifted into issues outside their proper purview. Mr. Blumenthal, legendary for suing anything that moved, actually earned a rebuke from a federal judge for exceeding his authority. Ms. Bysiewicz drifted into environmentalism, assuming an active role in opposing construction of a liquefied-natural-gas platform in the safest possible place for such a facility, in Long Island Sound, 10 miles from the nearest land. Mrs. Wyman became a social activist, blocking state employees from making charitable donations to the Boy Scouts because she opposed the organization’s ban against open homosexuals serving as scoutmasters. As Republican treasurer candidate Jeff Wright has documented, Ms. Nappier has allowed her social conscience to influence some of her investment decisions, contributing to massive deficits in state pension funds.
The Republican candidates — Martha Dean for attorney general, Mr. Wright, Mr. Farrell and Jack Orchulli for comptroller — promise a competent, transparent, no-nonsense approach to these important jobs. All are well-qualified. Mrs. Dean is an environmental attorney who has practiced law in the state for 22 years. She ran on the Republican ticket against Mr. Blumenthal in 2002. Both she and Mr. Farrell have extensive private-sector business experience, having run law firms. Mr. Farrell’s experience in state government includes service as commissioner of consumer protection, a position he has held since 2006. Mr. Wright, currently mayor of Newington, is a former Metropolitan District commissioner, a certified financial planner and a former Marine reservist. Mr. Orchulli, who has a master’s degree in finance, challenged Sen. Christopher Dodd in 2004, has management experience in the pharmaceutical and fashion industries. He also served on the Connecticut Development Authority board.
Tags: Connecticut | Posted under Attorney General News, Secretaries of State | No Comments
CT: Anti-Incumbent Mood could help Republicans in State Legislative Races
Last Updated on Monday, 18 October 2010 01:30 Written by rslcpol Monday, 18 October 2010 01:30
From Courant.com:
With a national anti-incumbent headwind at their back and history on their side, Republicans are hoping for a political spillover into Connecticut this year to regain the legislative seats they lost in the strong Democratic years of 2006 and 2008.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley predicts that the Republicans could win back as many as 15 to 20 seats in the House and three to four in the state Senate.
If Republicans achieve those gains, the current veto-proof margins in both chambers would be broken. If that happens, passing difficult legislation — such as abolishing the death penalty — would become more difficult.
Tags: Connecticut | Posted under State Legislature News | No Comments
CT: Complaint Against Democrat Secretary of State Candidate
Last Updated on Friday, 15 October 2010 03:46 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 13 October 2010 12:59
From Courant.com:
epublican State Party Chairman Chris Healy said Tuesday he would file a formal complaint with the state Judicial Branch’s Statewide Grievance Committee against Democratic Secretary of the State candidate Denise Merrill, saying she has misrepresented herself as an attorney.
Responding to a Sunday Courant column, Healy said that Merrill, of Mansfield, the state House majority leader, “has claimed in her official biography on her official website, her campaign website and printed materials that she is an attorney even though her law license in California has been inactive for over 30 years.”
“Merrill has tried to cover her tracks by placing an ‘asterisk’ to denote her law status in California,” Healy said, but “placing a notation doesn’t excuse breaking the rules.”
Tags: Connecticut | Posted under Secretaries of State | No Comments
CT: Attorney General Candidates to face off in Second Debate
Last Updated on Wednesday, 6 October 2010 10:13 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 30 September 2010 01:31
From newstimes.com:
The two candidates for Connecticut attorney general will face off for the second time next month in a debate that’s already a sold-out show.
Tom Ciuba, a public relations official with the Connecticut Bar Association, said the 120 seats available for the debate were reserved within hours of the event being announced Tuesday.
“We are looking at other ways that would allow the public to view the debate,” he said.
The head-to-head forum will be held Oct. 11 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Grand Courtroom at the Quinnipiac University School of Law in Hamden.
The event is being sponsored by the bar association, the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association and the League of Women Voters of Connecticut.
Tags: Connecticut | Posted under Attorney General News | No Comments
CT AG Candidates Spar
Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 10:24 Written by rslcpol Friday, 24 September 2010 10:50
From theday.com:
The Democratic and Republican nominees for Connecticut attorney general faced off in their first one-on-one debate, with outgoing attorney general Richard Blumenthal being one of the more popular topics of discussion.
Republican Martha Dean repeatedly told the audience at the University of Connecticut Law School on Thursday that her style would mark a departure from Blumenthal’s. She said she would scale back the scope of the office and file fewer lawsuits.
Tags: Connecticut | Posted under Attorney General News | No Comments
CT AG Candidates to Debate
Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 10:36 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 21 September 2010 01:11
From Courant.com:
The Democratic and Republican nominees for
Connecticut Attorney General are set to face off in their first one-on-one debate.
The University of Connecticut Law School is hosting the event Thursday between Democrat George Jepsen and Republican Martha Dean.
Tags: Connecticut | Posted under Attorney General News | No Comments
CT: Martha Dean wins GOP Nomination for Attorney General
Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:39 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 11 August 2010 10:18
From courant.com:
Martha Dean, a political outsider who made support for gun ownership part of a broadly conservative agenda, easily won the Republican primary for attorney general Tuesday against challenger Ross Garber, a moderate who had the backing of much of the party establishment.
The other two primary contests for state-wide office – both Democratic – followed the same pattern, with the convention-endorsed candidates easily turning aside challengers.
Kevin Lembo, the state healthcare advocate, trounced Waterbury Mayor and five term, former state legislator Michael Jarjuara in the primary for state comptroller by a 70 to 30 ratio, according to unofficial returns. Jarjura appeared poised to carry his hometown of Waterbury by a couple of hundred votes, but little else.
Tags: Connecticut | Posted under Attorney General News | No Comments