• News...
  
• "SHORT SESSION" 2008 OVER;  followed the Long Session ended June 6, 2007, and is now over...but wait!  SPECIAL "VETO" SESSION Monday, June 23, 2008 to override raise in minimum wage veto.  How many other Special Sessions did we have with in the past year?  Answer: 3:  Special Session in January '08 (before Regular "Short" Session begins February 6 and ending May 7);  Bonding (Oct. 30, 2007 was the end date);  Special Session (S.B. 1500, the laundry list of everything that didn't make it in the Long Session).
• Ethics news from the CT Senate;
• Lights, camera, more action...
  
• "Smart Growth" implementation back for another shot?  Looking ahead to the issues we'll be looking at next Session...
  
• Click above far left for "About Town" analysis of  issues we will be watching especially hard or...next, Click on foggy Capitol (C.G.A.);  INFO LINKS - Analysis of bills by:  Office of Legislative Research (OLR);  Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA).

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An Odd Farewell For Bill Dyson
Hartford Courant
By Mark Pazniokas on June 23, 2008 3:45 PM

Rep. William R. Dyson, D-New Haven, a longtime champion of the poor, is leaving the House of Representatives on an unexpected note -- by voting to uphold the governor's veto of a minimum-wage increase.

Dyson was one of 106 House members to pass the bill in April, but he switched today and voted with the Republican governor. The House Democrats still managed to override the veto, 102-39, one more than the necessary 101 votes.

When asked to explain the switch, Dyson replied, "Different economic times."

Dyson said unemployment has worsened since April.

Jerking a thumb toward the Republican minority, Dyson said, "I believed the argument they made about this impacting a whole lot of people with layoffs."

Dyson, who often has broken with the Democratic majority since losing a bitter race for speaker to James Amann four years ago, said that Rell's office approached him about switching.

"They asked me what I was doing," he said.

Dyson said he already had decided to uphold the veto before he was approached.

Dyson, who is not seeking re-election this fall after 32 years in the House, acknowledged that some people will find it odd that one of his last votes was against the minimum wage, but he said, "I didn't think about that at all, that it was one of the last votes."

Rep. George M. Wilber, D-Winsted, who voted against the bill in April, switched today to override. At the time, he appeared to be the deciding vote.

Then Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, R-Somers, voted to override, bringing the tally to 102.

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Another shot for minimum wage hike
Stamford ADVOCATE
By Brian Lockhart, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/21/2008 01:00:00 AM EDT

The Democratic-majority General Assembly will likely have the votes Monday to overturn Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell's veto of legislation that would increase the minimum wage from $7.65 to $8 per hour.

"We're within striking distance," Larry Perosino, spokesman for House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, said yesterday.

The bill passed the 151-member House of Representatives during the regular session in a mostly party line vote of 106-45, with two Democrats opposed and three Republicans voting for the increase.  Rell and other opponents say the measure could hurt businesses in a tough economy and cost the state jobs.  Proponents dismiss this argument, saying the increase is needed to help residents cope with the tough economy and rising prices.

Amann has said he supports overturning the veto but was uncertain whether enough lawmakers could return to the capitol for the veto session Monday.  A two-thirds vote - or 101 members - are needed to overturn Rell's veto in the House.

State Reps. Gerald Fox, William Tong, Christel Truglia, and Carlo Leone, all D-Stamford, along with state Reps. Bruce Morris and Christopher Perone, both D-Norwalk, said they will be among those headed to Hartford on Monday.

"Look, it makes an impact for people that are living below the poverty line, working two jobs," Perone said. "Given the economic pressures and the costs of energy and gas, it does make a small impact."

Leone said boosting the minimum wage is "the least we can do."

State Rep. Joseph Mioli, D-Westport, was one of the few Democrats to vote against the minimum wage increase.  Mioli's family owns a pizza restaurant, and he was concerned about the bill's effect on small businesses.  Mioli could not be reached for comment.  Twenty-four votes are needed in the Senate.

Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, said he could deliver the votes of his 23-member caucus.  Earlier this week, the two Republican state senators who also voted for the minimum wage increase said they had not changed their minds.

"I continue to believe my initial position was correct," said state Sen. Sam Caligiuri, R-Waterbury. "But I will be taking people's calls and hearing from people and continuing to study this right up until the vote."

State Sen. Anthony Guglielmo, R-Stafford Springs, who was born and raised in Stamford, talked briefly with Rell about her veto after a press conference last week.

"She said, 'I wouldn't pressure you on this, but I do think the facts have changed (and) I'd like to send you some material,' " Guglielmo recalled.

He said people were being punished by high gasoline, fuel oil and food prices, and hiking the minimum wage is the least the state can do to help.

"It amounts to $14 a week," Guglielmo said. "It's not a lot of money."

Perosino said the intention Monday is to also overturn Rell's veto of a tip credit bill that was linked to the minimum wage hike.

The tip credit allows hotels, restaurants and related businesses to offer salaries that are less than minimum wage to service employees who make up for the difference in tips.  Perosino said the minimum wage bill is the only Rell veto lawmakers plan to override Monday.

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Action in the "Veto" Session Monday, June 23 is purely to overturn the Governor's veto of the raise in the minimum wage.
DOT problems will probably live on for now
CT POST
ROB VARNON
Article Last Updated: 06/20/2008 11:46:37 PM EDT

HARTFORD — Lawmakers meeting this Monday to try and override a veto, probably won't tackle proposed reforms to working conditions at the state Department of Transportation.

The Connecticut State Employees Association/Service Employees International Union Local 2001 sent letters to legislative leaders asking them to call a special session to approve a supplemental collective bargaining agreement it reached with Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

The CSEA's said in a letter to the leadership, the supplemental would address some of the concerns raised about the performance of the DOT, including retaining good employees who were leaving for higher paying, private sector jobs. One provision would allow DOT employees to work 40-hours a week. DOT workers are limited to 35 hours a week. The five additional hours would be at regular pay, not overtime. The agreement also places educational requirements on engineers and supervisors that do not now exist.

The union's deal could be up for discussion if Rell asked the leadership to do so, Perosino said. The governor didn't comment Friday.

Despite contacting Rell's office, the governor did not comment on the union agreement Friday. After a number scandals in the early part of this decade, followed by a string of embarrassments, including a gross underestimation of the costs for the more than $1 billion rail maintenance yard in New Haven, reforming the DOT became a hot topic leading into the regular legislative session this year. But bills to change the DOT went nowhere.

Larry Perosino, a spokesman for House Speaker Jim Amann, D-Milford, said the agreement is not on the radar for lawmakers.

Representatives and senators are coming to Hartford on Monday to try to override Rell's veto of a bill to raise the minimum wage, he said.

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Rell signs subprime aid bill
HARTFORD — Homeowners stuck in the subprime mortgage crisis may be eligible for a revolving-loan program, funding for which will be expanded under legislation signed into law Wednesday by Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

During a bill-signing ceremony at the Manchester branch of the Rockville Bank, Rell said the law will set a new national standard to help homeowners caught in the subprime squeeze.

"Connecticut residents are feeling the pressure from all sides — from staggering gas prices, rising prices for all forms of energy, food prices and the overall cost of living — and many middle-class families are having trouble making their mortgage," Rell said in a statement. "We are here to help, and with this legislation, we will."

The bill includes $40 million to continue a Connecticut Housing Finance Authority program started by Rell last year to offer those trapped in adjustable-rate mortgages to sign on at 6-percent rates; and a new $30 million revolving loan program.

Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, co-chairman of the Banks Committee, said in a phone interview on Wednesday that the measures will not cost taxpayers anything, but will be self-sustaining because as loans are paid off the money will become available for new loans.

"We've expanded the definition of how people can qualify," Duff said, noting that the bill also allows CHFA to develop and implement a new program on turning foreclosed homes into affordable or supportive-housing sites.

The bill will also allow people within certain income guidelines to participate in an expanded job training and retraining program.

"We should try to help people get a job because if they don't need state services we can help them keep their homes on their own," Duff said.

"I'm proud of the fact we were able to pass a bipartisan bill, written in 11 weeks, that was very comprehensive, doesn't use taxpayer money but will help keep our economy strong," Duff said.

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Rell Signs Ethics Reform Bill 
DAY 
By Ted Mann    
Published on 6/18/2008 

Hartford - Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed an ethics reform bill today that would allow judges to reduce or revoke the pensions of public employees or officials convicted of corruption.

Calling the bill "the crowning glory of four years’ worth of hard work," Rell said the pension revocation measure represents the final piece of a series of ethics reforms begun after she took over for her predecessor, John G. Rowland, who resigned amid a corruption scandal and later spent 10 months in federal prison.

"We’ve tinkered around the edges for years with ethics reform," Rell said in a press conference on the north steps of the Capitol. "This truly is major ethics reform."

The governor was flanked by mayors from Manchester, Newington and Middletown, as well as legislative leaders, including Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, and Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield.

Also on hand were the lawmakers who finally hammered out a compromise on the bill for last week’s special session, after years of unsuccessful efforts to win passage of the pension revocation language: Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, and Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington, along with Rep. Christopher Caruso, D-Bridgeport.

The bill also includes the governor’s spouse as a public official in the state’s ethics code, tightens gift restrictions for public officials, prohibits legislative or executive chiefs of staff from soliciting campaign contributions, and requires anyone witnessing the offer or acceptance of a bribe to report it.

The pension revocation provisions leave discretion in the hands of a sentencing judge, and would apply to both state and municipal public employees, as well as elected officials.

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SPECIAL SESSION JUNE 11, 2008:  all over now!
Dems thwart GOP proposals in late session; Ethics bill passes; special session ends after 3 a.m.
By Brian Lockhart, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/12/2008 07:57:03 AM EDT

HARTFORD - Lawmakers wrapped up a special legislative session after 3 a.m. Thursday.
Though legislators arrived at the capitol around 10 a.m., the actual debate on extending higher conveyance tax rates, cutting a gas tax and passing ethics reforms did not begin until around 12 hours later.

The Senate left at 1 a.m., but the House of Representatives did not head for home until after 3 a.m.  Rep. James Shapiro, D-Stamford, said members wanted to finish their business instead of adjourning to return later today.

"Nobody wants to come back," Shapiro said.

Democrats successfully limited the agenda to a handful of bills, thwarting Republican proposals at every turn.

"C'mon!" shouted a frustrated House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, just after 1 a.m. when yet another GOP amendment was shot down in the House.

The biggest news was passage of an ethics bill that, until Wednesday, many thought would become the victim of a dispute between the Democratic co-chairs and vice chairs of the Government Administrations and Elections Committee.  When the regular session ended May 7, House Democrats, at the urging of GAE chairman Christopher Caruso, D-Bridgeport, and vice-chair Diana Urban, D-Stonington, balked at a Senate ethics package allowing a Superior Court judge to strip corrupt elected officials and public employees of their pensions.

Championed in the Senate by GAE co-chair Gail Slossberg, D-Milford, the measure was also backed by Republicans in both chambers and Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell.  House Democrats argued the bill interfered with collective bargaining agreements and said judges should be limited to ordering unionized employees' pensions pay for their restitution.  The compromise backed unanimously in the Senate and by 124 members of the House specifies the Attorney General can first ask a judge to fully revoke a unionized workers' pension.

If the judge determines the request violates a collective bargaining agreement, the judge is then given the option of reducing the pension to pay fines, restitution or jail costs.

"We've done our job here. We've set the public policy," Slossberg told reporters prior to the House and Senate votes. "We also recognize we have contracts and the court is going to look at those and we need to respond accordingly."

The ethics package also: Makes failure to report a bribe and failure to report witnessing a bribe a crime; defines the governor's spouse a public official; limits gifts to public officials to major life events, such as the birth of a child, and to $1,000 or less; prohibits state contractors from offering a job to a state employee who participated significantly in awarding a contract to that firm; and requires lawmakers complete ethics training.

The Senate, followed by the House, also passed a bill yesterday they hope will provide drivers some relief at the gas pump.  The legislation cancels the planned 0.5 percent increase on July 1 of the gross receipts tax on wholesale fuel transactions, limiting it to 7 percent until 2013. At that time it is scheduled to increase to 8.1 percent.  The gross receipts tax is levied on wholesale fuel transactions. Gas stations pay the tax and pass it on to their customers at the pump. That amount varies with the wholesale price of fuel.

The 0.5 percent increase was, based on current prices, expected to add between 3 and 5 cents per gallon of gas.

The tax has been gradually increased to help pay for the state's transportation needs. But lawmakers from both sides of the aisle agree that unexpectedly high gas prices are bringing in far more revenue than anticipated and the state will not lose money by halting the July 1 increase. Republicans wanted to go further. They proposed capping the amount of tax that is actually collected so it does not continue to rise with wholesale costs.

They were also pushing a summer "gas tax holiday" that reduced a 25-cent gas tax the state levies directly at the pump.

Sen. William Nickerson, R-Greenwich, began the Senate debate by arguing stopping the July 1 percentage increase in the gross receipts tax would put an estimated $10.20 back in consumers' pockets over a year.

"Can we all agree that's completely imperceptible?" he said. "The day after this bill is adopted, no one will be better off."

But in the end he voted for the Democrat's limited proposal to halt the July 1 increase.

"You could argue it doesn't do any harm," Nickerson said afterward.

The bill also prevents oil companies from interfering with gas stations that want to give discounts to drivers who pay for gas with cash, rather than credit.  Some gas stations want to extend such offers but are contractually prohibited.  Attorney General Richard Blumenthal earlier this week said he would not be surprised if oil companies challenged the law but expected the state to prevail.

Finally, lawmakers extended increased rates in the tax levied on real estate sales until 2010.

Before 2003, cities and towns collected $1.10 on every $1,000 of a home or a business sale.  The General Assembly then raised that to $2.50 and allowed 18 communities, including Norwalk and Stamford, to raise the tax to as much as $5 per $1,000.  Norwalk residents pay the maximum and Stamford charges $3.50 per $1,000.

The tax was scheduled to sunset June 30, and cities and towns that have come to rely on the money to balance their budgets begged lawmakers to extend it.  Realtors like Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, have pressed for the higher rates to sunset.

"My beef is that there's no accountability to the funds whatsoever," Duff said after voting against the extension.

He said he might support the increased rates if cities and towns were forced to use the additional dollars for infrastructure needs or affordable housing. "This is nothing more than an unregulated slush fund for most communities," he said.

In the House Shapiro also voted against extending the higher rates.  Republicans argued the tax was a hit to residents suffering from the poor housing market.  They unsuccessfully offered a host of amendments last night to lower the tax for seniors, members of the military and residents caught up in the sub prime mortgage crisis.  The conveyance tax was the original reason Democrats scheduled yesterday's special session.

The extension was contemplated earlier this year as part of a package of adjustments to the two-year state budget passed by Rell and the General Assembly in 2007.  But everything changed in the final few days of the regular session when the state's six-digit surplus turned into a deficit.  Democrats and Rell agreed the best response was to not change a thing and allow the Governor to use her limited authority to make necessary cuts over the coming months.

Republicans offered instead an early retirement plan for state employees they said would not only balance the budget but also provide additional aid to cities and towns and non-profit organizations.  But budget staff and the state comptroller questioned the GOP's numbers and the minority party failed to raise their proposal for a vote before midnight on May 7.

Cafero and Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield had hoped yesterday to force a debate on their budget by amending it to the conveyance tax or gas tax bills.  Democrats outmaneuvered them. The majority party drafted and successfully passed a narrowly defined set of guidelines for the special session that allowed them to kill any GOP amendments.

Throughout the night Cafero and McKinney continually challenged the Democrats, arguing the majority party was unfairly stifling debate.  But their amendments were consistently ruled by the Democrats as being out of order.  Cafero at one point appealed to the majority party, arguing it is their responsibility to protect the minority party's rights.

"I believe we're establishing an incredibly dangerous precedent," Cafero said. "You might not agree with us, but for God sakes let us be heard."

At one point Rep. Arthur O'Neill, R-Southbury, grew so desperate as to read aloud a passage from Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's book, "The Audacity of Hope."

O'Neill recounted the author's frustrations in the Illinois Senate dealing with a Republican majority that constantly found creative ways to thwart Democrat proposals.  O'Neill said until he thought Connecticut's General Assembly was immune to such "hyper technical rulings" and the majority allowed for robust debate.

Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, a vocal Obama supporter, said on the contrary, Obama would support the Democrat's tactics.

"The Republican budget is irresponsible and the governor of their own party has rejected it out of hand," Tong said.

In the Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said there are "fundamental problems" with the GOP's reliance on an early retirement to balance its budget proposal.  And Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, added the GOP's budget would also eliminate the estate tax - a move long favored by Republicans from lower Fairfield County.

"(This would be) a break for the wealthy," Williams said. "This is the wrong time, the wrong place, to take up that."

Republicans have also said their budget would restore a $20 million education program that helped fund early reading programs throughout the state, including in Stamford and Norwalk. Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, and Norwalk Republican Mayor Richard Moccia recently visited the capitol to urge the legislature to include that money in the special session.  Sen. Thomas Gaffey, D-Meriden, a co-chairman of the legislature's education committee, said last he "abhors" not being able to come through with the dollars.

But, Gaffey said, the state does not have the money. He suggested school districts look to restructure their budgets to be able to continue the early reading programs.  Stamford is losing $1.5 million and Norwalk $1 million.

"It's all about choices. It's all about priorities," Gaffey said.

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Outgoing Speaker Amann's last opportunity (?) to zing the GOP?  Read article here.
Lawmakers to take up heating oil and gas prices 
DAY 
Posted on Jun 11, 9:05 AM EDT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- State lawmakers are returning to the Capitol to take up bills dealing with the soaring costs of gasoline and home heating oil.

On Wednesday's agenda is a proposal to postpone a July 1 state tax increase that would raise gas prices at the pumps by up to 5 cents a gallon. Legislators will also debate whether to allow retailers to offer discounts to gas customers who pay with cash instead of credit cards.

Another bill up for discussion calls for spending $2.5 million on fuel efficient burners and furnaces for more than 3,000 low-income and elderly families in Connecticut. Proponents say the measure would help families with their home heating costs and save the state's fuel assistance program about $64 million next winter.

Legislative leaders also plan to take up a bill designed to protect consumers who enter into prepaid heating oil contracts.

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The last word on "short session"...
Circus and its ringmaster call it a day, for now
CT POST
KEN DIXON
Article Last Updated: 05/09/2008 08:05:50 PM EDT

In the three-ring circus of your General Assembly, the last night of the annual session on Wednesday had something for kids of all ages, from trapeze artists to little cars full of clowns.
Most of it, however, was useless entertainment.

Rep. Chris Caruso, up on the high wire from where so many lawmakers would like to push him, briefly teased the House into thinking he might retire.

The veteran Bridgeporter delved into his annual exercise in self-destruction as he let the ticking clock first stifle, then strangle to death the ethics reform bill that would have revoked the pensions of crooked state and municipal officials.

Caruso was a keg of gunpowder away from being shot out of a cannon after he presided over the demise of legislation that, 13 weeks earlier, every lawmaker worth their name in the newspaper said was a slam-dunk.

But at least it made public employee labor union members happy when the clock struck midnight and, for another year at least, they protected crooked employees from potentially losing their state or municipal pensions.

A few hours earlier, the 23-member Democratic majority of the state Senate took over one of the biggest rooms in the Capitol to do what they do best: eat catered meals and blather about what good lawmakers they are and to thank each other for their "leadership" — the Capitol's most over-used encomium.

Forget the fact that time was running out to actually accomplish legislation.

The Senate spent most of  the last week of the session in the endless procession of farewell "points of personal privilege" for those retiring members of "The Circle" as the senators call themselves.
During an hourlong tribute to Sen. Bill Nickerson, R-Greenwich, an articulate, smart and witty member of "The Circle" since 1991 — whom the Legislature will sorely miss — every one of his colleagues tried to be articulate and witty about him.

No one actually was, however, until Nickerson himself rose to bid farewell to them, working around the ring, firing off personable riffs on each of his 35 fellows.

At least they were slugging it out in the House as Democrats led by Speaker of the House Jim Amann, the ringmaster up at the podium, tried time and again to debate bills, many of which wilted under prolonged questioning from minority Republicans.

Every few minutes, House Majority Leader Chris Donovan, the lion tamer, popped up out of his seat and instead of shouting "Back Simba!" he asked Amann to "pass temporarily" bills that were to be abandoned like popcorn after the matinee.

Lawmakers were gathered around Donovan's desk like circus clowns trying to get back into the little car, as they desperately attempted to salvage pet legislation.

But if you wait until the last two days of the session to pass a bill, you're asking for heartbreak.

The term of legislative craft in yanking bills from debate when they become tedious is called "P.T."

There were more P.T.s in the House Wednesday night than Ringling Bros. and (P.T.) Barnum & Bailey Circus.

House Minority Leader Larry Cafero's dark eyes were wide open with watchful loathing behind his classic Roman nose as he surveyed the scene, his chin jutting out, over toward Donovan's desk about 30 yards away. Cafero, R-Norwalk, was on a low boil for days after Democrats cut a budget deal with Republican Gov. Jodi Rell that left minority House and Senate Republicans out in the cold. It was reminiscent of the now-repudiated administration of John "Why Should I Resign If I've Done Nothing Wrong?" Rowland, who annually cut his own budget peace with Democrats. Cafero and his assistant leaders were on the phone constantly, with Donovan, his aides and Amann, to make sure that on the last day, the few bills the GOP wanted would reach the center ring.

In the morning, the House celebrated the retirements of a few veterans, including Rep. Julia Wasserman of Newtown, one of the smartest lawmakers in the building, who at an optimistic age of 84 is shopping around for a doctoral program.

She accepted kudos from a few of the leaders, then stood up and cut through the self-congratulatory haze.

"And now we should go back to business and do our work and especially pass the Program Review bill," said the long-time committee chairwoman. "It's noncontroversial."

That was around the time Caruso, whom Cafero loathes like no other denizen of the Capitol, stood for a point of personal privilege.

"I'd like to announce, Mr. Speaker, I'm staying," Caruso said as the chamber, which had briefly halted, hopefully, resumed its sideshow undercurrent.

Over on the west side of the Capitol, down the hall from the House chamber, Gov. Rell was quietly signing into law a criminal-justice bill that would double and triple penalties for violent criminals' second and third offenses.

Rell and her team in the elephant pen made two of the biggest political blunders of the year in the last month.

First, she immediately dissed a GOP lawmakers' proposal last month to offer early retirements to thousands of state employees. She never even gave Cafero and Senate Minority Leader John McKinney a half-day's news cycle to reap the media coverage.

The governor's second, larger miscue was to briefly allude to the possible veto of the criminal-justice legislation over its measly $10 million cost for more prosecutors, public defenders, monitoring of parolees and better court operations.

That kind of money isn't even peanuts in the $18.4 billion budget that takes effect July 1.

As the House circus wound down toward midnight, they approved two bills that would address the state's long-running school desegregation case, and unanimously approved a consent calendar that included a scary bill to exempt the names and addresses of more state employees from public disclosure.

At about 11:59, as the final, oblique piece of legislation was being called, someone with a sense of humor briefly flashed the title of a super-controversial bill on paid sick leave, sending a roar through the House.

Then the House voting machine, appropriately, malfunctioned, missing more than two dozen lawmakers, who stood with their hands in the air as Amann, minutes away from shedding a few tears on the podium, rattled off names in his final performance after four years as House ringmaster.

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Parties spar over legislative session results
Manchester Journal Enquirer
By Keith M. Phaneuf
Published: Friday, May 9, 2008 10:54 AM EDT

HARTFORD — Majority Democrats tried Thursday to put their best face on a 2008 legislative session plagued by a slumping economy and budget deficit.

But minority Republicans countered that Democrats ran from state government’s fiscal challenges, ducked a host of other issues, and compounded the problems awaiting lawmakers in 2009.

Also Thursday, House and Senate Democratic leaders confirmed that they plan to call members into special session, probably within the next 30 days, to extend a municipal real-estate conveyance tax increase that is set to expire July 1.

But whether that special session also will include another attempt to enact pension sanctions for corrupt state officials remained unclear Thursday.

“What we had to do this session is what families all across Connecticut had to do — make tough choices in difficult times,” said Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn.

Despite a 2008 budget that’s $68 million in the red and a projected 2009 deficit of about $119 million, Democrats added prosecutors, probation and parole officers, and public defenders and enacted $140 million in mortgage-relief financing for homeowners.

They also increased the minimum wage from $7.65 to $8 per hour starting Jan. 1.

“We have, no doubt, budgeted wisely,” said House Speaker James A. Amann, D-Milford. “Best of all, we didn’t have to raise taxes.”

Gas tax increases

Actually, though, a wholesale fuel levy that already adds about 20 cents per gallon to the price of gasoline will jump from 7 to 7.5 percent on July 1. It was the fourth consecutive annual increase in the tax. Lawmakers didn’t have to approve the increase this year because it was part of a package of five fuel-tax hikes they approved in May 2005.

Leaders of the House and Senate Republican minorities said tax hikes aren’t the only issue that Democrats are distorting.

State government doesn’t have to enter the new fiscal year with a built-in budget deficit, Republicans said. But they say that will happen this year because Democrats are afraid to consider tough fiscal choices in a legislative election year.

“Our Democratic colleagues talk about living within our means, but they do nothing about it,” said Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield. “Talking is not good enough. … All we saw was gymnastics of the first order” to avoid facing tough choices.

Republicans said they could balance the $18.4 billion budget for 2009, and restore modest increases for nursing homes and nonprofit social service providers, an early reading grant for cities and towns, and some criminal justice initiatives, by reducing the state workforce next year through an early retirement program.

Rather than allow a debate on the Republican budget, Democrats used procedural maneuvers to avoid such a debate. The majority party also refused to allow votes on numerous other measures, stifling proposals to provide further relief to towns, to eliminate a deficit at the University of Connecticut Health Center, and to expand staffing at nursing homes.

House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero, R-Norwalk, added that Democrats even dragged out ceremonial farewells to retiring officials and held extra-long, closed-door meetings to run out the session clock.

“We said good-bye to everybody and their uncle. They had caucuses that lasted longer than Lent,” Cafero said, adding that families are struggling with high prices, unemployment and rising local taxes. “You know what we did about it folks? Nothing, and that’s shameful.”

Conveyance tax on agenda

Amann and Williams pledged Thursday to call the legislature into special session within the next month to adopt at least a one-year extension of a municipal real estate conveyance tax increase set to expire July 1. Without that increase, cities and towns would lose an estimated $30 million to $40 million in revenue next fiscal year.

The legislature also tried and failed to adopt an ethics bill that would allow state government to cancel the pensions of officials guilty of corruption.

Democrats in the House and Senate clashed over whether to limit the penalties to pension reductions or to cancel pensions entirely — and whether to limit the penalties that could be imposed on unionized employees guilty of corruption.

Amann and Williams said negotiations would continue over the next few weeks in hopes of reaching a compromise that could be enacted in special session.

Republicans charged that the effort failed because the Democratic co-chairmen of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, Rep. Christopher L. Caruso of Bridgeport and Sen. Gayle S. Slossberg of Milford, don’t get along and couldn’t strike a compromise.

“We are ruled and governed by people who can’t get along,” Cafero said.

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Budget woes are left to Rell to sort out 
DAY
By Susan Haigh, Associated Press    
Published on 5/10/2008 

Hartford - Now that state lawmakers have gone home, it's up to Gov. M. Jodi Rell to deal with Connecticut's newfound deficit problems.

Democrat leaders of the General Assembly and Rell, a Republican, agreed to stick with the $18.4 billion budget approved last year for the new fiscal year that begins July 1, and not make any changes given the state's slowing revenues.

That means Rell will have to keep the tax and spending plan in balance, using her limited powers to cut spending and calling on commissioners to be frugal. It marks the first in her gubernatorial career that she's faced a deficit and the prospect of making reductions that could upset many people.

”She's the leader of the state and I believe as leader of the state, she will make the tough decisions necessary to keep the budget in balance,” budget director Robert Genuario told The Associated Press.

Earlier this month, state Comptroller Nancy Wyman predicted the state would end this fiscal year about $70 million in deficit, due in part to slowing income tax revenues. It was a sharp departure from the $263 million surplus projected earlier this year.

Genuario said the good news is the current fiscal year deficit will likely be covered without tapping the state's budget reserve fund. Because the General Assembly did not pass a new budget bill, leftover money in some state accounts will not be automatically carried into the new fiscal year.

That means, he said, the money will cover the deficit and there will possibly be a small surplus in the end.

But the new fiscal year is at least $40 million to $100 million in the red, Genuario said. And that's the budget Rell will be concentrating on in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Rell is working to find $10 million to cover a major criminal justice reform bill that calls for hiring additional prosecutors, probation officers and other staff.

House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, said lawmakers are banking on Rell's ability to find that money within the budget to fund the legislation, which stems from two deadly home invasions in Cheshire and New Britain.

”We'd encourage her to keep that commitment in place,” he said.

But Amann said he understands that leaving the budget untouched means that Rell will likely have to make some cuts.

”In a tough economy, I can't argue with her,” he said.

Rell's budget-cutting powers are limited. She can rescind up to 5 percent of any appropriation and 3 percent of any fund, such as the General Fund. Yet the governor is barred from reducing municipal aid and entitlements.

She has already ordered cutbacks in discretionary spending at state agencies and issued a ban on out-of-state travel for personnel. And despite strong opposition from her fellow Republicans in the legislature, Rell supports the idea of keeping the original budget in place even though she'll now be the one making any necessary cuts.

”Our first order of business is to maintain the services in our state, to cut where necessary,” Rell said, adding that“We are prepared to make rescissions as quickly as possible.”

Rell appears optimistic she can keep the budget balanced without having to lay off state employees or immediately implement money-raising ideas such as an early retirement incentive program for state workers or a tax amnesty program that would encourage delinquent taxpayers to pay up their bills.

Legislative Republicans have lobbied for an early incentive program, while Senate Democrats suggested the tax amnesty. Genuario said Friday that both ideas are“tools” that Rell might have to use should the deficit problems worsen and revenues plummet.

But at this point, she plans to focus first on scaling back spending.

Genuario said if the governor decides to rescind spending because of weak revenues, she can always reverse that decision months down the road if the economy improves.

”I think it's important to get an early start,” he said,“and get a plan in place.”

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Special Session Expected On Conveyance Tax
Hartford Courant
By CHRISTOPHER KEATING | Capitol Bureau Chief
May 9, 2008

Cities and towns have nothing to fear.

That was the word from the state Capitol on Thursday as Democratic lawmakers and Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell said they expect the legislature to convene a special session so that municipalities can continue receiving $40 million from an extension of the tax on real estate sales.

The General Assembly's 2008 session adjourned Wednesday with no action on the conveyance tax — meaning it would decrease if the legislature takes no action before the fiscal year ends on June 30. Despite vows that the tax would be extended during the regular session, it never happened as the tax got tied up in a broader battle over the state budget.

The tax battle has turned into a major clash between the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and the state's Realtors, who have complained that the measure is a form of double taxation for homeowners who have been paying their annual real estate taxes for years and then pay more upon the sale.

In her budget proposal in February, Rell remained silent on the issue — meaning that she favored the "sunset" provision that would lead to a drop in the tax on July 1. But Rell says now that she will go along with an extension because she knows that the municipalities are relying on the $40 million.

"That's real money," Rell said Thursday.

House Speaker James Amann said no date has been set for a special session, but he vowed that the House will act. "There's no doubt that we'll come back" to vote, Amann said. "The conveyance tax is an extremely important tax to municipalities."

The tax was increased in the midst of a state budget deficit in 2003 to 0.25 percent of a property's sale price, up from 0.11 percent. The increase was originally scheduled to expire in 2004, but the legislature has instead extended the expiration date three times. Without any action before June 30, the tax would drop back to the 2002 level.

The Realtors were pleased that time expired Wednesday without any action.

"The legislature's decision to postpone action to extend real estate conveyance taxes is at least some good news for home sellers struggling in this difficult market," said Ken DelVecchio, president of the Connecticut Association of Realtors. "The increases were never meant to be a permanent revenue stream for municipalities, and their sunset means $40 million in tax relief for home sellers. We urge lawmakers to reject the idea of revisiting this issue in special session. Municipalities, like taxpayers across the state, need to tighten their belts."

Amann and Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams also said they believe the ethics bill can be revived during the special session — but only if House and Senate leaders can agree in advance on language under which the pension of a public official or employee can be revoked upon conviction of a corruption charge. The two chambers passed conflicting versions of the bill in recent weeks, and midnight arrived on Wednesday without the House acting on the most recent Senate-approved version of the bill — so it died.

Amann said that on Wednesday, House leaders had tried "on three or four occasions to try to get compromise with the Senate" with no luck, but he hopes differences can be resolved before the special session. He said both versions "were very good bills. There is a difference of opinion … on the union [part of it] and hopefully we can come back in special session and work on it."

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Democrats plan special session 
DAY
By Ted Mann    
Published on 5/9/2008 
          
Hartford - Democratic lawmakers said they are committed to calling the state legislature back in for a special session this spring, citing their desire to extend a critical source of revenue for cities and towns.

It remains unclear when that session might be called, and if the legislative majority will try to use it to revive some of the other bills that could not be completed by midnight Wednesday, when the regular session adjourned.

Legislators in a special session could consider extending the current conveyance tax rate on real estate transfers, which benefits municipalities.

Still outstanding is the session's troubled ethics bill, which foundered in a dispute between House and Senate Democrats over the reach of a provision allowing courts to strip corrupt public employees and officials of their taxpayer-funded pensions.

Prospects seemed dim for another proposal to extend paid sick time for many Connecticut workers, which is staunchly opposed by business lobbyists and many Republicans and failed to get a vote in the House before adjournment.

Democratic leaders, including House Speaker James A. Amann, D-Milford, and Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, acknowledged frustration at the failure to pass the ethics bill, and others. But they were bullish as usual on the legislature's other accomplishments this year, enthusiasm not dampened by their decision to forgo a new 2009 budget and leave the existing spending plan in place.

The House Democrats“offered a balanced, responsible approach to government this session in a very difficult climate,” Amann said Thursday, a wrap-up day of dueling partisan press conferences and conflicting story lines about the effectiveness of the General Assembly this year.

But Republicans like Sen. John McKinney of Fairfield, the Senate's minority leader, said the three months of work had yielded little more than“gymnastics of the first order” and“a failure of leadership” by the Democrats.

Republicans are still incensed that Democrats - and Rell - dismissed out of hand their calls for a new budget that would have boosted some spending levels and paid for it with a buyout affecting thousands of state workers.

The majority party had ducked a debate on their budget plan, calling it a waste of time, said House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, even while wasting time themselves on bidding farewell to colleagues and meeting to discuss pending bills.

”We said goodbye to everyone and their uncle,” he said.“They had caucuses that lasted longer than Lent.”

The session was“disappointing,” he said later, because the legislature had failed to adequately prepare its constituents for an economic downturn that many lawmakers worry will grow worse.

”They look to us to say, 'Can you help lead us out of this?'“ Cafero said.“ 'Prepare us for these bad times.' And we let ’em down.”

Only after prodding from reporters did the minority leaders concede that their criticism extended in part to their fellow Republican Rell.

”What do you want me to do, growl?” Cafero said, after reporters repeatedly asked him and McKinney about how much blame for the reviled budget deal Rell should shoulder.

He obliged several times, growling into the microphone, but McKinney was more concise.

Rell's striking the deal to stand pat with the Democrats had been“a mistake,” he said.

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Special Session Needed to Resolve Pending Issues 
DAY
By Ted Mann    
Published on 5/8/2008 

Hartford — Not having to pass a budget didn’t save state legislators from having to convene a special session.

The Democratic leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives said on the regular session’s final day Wednesday that they would call lawmakers back in to vote on an extension of the municipal conveyance tax on real estate, a prized source of revenue for cities and towns in a year when the state will be sending a relatively modest increase in municipal aid.

The announcement came early on an ultimately anticlimactic final day, in which several key proposals that Democrats had hoped to pass — including paid sick leave for many workers, and a long-awaited bill to strip corrupt state officials and employees of their pensions — failed to come to a vote.

It was not yet clear whether the ethics and sick time bills, or others, would be added to the call of the special session on the conveyance tax, though some lawmakers were already lobbying for their inclusion.

Williams blamed the decision to postpone action on the conveyance tax, a perennial issue since it was elevated in 2003, on the legislature’s Republican minority, whose budget amendments the Democrats had been ducking for the final three days of the session.

“I’d like to get back to the good old-fashioned concept of doing things in the legislative session as much as possible,” Williams said.

“I think the Republicans have made it clear that they would kill this tax relief for municipalities,” he added moments later. “They’ve made their pledges to the Realtors and would filibuster it up to midnight.”

Realtors and other opponents of extending the tax don’t see the proposal as tax relief at all. They have fought  for the repeal of the tax since it was imposed as a temporary measure, to help close a budget deficit in 2003.

“The increases were never meant to be a permanent revenue stream for municipalities, and their sunset means $40 million in tax relief for home sellers,” said Ken DelVecchio, the president of the Connecticut Association of Realtors, in a written statement. “We urge lawmakers to reject the idea of revisiting this issue in special session. Municipalities, like taxpayers across the state, need to tighten their belts.”

Williams said Wednesday morning that the majority party was forced to put off any attempt to extend the conveyance tax — which is scheduled to “sunset” when the current fiscal year ends June 30 — because of the same factor that has reduced the legislature to a plodding, torturous pace in the past two days.
Democrats had been attempting to avoid giving the Republican minority any chances to protest their budget deal with Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell by running a massive amendment that would implement their own alternative spending and tax plan.

“Most likely it’s not going to come up during the regular session today,” Williams said of a proposal to extend the tax, “because Republicans have more or less pledged to filibuster it and talk it to death, which is too bad from the point of view of providing relief for taxpayers across the state.”

The slow pace couldn’t be blamed on Republicans alone.

The Senate did not begin action until shortly before 3 p.m., after a morning devoted to tributes to departing members of the chamber and to the staff. The House was only slightly more prompt in beginning its work for the day.

After the Senate had debated and passed a bill aimed at helping those hurt by the implosion of the housing market, the chamber broke for dinner for more than an hour.

The current, elevated level of the conveyance tax has staunch support from many municipal leaders, since it has provided a sorely needed stream of revenue even in years when aid from the state is scarce. A lobbying group for cities and towns, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, has estimated that total value of the tax at roughly $40 million statewide.

But the levy is fiercely opposed by Realtors and others who charge it amounts to a “hidden” tax on those selling real estate, especially homeowners who may already be forced to sell at or near a loss because of the decline in the housing market.

Lawmakers increased the municipalities’ share of the conveyance tax five years ago while facing a budget deficit, from 0.11 percent to 0.25 percent on the sale of real estate worth $2,000 or more.

Eighteen designated distressed municipalities, including Norwich and New London, were permitted to charge up to 0.25 percentage points more, or a total of 0.5 percent in municipal tax on the real estate sale price.

That increase was initially slated to sunset one year later, but its elimination has been continually postponed since then, as legislators have proved reluctant to deprive municipalities of a prized source of revenue.

Even the prospect of a delay in the renewal of the tax was pleasant news for its opponents in the real estate sales sector, but they would prefer the legislature take no action at all. If the General Assembly does not intervene, the tax would automatically revert to its 2003 levels on July 1.

The conference of municipalities, meanwhile, “expressed its gratitude” to leaders at the news that the $40 million revenue stream might be preserved for cities and towns.

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Legislature May Return For A Special Session
By MARK PAZNIOKAS | Courant Staff Writer
12:56 PM EDT, May 7, 2008

The session is not quite over, and the legislature already is making plans to return for a special session.

Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Willliams Jr., D-Brooklyn, said today that legislators will return in special session to reauthorize the real-estate conveyance tax before the new fiscal year begins July 1.

Without legislative action, municipalities will lose millions of dollars in revenue from the expiration of the conveyance tax.

Williams said he would like to act on the measure before the regular session ends at midnight tonight, but he said Republicans have threatened to filibuster if the bill is debated.  The Senate's priority today will be final legislative action on a mortgage-relief bill for homeowners burdened by subprime mortages, he said.

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Rell, Legislators To Forgo Budget Changes  - Original $18.4B spending plan stands; governor says state must knuckle under 
DAY
By Ted Mann     
Published on 5/3/2008 
 
Hartford — After days of trying to craft a new 2009 budget, even as revenues plummet and the state dips toward a deficit, Democratic and Republican negotiators settled on a plan Friday: Let it be.

Legislative leaders and Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell have agreed to leave in place the $18.4 billion 2009 spending plan adopted last spring, before a tanking state economy threw legislators' policy ambitions and spending priorities into doubt.

The parties agreed to drop their attempts to craft a new version of the budget bill, effectively dashing the hopes of a variety of diverse interests who had sought new aid from the state, and leaving to the Rell administration the responsibility to keep the plan in balance through spending cuts and use of budget reserves.

“My fear is that there are more difficult days ahead,” Rell said Friday night in a press conference outside her office in the Capitol. “The state needs to do what families are already doing, which is to continue to cut back and do without.”

The budget deal brought markedly different reactions from the legislature's two Democratic leaders.

House Speaker James A. Amann, D-Milford, was matter-of-fact as he announced the deal to reporters in the well of the House chamber, saying the lawmakers had decided they could do more good by simply doing “a few more bills, and go home.”

“We all know that these are tough times,” Amann said, citing the deficit expected when the fiscal year ends June 30, projected at $68 million. “Connecticut is well-prepared. This legislature, along with the governor, have a historic budget that's in place. That's the one we're going to be living with.”

A few minutes later, Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, came to meet reporters in the Capitol's fourth-floor press room, sounding almost morose.

“I'm very disappointed,” Williams said, using that adjective four times in the course of several minutes. “We've gone to the mat and fought very hard for important priorities. ... Unfortunately, we have not received the cooperation we needed to get this done.

“We are sticking with the second year of the biennial budget because there is no agreement to do anything else.This is a default position that I am not happy with. But that's where we are.”

The decision to adjourn without adjusting the budget would elicit howls from many quarters, the lawmakers acknowledged, as special interests that had been counting on funding increases in the coming fiscal year will almost certainly be forced to do without.

“Connecticut's community providers face the harsh reality of eliminating services, cutting back on staff and telling hundreds and thousands of the state's most vulnerable residents that they can no longer provide the essential services they need,” said Terry Edelstein, the president and CEO of the Connecticut Community Providers Association, which represents institutions that serve those with mental, physical and other disabilities.

The agreement also brought vigorous objections from the legislature's Republican minorities in the House and Senate, who last week diverged with both Rell and the Democrats to offer their own budget plan, calling for cutting state employee ranks with a massive early-retirement program as a way to cut spending.

“We have a plan to do it,” said House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk. “To just say we did a great budget nine months ago and we should rest on that, when we see that we're on quicksand here economically with our revenues, is irresponsible.”

The minority leader also charged that Democrats had cut their deal with Rell in order to continue passing on to the governor laws that would require state spending to be implemented.

“That's what they call passing the buck,” Cafero said.

Rell was clearly anticipating the same, urging Democrats during her press conference not to pass any bills requiring state funding. “Don't send them to me,” she said.

Cafero said Republicans planned to draft an amendment containing all the provisions of their budget plan, and pledged to run it on any related bill called in the House or Senate through the end of the session on Wednesday night.

Much wrangling remains to determine what priority programs will receive funding next year.

Rell said in a conversation with reporters that she was confident her administration could find the necessary budget cuts to pay for a $10 million investment in the state criminal justice system, which was passed after nearly a year of debate this spring only to be cast into doubt when state revenue estimates began plunging in April.

Earlier Friday, Rell announced her intention to begin those budget cuts to close a deficit in the current fiscal year, which has been estimated as high as $68 million.

Under state law, Rell has the ability to make cuts — known as “recissions” — of up to 5 percent in each state agency without permission of the legislature. (The recission authority does not extend to municipal aid or entitlement programs, like Medicaid.)

Projections of the state's fortunes have shifted radically over the course of just a few weeks. Only several months ago, analysts from the governor's budget office and elsewhere were predicting Connecticut would end the fiscal year on June 30 with a surplus well over $100 million.

But a steep drop in income tax receipts, which began to come in after the tax filing deadline April 15, drove those estimates downward.

Collections in payroll taxes had been in decline since February, Comptroller Nancy Wyman reported this week, adding that she expected the decline to continue as employment continued to slacken.

The session adjourns at midnight Wednesday.

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State Expects $67 Million Deficit, 'Do-Nothing' Budget
By CHRISTOPHER KEATING | Hartford Courant Capitol Bureau Chief
May 2, 2008

The financial news just gets worse every day.

Amid that constant drumbeat, the state comptroller issued the most dire projection yet Thursday as the state's budget deficit for the current fiscal year was estimated at $67 million.

That is worse than either the $19 million deficit predicted only one day earlier by Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the $50 million deficit projected by the legislature's nonpartisan fiscal office.

Despite suggestions by legislators, Rell's budget director, Robert Genuario, said he is not recommending that the state tap into the $1.4 billion "rainy day fund" to cover the deficit. Instead, Republicans say, the fiscal situation will only get far worse in 2009 and 2010 — and the rainy day fund should be saved for those tough years.

With those projections as a backdrop, Rell met with top legislators twice Thursday in an attempt to craft a new budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

Rell and lawmakers have talked about avoiding any major revisions and instead leaving in place the second year of the two-year budget that was approved last year. If that occurs, the state budget will still increase by about 4 percent, below Rell's February request for a 4.8 percent increase.

Top Democrats emerged from a meeting with Rell Thursday night expressing optimism that they can complete a budget deal in the coming days as they race toward a scheduled adjournment of May 7. Another meeting with Rell is scheduled for today. "There's more to do, but I'm very encouraged," said Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams of Brooklyn, the highest-ranking senator. "There's certainly a way that we can reach an agreement."

House Speaker James Amann of Milford said the deficit numbers have forced legislators to realize that they cannot afford all the funding programs that various groups are seeking.

"I think reality is really starting to sink in, and we know that whatever we do is going to be extremely limited," Amann said.

Amann rejected a plan by the House and Senate Republicans to try to save $163 million by offering an early retirement plan to more than 11,000 state employees. The problem, he said, is that many of the jobs would be re-filled, and the state would have to pour more money into the state pension fund to pay for the early retirees. Rell and Genuario agree that state officials have learned from past early retirement plans that the long-term savings are negligible.

"It's a short-term fix, but in reality it's a wash," Amann told reporters after meeting with Rell and lawmakers.

But House Republican leader Lawrence Cafero of Norwalk released copies of roll-call votes of 40 Democrats who voted in favor of early retirement plans in the past, including some who are now trashing the idea.

"The early retirement plan was apparently a good way to save state taxpayers' money in 1989, 1992, 1997 and 2003, and the Democrats voted for it then," Cafero said. "Why do they dismiss it now?"

As lawmakers scramble to rearrange the budget and find money for programs, three of the main groups seeking more funding are nursing homes, nonprofit organizations that provide state services, and cities and towns. The nursing homes and nonprofits were expecting to receive at least a 1 percent increase for the next fiscal year, but are now facing no increase at all if the legislature makes no changes in the budget. Cities and towns would collectively receive more than $100 million less in funding than they expected, and the mayors of Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport came to the Capitol this week to seek more funding and avoid cutbacks in their cities. The municipalities were hoping to receive about $20 million next year in the Early Reading Success Program, but no final decisions had been made Thursday.

"Make no mistake," said James Finley, the chief executive officer of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. "The 'do-nothing' state budget will do something. It will result in stiff property tax hikes, services cuts and employee layoffs in hometowns across Connecticut."

With the state and national economies continuing to weaken, Comptroller Nancy Wyman cited the state's declining tax revenues as the reason for her new projection of a $67.7 million deficit — which is expected to change once again before the state closes its books for the fiscal year that ends June 30.

"Collections of the payroll tax have been in decline since February," Wyman said in a statement. "Based on current employment reports, I expect this trend to continue for the rest of the fiscal year, resulting in this significant drop in tax revenue."

The state's recent loss in jobs has contributed directly to the budget problems. With fewer people working, fewer are paying taxes. Those who are working fewer hours or only working part time would also pay less in taxes. Wyman reported that the state has had no net gains in jobs for the current fiscal year, and job losses for the past three months have reached 7,200. As a result, the state's unemployment rate has jumped to its highest level in almost five years, at 5.3 percent.

In one bright spot Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average finished above the 13,000 level for the first time since Jan. 3. The volatility and sluggishness on Wall Street is one of the reasons for the state's deficit, as many residents who rely on capital gains, dividends, and interest have seen drops in their income in the last quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008.

Senate Republican leader John McKinney of Southport said lawmakers and Rell need to make a deal on the budget relatively quickly because past years have shown it often takes 48 hours to compile the details of the final agreement and get it printed for 187 lawmakers.

"We're at the 11th hour," McKinney said. "It can't wait [for an agreement] until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week."

---

As deficit balloons...
In Jeopardy
Hartford Courant
May 2, 2008

• Crime fighting: $10 million to hire prosecutors, state police detectives, probation and parole officers.
• Nursing homes: Hiring of badly needed staff.
• Cities and towns: State aid of up to $100 million.
• Nonprofit agencies: Expected 1 percent increase in funding.

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Weston football field and soccer fields are turf...
Legislators table health study of artificial turf athletic fields
Stamford ADVOCATE
By Brian Lockhart
Article Launched: 05/01/2008 01:00:00 AM EDT

HARTFORD - A state study of the environmental and health effects of artificial turf athletic fields is on hold unless funds can be found to pay for it.

The Senate tabled a bill authorizing a study of the pulverized rubber tires used to cushion the fields because of its $250,000 price tag.  Lawmakers at the Capitol are reassessing every bill with a dollar amount attached now that a once robust budget surplus has dwindled to a $19 million deficit.

The turf debate was touched off in part by a report issued last year by Environment and Human Health Inc. of North Haven.

The nonprofit organization found that when heated in a lab, the rubber crumbs used on the fields released at least four compounds, including one known carcinogen that can irritate eyes and skin.  Other studies have shown tire rubber contains heavy metals that can leach into ground water.

Over the past year, residents in Stamford, Westport and Greenwich have opposed artificial turf field proposals.

In November, Fairfield's Conservation Commission did not allow the private Fairfield Country Day School to reconstruct its fields using synthetic turf.

State Sen. Edward Meyer, D-Guilford, co-chairman of the legislature's Environment Committee, said yesterday that when it became apparent the state was facing fiscal problems, he asked the Department of Environmental Protection to find money in its existing budget for the study.

But Meyer said the request was met with resistance. Despite the $250,000 price tag, he raised the bill in the Senate to force the issue.  The legislation was tabled after Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, said he would approach the departments and urge their cooperation.

"John McKinney is the Senate Republican leader and DEP is within a Republican administration," Meyer said. "I'm hopeful the administration will do the right thing. . . I'm not going to be happy about leaving Hartford next week unless we have a study."

The legislative session ends Wednesday.

New York, where Meyer served as a legislator in the 1970s, recently initiated its own study of synthetic turf fields made with ground up tires.

McKinney yesterday said he was not worried about synthetic turf after reading other studies that have concluded they do not pose health concerns.  His children play on an artificial field at their local Boys & Girls Club, he said.

But state Sens. William Nickerson, R-Greenwich, and Judith Freedman, R-Westport, said they hope the state will move forward with its own analysis.

"Let the state . . . come up with something they can then recommend to our school systems and recreation departments," Freedman said.

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Senate Passes Crime Bill At About 2:20 a.m. Thursday; Rejects "Three Strikes" Amendment By 19 to 16 With 3 Dems Supporting 3 Strikes
Hartford Courant
By Christopher Keating
April 24, 2008 2:40 AM

Under pressure to respond after two deadly home invasions in the past nine months, the state Senate voted early Thursday morning to strengthen the state's criminal law and allocate $10 million for enhanced crime-fighting.

The bill passed by 32 to 3 at about 2:20 a.m. after the Senate Democrats withdrew a previous amendment that had prompted a sharply bitter debate with Republicans. The final version gained bipartisan support after lawmakers said the bill would authorize a judge to double the penalty following a second violent crime and triple the penalty after a third offense - up to a maximum of life in prison for a violent felon.

Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell and legislators have all called for tougher laws after the triple slayings in Cheshire last summer and the abduction, rape, and killing of a frail, cancer-stricken, elderly woman who could not defend herself last  month in New Britain.

Republicans and Democrats clashed sharply for the second time of the late-night debate when Republicans offered a "three strikes'' amendment that would force judges to automatically sentence a criminal to life in prison after conviction of a third violent felony. In a relatively close vote, the "three strikes'' amendment failed by 19 to 16 after three moderate Democratic Senators - Joan Hartley of Waterbury, Thomas Gaffey of Meriden and Paul Doyle of Wethersfield - all broke with their caucus and joined with the Republicans to support "three strikes.''

The three Democrats who voted against the overall bill were Senators Toni Harp of New Haven, Edwin A. Gomes of Bridgeport, and Eric Coleman of Bloomfield.

Senate Republican leader John McKinney of Southport said that the "three strikes'' proposal was necessary because some judges were not handing down stiff-enough sentences. A legislative report showed that an average of 103 people have been released from prison every year for the past five years after they finished serving their time for three violent felonies. The average sentence for the third violent felony was 7.9 years in prison, McKinney said, citing the legislative report.

"They have not been punished as severely as we believe they should have,'' he said.

But Democrats ripped the "three strikes'' proposal, saying it was nothing more than a bumper-sticker slogan in an election year.

"This is not a baseball game. This is life,'' said Senator Donald DeFronzo, a New Britain Democrat. "It achieves more as a political sound bite and a sports metaphor than it does as a piece of solid legislation. ... This amendment is virtually valueless.''

Earlier in the evening, the Republicans had verbally pummeled the original bill on the Senate floor, saying that it would actually weaken the state's laws for violent crimes. Following that clash, Democrats -- who hold the majority in the chamber -- suddenly postponed the debate and called for a recess shortly before 11:30 p.m. The chamber reconvened later, and the "three strikes'' debate pushed the vote past 2 a.m. Thursday.

Sen. Andrew McDonald, a Stamford Democrat, began Wednesday's debate by saying violent criminals would be treated much more harshly than under the current law. A "second strike'' under existing law could lead to no prison time at all, but the sentence would be doubled under the bill, he said.

"This is an extraordinary change in our public policy,'' McDonald said, adding that criminals "will be punished in extraordinary ways.''

But Sen. John Kissel, an Enfield Republican, said the original bill was so badly written that it would not accomplish the legislature's tough-on-crime goals and, in fact, would backfire.

"I guess I'm missing something,'' Kissel said. "It actually is weaker addressing persistent dangerous felony offenders. ... This amendment pushes us backward. How can this be tougher on criminals? It's not.''

Out of 21 violent crimes mentioned in the original bill, the maximum prison sentence would actually be reduced for eight of them, Kissel said. That includes second-degree manslaughter with a firearm, among others.

"I think we can do better than this,'' Kissel said. "I don't view it as a get-tough amendment.''

Sen. Sam Caligiuri, a Waterbury Republican, agreed with Kissel and rejected the statements by Democrats that the state already has a "three strikes'' law.

"You will be lying to the people of Connecticut if you tell them'' that the bill includes tough, mandatory minimum sentences, he said. "It's nothing close to what the people of Connecticut'' want.

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Parts Of State Stranded Without Broadband
By MARK PETERS | Courant Staff Writer
April 18, 2008

SHARON — - In most of Connecticut, dial-up Internet access is a thing of the past, along with rotary phones, pagers and portable cassette players.

But even though the state is a national leader in the availability of broadband Internet, there are still hundreds of residents who can't get it. For them, the static screech of a telephone modem is their only pathway to the Net.

When Bob Corrao traded the bustle of New York's Westchester County for bucolic Sharon, he just assumed there would be broadband access. He still sounds a bit surprised as he describes his painfully slow dial-up connection. It's become a running joke: Does he actually live in Connecticut — or some more remote outpost?

"Moving from Rye Brook to here, I knew I was going to give up quite a bit," Corrao said. "I never even gave a thought to high-speed Internet."

Corrao is among the hundreds of people in rural pockets of the northeast and northwest corners of Connecticut who don't have access to broadband, either by cable or DSL service delivered over phone lines. Even million-dollar homes in western Connecticut towns, like Sharon, that are known as rural retreats for wealthy New Yorkers, suffer a 1990s link to the Web.

The scattered properties without broadband are remnants from a rapid buildup of high-speed Internet service over the past decade. Broadband Internet is available in an estimated 95 percent of the state, according to estimates by the New England Cable and Telecommunications Association.

But if you're among the broadband stranded, it's an irritating issue.

John Friedman was a producer of the film "Hotel Terminus," which won the Academy Award for best documentary in 1989. It would be impossible for him to work on digital files over the dial-up connection at his Sharon home.

"If he gets involved with a film project, he is going to be tearing his hair out," his wife, Kathleen Friedman, said. "It is not a luxury anymore."

Getting broadband service to the remaining 5 percent has become a vexing problem. Satellite Internet connections can work, although some rural homeowners complain about the cost and quality. AT&T offers high-speed DSL service, but houses need to be near a central office and remote terminal.

That leaves cable as the most likely solution. The problem is that neither the cable companies nor the state nor stranded homeowners want to pick up the cost of installing the wires.

Cable companies string lines and add equipment based on the number of new customers they'll gain. State regulations require cable companies to provide service only where feasible, said a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Utility Control.

For instance, cable company Charter Communications doesn't provide broadband service to about 350 houses in the state's northeast corner. The company adds lines every year, but looks for a five-year payback when it analyzes the cost of adding new customers.

"If it is twice that, we think twice about that," said Thomas Cohan, director of government relations for Charter in New England.

Residents have the option of paying the cost themselves. The prices quoted for the Lakeville area, a section of Salisbury served by Comcast Corp., ranged from $2,500 to $6,400 per home. The expense per household varies depending on how many people on a rural road want to sign up, said state Rep. Roberta Willis, D-Lakeville.

Willis has spent years gathering together residents of rural streets, then bringing them to Comcast or AT&T to try to work out an agreement to add broadband service. Willis is now pushing for the General Assembly to step in.

Legislators have recently talked about levying a tax on communication companies, or establishing a state grant program and other options to complete the statewide broadband system. Massachusetts is considering spending $25 million to bring broadband to more than 30 communities in western parts of the state that have no high-speed access.

Another idea that's been discussed is adding a onetime charge of a few dollars on the bills of high-speed Internet customers to pay the cost of connecting the last few households, said state Sen. Andrew Roraback, R-Goshen.

But he said there has been resistance to that idea by people who think — incorrectly, in Roraback's view — that the charge is a subsidy for wealthy New Yorkers. Roraback said it's more an issue of fairness and promotion of economic development in a part of the state where residents have a wide variety of incomes.

Roraback, Willis and other legislators are working on negotiating final legislation and winning support for it before the General Assembly session ends next month.

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Stamford ADVOCATE editorial April 18, 2008:  the punch line below:

...One big reason for municipal fiscal difficulties is the dependence on property taxes for most local government services, particularly local public schools. It's the "800-pound gorilla" that state and local leaders ultimately must wrestle, even though they would like to avoid doing so. If you'll permit us another metaphor a bit more fanciful: That gorilla's aboard the Titanic too - and his weight may be making it sink faster.

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Sheff Parties Ask Legislators To Approve Settlement
By ARIELLE LEVIN BECKER | Courant Staff Writer
April 16, 2008

Representatives from both sides of the state's 19-year-old Sheff v. O'Neill school desegregation lawsuit on Tuesday urged lawmakers to embrace the latest proposed settlement, saying it stands the best chance yet of achieving what earlier efforts have not: desegregating Hartford schools.

"We signed this agreement because we believe it could be done," said Dennis Parker, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union and one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, testifying before the legislature's education committee. "We recognize it involves hard work but we are willing to put in that hard work."

The proposed settlement, reached earlier this month, outlines measures that include building magnet schools in Hartford-area suburbs and expanding the number of slots for Hartford students in suburban public schools, racially integrated preschools and technical and agricultural high schools. It would also streamline the application process to magnet schools, improve transportation and support for Hartford students attending schools in other districts, and give the plaintiffs a role overseeing the desegregation efforts.

If it's successful, by the time the settlement expires in 2013, at least 80 percent of Hartford students who seek places in a racially integrated school will have them.

The proposed accord would replace a 2003 settlement, which expired last summer far short of its goals. The new proposal doesn't spell out how to achieve the new goals, but requires officials to create a comprehensive plan by Nov. 30, and specifies many items that must be included.

"There is no moment to be lost if we're to implement this by December," state Education Commissioner Mark K. McQuillan said, urging approval of the plan.

Lawmakers offered a mixed reception.

Committee co-chairman Rep. Andrew M. Fleischmann, D- West Hartford, noted that Tuesday's hearing was far less contentious than ones held last summer on an earlier settlement proposal, which legislators ultimately refused to ratify. Fleischmann said he is optimistic about the new proposal.

State Sen. Thomas P. Gaffey, D- Meriden, the committee co-chairman, said the proposal had a more reasonable chance of success than previous efforts, but said he was "chagrined" that officials have not yet offered projections on the cost of the settlement.

Others expressed skepticism.

State Sen. John W. Fonfara, D-Hartford, said the settlement continued mistakes of a decade ago, shortly after the state Supreme Court ordered Hartford's schools to be desegregated.  Back then, he said, the experts charged with developing the desegregation effort split into two camps: one that wanted to focus on reducing racial isolation, and one that sought to improve student performance. The camp focused on racial isolation seemed to have won, Fonfara said. He questioned whether it was worth continuing to spend money with the same focus.

"This was about the quality of the schools and what kids in Hartford, particularly minority kids, receive, and I don't see those kids benefiting," he said.

Parker disagreed "fundamentally," he said.

The proposed settlement, like earlier efforts, is designed to improve education while also reducing racial isolation, he said. "We have never and do not now accept the proposition that it is an either-or," he said.

The exchange brought to a head a theme raised by several legislators, who suggested that the efforts to desegregate Hartford schools had not focused sufficiently on raising student achievement or determining whether the efforts were improving education or simply, in the words of state Rep. Deborah W. Heinrich, D-Madison, "moving kids around."

Parker and McQuillan disputed the notion, and argued the settlement was designed to both reduce racial isolation and raise student achievement.

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Child advocacy group calls for higher taxes on rich
Norwalk HOUR
April 15, 2008

A new report, released the day before tax returns are due, calls for lower taxes on low-income families at the expense of the state's most affluent citizens.

Connecticut Voices for Children says more low wage earners should be eligible for tax exemptions and they should get additional money back in the form of an earned income tax credit. In exchange, Connecticut's wealthiest families would shoulder an additional burden, the study recommends.

"Our position is that we should think about a more progressive rate structure for the personal income tax," said Shelley Geballe, president of the organization, which she said is non-partisan. "What percentage it would be and at what level it would kick in would have to be a point of discussion."

The group's recommendations are based on statistics from the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, which found that Connecticut's poorest workers pay a greater percentage of their earnings than the wealthy on sales, property and income taxes.

Those who earn less than $25,000 per year spend 10.9 percent of their income on taxes, while residents who make roughly $1 million or more give back 4.7 percent, after adjusting for federal tax exemptions.

Sales and excise taxes cause most of the disparity between tax payments of the rich and the poor, as the lowest income bracket spends 6.4 percent income on that category. Middle class workers give up most of their roughly 10 percent tax contribution on property taxes. Connecticut's top earners contribute mostly through income taxes.

The study suggests adding a new tax bracket of 6 percent of personal income for single-filer earnings above $100,000 per year and for joint-filer earnings above $200,000. This would boost the richest 1 percent of residents' tax contributions by 0.64 percent and the next 4 percent of earners by 0.06 percent.

"The 6 percent is actually fairly arbitrary," said Douglas Hall, Connecticut Voices for Children's assistant director of research. "That's just one suggestion of where we might go."

Local lawmakers on the Republican side of the aisle were cool to the proposal.

"There's something really socialistic about that plan, I have to tell you," said state Sen. Judith Freedman, R-26, "and I haven't seen the report yet, but I find it really bothersome that they're always looking for taxes to resolve the problem."

Freedman said the state shouldn't hand out money and add programs without examining whether they are effective.

State Rep. Toni Boucher, R-143, worried that more taxes could drive top earners out of the state. "I think what you're doing by taxing those with more means is your eliminating the sources of income and your hurting those that get the funds," she said.

Even some Democrats aren't keen on raising taxes this year. There's no appetite for it in a tight fiscal year, said state Sen. Bob Duff, D-25.

State Rep. Bruce Morris, D-140, lauded both the study's recommendations to tax the wealthy and increase tax relief for low income workers. A supporter of the earned income tax credit and programs for impoverished people, he said residents who are working to make ends meet need the money for basic expenses.

"In light of this report we're looking at today, those who are extremely wealthy, well, they feel some strain, yes, but not to the degree of the working poor."

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Panel Backs Extension Of Real Estate Tax 
DAY
By Ted Mann     
Published on 3/28/2008
 
Hartford — The legislature's finance committee approved another two-year extension of the real estate conveyance tax for municipalities on Thursday, rejecting demands from brokers to abolish the stop-gap measure first passed in the state's budget crisis in 2003.

The vote in the Democrat-controlled committee was closer than the partisan margin, 29 in favor to 21 against, a reflection of the lobbying many have received from the real estate industry to finally repeal the tax hike, which was supposed to be temporary but has provided an irresistible $40 million in funding per year to cities and towns since its inception.

Several of the committee's 38 Democrats missed the final vote on the measure, while a few voted against the bill, joining Republicans.

Current law requires most people who sell property for $2,000 or more to pay a tax on the conveyance of the property to both the state and municipal governments.

While the state tax rate is 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent, depending on price, the municipal share was set at 0.11 percent until 2003, when the legislature raised it to 0.25 percent in an attempt to provide cities and towns with revenue during a period of sharp deficit-related cutbacks in state aid. (For 18 cities and towns designated as distressed, the lawmakers added an option to raise the municipal share to 0.5 percent.)

The increase was supposed to be temporary — the rate for municipalities was originally set to return to its previous level on July 1, 2004 — but lawmakers have postponed the fall-back since then, at the behest of some municipal officials who have seen the higher rate as a windfall that helps pay for municipal services.

Now scheduled to expire in July, the bill approved by the committee Thursday would put off the expiration date to July 2010.

Those whose clients are paying the tax are not happy, said Ken DelVecchio, the president of the Connecticut Association of Realtors.

The committee vote is “very bad news for home sellers across Connecticut, who would have seen a much-needed $40 million tax cut on June 30th,” he said in a prepared statement. “In these difficult economic times, with home sales slowing, how can legislators dismiss the needs of families across the state, who are struggling to make ends meet?”

Other lawmakers, particularly the Republican minority leadership, have urged colleagues to “keep the promise” implicit in the 2003 law and sunset the tax hike.

The committee first rejected an amendment by Sen. Andrew Roraback, R-Goshen, which would have lowered the state's share of the conveyance tax by 0.14 percentage points — enough to return the rate to what it was before it was raised while still allowing municipalities to collect the higher share.

But as loath to forgo revenue as towns have been, so too is the state legislature, which is preparing its budget and tax proposals amid economic indicators that point toward recession.

“What we're looking at are diminishing returns, and I think we cannot vote for any reduction in state tax revenue at this juncture,” said Sen. Eileen Daily, D-Westbrook, the committee's co-chairwoman, “however valuable the underlying premise might be.”

The topic is one legislators are tired of fighting over, Roraback said, after extending the tax deadline three times, all the while trying to weigh the complaints from mayors and first selectmen about their desperation for municipal revenue against the Realtors' complaints that the tax is unfair.

“When is this conversation ever going to come to an end?” he asked.

Daily responded immediately: “When we either abolish the tax or make it permanent,” she said.

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Rell is pessimistic about state economic stimulus plan 
DAY   
Posted on Mar 5, 10:05 AM EST

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Gov. M. Jodi Rell says the state's surplus is shrinking every day and it's dangerous to consider spending it on a state economic stimulus package that some Democrats are proposing.

Rell tells business leaders that no amount of stimulus is worth the prospect of having to raise taxes in future years to make up the lost revenue.

Senate Democrats want to dole out rebates to about a million low- and middle-class residents as long as the state surplus is at least $100 million. They also want to boost spending for rental and heating assistance programs, as well as help homeowners caught up in the subprime mortgage crisis.

This week, State Comptroller Nancy Wyman predicted the state surplus has dropped more than $54 million, to $227 million, because of a sharp decline in corporate profits. Also, she says the state is expected to pay out about $20 million more in tax refunds than originally budgeted.

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Duff named head of transportation committee
By JARED NEWMAN
Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK — The cause for a Super 7 highway found more prominent footing in a local lawmaker who will become vice chairman of the General Assembly's transportation committee.

State Sen. Robert Duff, D-25, majority whip, announced the news Thursday he will head the committee but downplayed that particular cause — though his affection for it is well known — and said he would focus on statewide transportation issues...for the full story

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Fast Drivers, Taxes Top List Of Concerns In Rell Budget; Businesses May See Relief, Cameras May See Speeders
By CHRISTOPHER KEATING And GARY LIBOW | Courant Staff Writers
February 3, 2008

When Gov. M. Jodi Rell unveils her new budget Wednesday, she will call for cutting business taxes and hiring 100 new state troopers over the next five years for increased traffic enforcement.

Declaring war on dangerous drivers, Rell will ask for funding for a pilot program of speed detection cameras along a treacherous stretch of I-95 — enabling the state to capture images of speeders and then mail them tickets.

"Those who choose to break the rules of the road need to learn the hard way," Rell said in a statement released to The Courant. "That requires more manpower and a larger state police presence on our roadways."

Rell wants to hire 20 new troopers during the fiscal year that starts July 1.

"I want our troopers to be visible on the side of the highways in high-accident areas across Connecticut," Rell said. "The goal is to get ingrained into motorists' heads that they should not even consider breaking the law because there may be a state police car right around the corner to pull them over."

Rell's speech to the legislature Wednesday will begin an important session in a year when legislators are up for re-election. She has pledged to offer a frugal budget — refusing to break through the state's spending cap and avoiding tax increases.

Aside from hiring more troopers, Rell envisions a traffic enforcement effort that will rely on a system of cameras. A controversial traffic-camera radar system would initially be set up in the Lyme-Old Lyme stretch of the Connecticut Turnpike, close to where three motorists died in November when a tanker-trailer barreled through metal dividers in East Lyme at Exit 75 and crashed head-on into traffic at high speed. Three other drivers were seriously injured in the crash that veteran troopers said was one of the most horrific they had ever seen.

If it reduces the number of speeders and traffic-related deaths, the technology will be rolled out in other areas of the state, Rell said. Similar systems have been operating in other spots around the country, such as Washington, D.C., since they were first introduced in Texas more than 20 years ago. Many places have abandoned the systems, though, because of public opposition from drivers uncomfortable with being photographed on the highways.

"It's high time we put that technology to good use," Rell said. "To put it simply, slow down out there."

Taxes

With the economy in a slowdown, legislators, who must approve Rell's budget, are already offering short-term plans of their own to improve the state's business climate to help stave off a recession.

Tax cuts and tax credits will be at the top of the agenda for both parties in an election year in which many legislators want to be seen as tax-cutters. Although the exact stimulus package still needs to be molded, legislators are talking about tax cuts for homeowners, small businesses, low-income families and those in the middle class with high medical and home-heating bills.

On the economy, Rell has not yet announced a short-term stimulus plan — unlike some legislators. But Wednesday she will propose to permanently eliminate the business entity tax currently paid by more than 118,000 Connecticut businesses, Rell spokesman Christopher Cooper said.

The $250 tax was created in 2002 to plug a budget gap during the tenure of Gov. John G. Rowland, but legislators now say the tax is an unnecessary nuisance for limited partnerships, limited liability companies and small corporations that often employ fewer than than 50 workers. Although critics say $250 might not mean much to any single company, others say the cumulative cut of $32 million a year would be important.

Senate Democrats, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and Republicans in both the Senate and House have also pushed for the business tax cut, which insiders say is nearly a certainty to be signed this year by Rell.

"She already has that [cut] in her budget, which is at the printer," Cooper said.

Sen. William H. Nickerson, R-Greenwich, who is one of the legislature's leading authorities on taxes, said the tax cut will provide a strong indication that the General Assembly is serious about improving the business climate during an economic slowdown.

"This entity tax is an ugly weed that grew in 2002 [and now hurts] the very entities that take risks, invest and seek to build a better mousetrap," Nickerson said. "We will root it up, toss it away and send a message to those on the entrepreneurial cutting edge."

Although there is bipartisan support on the business entity tax, legislators have a variety of economic proposals for both short-term stimulus and long-term growth. House Republicans want to provide up to $500 a household for joint filers for home heating assistance and another $500 to pay for out-of-pocket medical costs such as co-pays and deductibles.

"I believe we can and must provide immediate and meaningful help for those struggling to make ends meet, whether it is staying warm in the winter or offsetting rising health care costs," said House Republican leader Lawrence Cafero of Norwalk. "If we act sooner rather than later, we can mitigate the effects of an economic slide in Connecticut. ... Connecticut needs to take steps before the middle class and working families are hit really hard."

Senate Democrats say a vote could be held as early as Feb. 20 on a package that could include increased property tax credits and other relief such as the business tax cut. But House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, would not commit to a date on any votes and said the size of any relief package would depend on factors such as the status of the stock market and whether the state's projected surplus of $280 million will grow.

"It all depends on what happens in the economy and the surplus," Amann said. "It all depends what the governor says Wednesday and what happens in the next 13 weeks."

One of the biggest battles in the upcoming session will be fought over whether legislators should create a state earned income tax credit. A coalition of groups gathered at the state Capitol complex last week to push for the credit, which has been dropped by the legislature during the past two years in a compromise to reach a budget deal. The Republicans, in turn, dropped their support for eliminating the estate tax for those who die with more than $2 million.

"I believe this is the year that we will adopt the state EITC," said Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, who has pushed for the credit for years. The credit provides a cash infusion to low-income workers, with the highest amounts of money going to families with children who have a household income of about $15,000 a year.

Senate Republican leader John McKinney of Southport appeared at a news conference last week with Looney in support of the credit and asked a spirited crowd why everyone was acting as if his support was a surprise. McKinney noted that he had voted for the credit last year.

"But you weren't then who you are now!" said Looney, referring to McKinney's ascension to GOP leader when Sen. Louis DeLuca of Woodbury stepped down after pleading guilty to conspiring to threaten his granddaughter's husband.

Longtime advocates at the Connecticut Association of Human Services and other organizations believe this year is their best chance to enact the credit for working families, but Rell is not convinced. Last week, she said, "I do not support that because I do not support giving a tax credit to people who don't pay taxes in the first place."

Among the many issues that will be debated before the session adjourns May 7 are:

Property Tax Cap

In a second attempt to control property taxes, Rell will propose imposing a cap on cities and towns this year, but she will be flexible on the level of the cap. Cooper said Rell is not wedded to a particular rate, such as a 3 or 4 percent increase. But the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, which represents most of the state's cities and towns, has ripped the plan with such harsh terms as "wrong for Connecticut" and "a cure worse than the disease."

CCM is running an advertisement on nearly 20 radio stations statewide that will last until the session opens on Wednesday. The ad says "a state-mandated property tax cap isn't the single answer. A cap, by itself, will starve education and other services. State leaders need to increase aid for schools and town governments; protect the municipal real estate conveyance tax; reject unfunded mandates; and increase incentives for regional cooperation."

Nursing Homes

Based on investigations in The Courant about the Haven Healthcare nursing home chain, Senate Democrats are calling for a reform package to increase staffing, improve financial accountability and allow more public scrutiny of the state's 240 nursing homes. They call for requiring the state Department of Public Health to prepare consumer-oriented report cards on nursing homes that would include detailed data on state inspection results and staffing in an industry that receives about $1.4 billion a year in state Medicaid money.

"We have to make sure the outcome is there so we don't have to read about things in the paper, like what happened with Haven Healthcare, ever again," said Rep. Peggy Sayers, D-Windsor Locks, the co-chairwoman of the public health committee.

Environment

A coalition of environmental groups, which has formed The Face of Connecticut Campaign, is asking for $100 million a year for 10 years for open space, urban parks and the preservation of historic land and farmland.

"Connecticut has one opportunity to preserve the farmland and forests which have forever been our signature," said Sen. Andrew Roraback, R-Goshen, who represents 15 towns in Litchfield County. "One of the things that has frustrated me the most is elected officials are behind the people. People don't mind paying to preserve what we have."

Prisons

After the triple slayings in Cheshire last summer, legislators passed a series of crime reforms during a special session. Debate will continue in the regular session, including on whether to build any new prisons and whether the state should enact a tougher "three strikes" law that would take away discretionary powers in the judicial branch. Republicans say many judges have been too lenient in the sentencing of repeat violent felons. If a criminal is convicted of three violent felonies, Rell and other Republicans say, that person should be sentenced to life in prison.

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Lights, Cameras, Credits 
DAY editorial
Published on 3/29/2008 

House Speaker James A. Amann may indeed be a bit star struck, but his inclination to continue aggressively promoting Connecticut as a destination for the entertainment industry is a good one.

The speaker's promotion of tax credits for the film industry has allowed him to rub shoulders with some Hollywood elite, but his motivations appear purely political. Rep. Amann recognizes that being able to generate jobs, boost business, while adding in some star power, is a winning combination.

A Department of Economic and Community Development report released earlier this month estimated a 7 percent return has resulted from the tax credits first passed into law in 2006. The number of movies filmed in the state is increasing and the digital-production companies Blue Sky Studios and NBCSports.com have expanded into the state.

Now Rep. Amann is pushing hard to expand the incentive program. His proposed bill would lift the current $15 million cap on credits for digital animation products to $25 million, something lawmakers agreed to pursue when Blue Sky Studios came to Connecticut from New York last year. Other proposals would expand tax credits to cover expenses associated with live stage productions. And additional legislation would, if passed, promote training programs for future workers in the entertainment industry.

During hearings some skeptics have questioned whether the state is getting a true payback on the investment directed at the entertainment industry and urged a moratorium on incentives pending further study.

It is true that the recent DECD study was hardly comprehensive, but studies done in other states that have promoted the growth of the film industry through aggressive incentive programs suggest a significant return on investment. A study in Louisiana showed every dollar invested generated $1.85 in economic growth.

Given the progress seen thus far, and the success in other states, the legislature should support the expansion of incentives along the lines suggested by the Amann-backed proposals. Yet at some point a more thorough study is necessary to define how the incentives are helping the state economy.

 
Gone With the Cash: Films Go for the Best Tax Breaks
NYTIMES
Article Tools Sponsored By
By LISA W. FODERARO
Published: March 29, 2008

WHITE PLAINS — Martin Scorsese’s crime drama “The Departed” may be a paean to the city of Boston, but a number of scenes featuring Leonardo DiCaprio were shot at the county courthouse and library here. It was a surprisingly apt title, since 2007, the year “The Departed” won the Academy Award for Best Picture, was also the year that many film and television shoots departed — for Connecticut...

Not only is Connecticut attracting location shoots, but it has also encouraged the development of soundstages. Disney’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic” is now in production on a soundstage that opened last spring; construction will soon begin on six more soundstages in Norwalk.

While Connecticut is not publicly gloating, it is certainly celebrating. Economic development officials are hoping, in particular, to build on the momentum of Blue Sky’s decision to relocate. “We’re real excited,” said Joan McDonald, commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development. “People call it digital animation, but they’re high-tech jobs, and they’re high-tech jobs that young people like. There’s a real energy...”

 “If you need the Empire State Building, you can’t very well say, ‘I’ll go to Connecticut,’ ” he noted. “But if you need the countryside or suburbia or a quaint little village, there are a number of places you can go in the Northeast.”

Brian A. Keane, chief operating officer of Blue Sky Studios, said he had searched the region for office space that would allow his young staff, which includes oil painters and physicists, to work together on a single floor with high ceilings, rather than the three floors it now occupies here in White Plains.

In Greenwich, Blue Sky will take over a single floor (of 105,000 square feet) in a building on 150 acres with jogging trails and bike paths; the company is even planning to build a basketball court for its employees.

“I’m a born and bred New Yorker, and I live in New York,” said Mr. Keane, whose “Horton” movie, now in theaters, is expected to exceed $100 million in sales this weekend. “We did an extraordinary amount of due diligence. It came down to the timing, the significance and serenity of the location and the tax credit. The tax credit was clearly an enticement.”

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State Looks To Boost Incentives For Film Industry; Lawmakers To Lift Cap On Tax Credits 
DAY
By Ted Mann     
Published on 1/25/2008 
 
Hartford — When the legislature voted last year to create new tax credits for digital animation companies, lawmakers capped the total value of the incentives at a robust $15 million.

Now that it has actually landed a major animation studio, however, Connecticut is going to get a little more generous.

House Speaker James A. Amann, D-Milford, and leaders of the legislature's Commerce Committee said Thursday that they will modify the tax credits when the legislature convenes next month, the better to accommodate Blue Sky Studios, the digital animation company that plans to move to Greenwich from White Plains, N.Y., by the end of this year.

“We love the movies, but this is the stuff we want to attract,” Amann said Thursday, adding that he hoped lawmakers and Gov. M. Jodi Rell could agree to quickly lift the cap “right after the session opens” on Feb. 5.

The legislators confirmed their plans to increase the tax credits available for digital production facilities on the same day that Amann's task force on the film industry — which goes by the breezily optimistic “Hollywood East” — issued a slate of policy recommendations aimed at shoring up and adding on to Connecticut's recent gains in the entertainment issue.

Having proved that the state's three-year-old tax incentive program for motion picture and TV development can attract show business, the challenge for Connecticut policy makers will be to see that production expenses in the state are ultimately converted into broader benefits for the state's economy, the task force report said.

The state needs to grow its native work force in order to sustain and fully benefit from the film and TV industry, the report found, and urged the formation of a “consortium” of public and private colleges and training schools to encourage students to take up trades related to the industry — from computer programming to electrical engineering to the dramatic arts.

The goal is to develop Connecticut students and workers in areas where the state can compete, said Gary English, of the Dramatic Arts department at the University of Connecticut.

“We want to be very practical ... about the niche in the industry we think we can fill,” English said during the task force meeting.

That means encouraging students to join the rank-and-file of production jobs, he said, “rather than pretending we can graduate filmmakers.”

Amann and Rep. Jeffrey Berger, D-Naugatuck, the co-chairman of the Commerce Committee, both acknowledged that developing Connecticut's work force will be key to ensuring that the state's growing industry provides benefits to Connecticut's economy as a whole.

Since the credits were first embraced, as Amann and others flocked to support the backers of the erstwhile Utopia Studios project in Preston, other states have loomed as both examples and cautionary tales. Louisiana, for instance, often mentioned as a frontrunner in offering motion picture tax credits, quickly showed multimillion-dollar gains in movie production spending in the state, much as Connecticut has. But according to a study by the state's Legislative Fiscal Office, the high cost of the tax credits themselves more than offset the spending of movie productions, meaning the net effect was negative.

That prospect will be more remote, Amann and the lawmakers said, if the productions that have flocked to Connecticut in the past several years are eventually turning to in-state truck rental companies, caterers, electricians, laborers and behind-camera talent — effectively keeping the payroll and production expenses within the state's economy.

The picture is even rosier with Blue Sky Studios, which is finalizing a 10-year assistance agreement, including an $8 million loan, with the state Department of Economic and Community Development to move to its new 150-acre campus in Greenwich.

The company has 300 employees and a payroll of more than $20 million, said Brian A. Keane, the studio's chief operating officer.

“I think it's a great opportunity for the state of Connecticut and a very smart way to mature that business,” Keane said of the digital production credits. “I think that the productions that will come into the state will demonstrate that it's a smart move.”

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Powers to leave House
Greenwich TIME
By Neil Vigdor
Published January 18 2008

Re