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SustiNet bill redefines lobbying
The SustiNet bill up for public hearing today recommends the state combine several health of its plans into one large organization and to create a new government-run insurance plan for the general public – both as expected. However, the health care bill also changes...
Legislature’s Valentine to left-wing: a SustiNet public hearing
A government-run health insurance plan for Connecticut will get a public hearing Monday. For years, liberal interest groups and union organizers have pined for such a plan, which they call a public option. Many see it as a pathway to a single-payer system that would...
Florida rejects Obamacare money because of interference in Connecticut
Federal intervention in Connecticut’s process for approving insurance rates prompted Florida to reject a $1 million federal grant. “We will not be drawing down on any of those funds,” Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said Tuesday. The grant came one from...
Solar wins big in proposed energy bill – at a cost
Environmental lobbyists moved quickly to take advantage of Connecticut’s change in governor and got a place of honor for a massive energy bill that will prop up solar generation with subsidies at the expense of consumers and employers across the state. These industry...
Vetoed energy bill comes back from the dead as Senate Bill 1
Last year Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed a 90-page energy bill that passed in the waning days of the legislative session without the normal sequence of public hearing and comment. That bill is back – and as Senate Bill 1, highlighting its importance to Senate Democrats, who...
Waterbury writer parodies Obama, Seuss-style
“The sun did not shine. The Iraq war dragged on. And our once great economy Was almost all gone.” So begins Loren Spivack’s political parody of “The Cat in the Hat.” It’s opening stanzas blame Republicans, but the focus quickly shifts to “The New Democrat,” the title...
Pension increases for appointed legislators will cost at least $5 million over 25 years
Gov. Dannel Malloy chose six current and two former legislators to serve in his administration, a decision that will cost taxpayers millions in extra pension payments when these public officials retire. All state employees, including legislators, are eligible for...
UConn Health Center application for $100 million grant paints grim picture
Federal officials denied the University of Connecticut Health Center a $100 million grant last month, which, according to the grant application, will pose a challenge for the state’s struggling academic hospital. The application – to fund one third of a $332 million...
Many political jobs remain available in Malloy administration
“To the victor belong the spoils.” – Sen. William Marcy, D-NY Less than 24 hours into his administration, Gov. Dan Malloy has announced the appointment of 38 administration officials, but more than 68 positions remain to be filled. Malloy has the ability to appoint...
State board wants Conn. public option by 2014
A state healthcare board approved recommendations Wednesday that call for the combination of state employees, prisoners and the poor into a single healthcare pool by 2012 and the expansion of that pool into a government-run insurance plan by 2014. The SustiNet Board...