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State auditors send General Assembly their wish lists
State auditors recently asked the General Assembly to fund five new positions for a specialized type of audit and make legislative changes to improve the integrity of state finances and operations. Last year, the Auditors of Public Accounts conducted 43 audits and...
Ability to transfer money between party accounts makes contractor ban meaningless
Federal and state laws allow state party committees to transfer money between their federal and state accounts – using the national party committee as an intermediary – rendering the state contractor ban meaningless at the party level. State contractors cannot donate...
No strong link between funding and use at Connecticut libraries
Cities and towns across Connecticut spend a wide range of taxpayer money to support local libraries, from Greenwich’s nearly $9 million to Norfolk’s $1,000. Despite Norfolk’s small investment, it leads the state in visits per resident, according to 2012 data compiled...
With most legislators serving as ‘leaders’ salaries average $31,000 in House, $33,500 in Senate
Members of the Connecticut General Assembly earn $28,000 a year by statute, but more than half of them have leadership titles raising average salaries in the House by $3,000 and in the Senate by nearly $5,500. None of the 36 senators get paid the base salary. Chairmen...
First Five companies give back to Democrats
Two companies participating in Gov. Dannel Malloy’s signature economic development program contributed to the Democratic Party last month, contributing to the party’s significant financial advantage over Republicans. Employees of NBC Universal and NBC Sports gave the...
DOT preferred developer brings 2013 gifts to Democrats up to $90,000 with December contributions
The joint venture selected by the Department of Transportation to redevelop part of Stamford near the city’s train station gave $90,000 to the Connecticut Democratic Party’s federal account last year, including $32,500 in December. DOT selected Stamford Manhattan...
Delauro Celebrates as Obama Perpetuates Gender Gap Myth during SOTU
Anyone who watched Tuesday’s State of the Union address may have noticed a colorfully clad Rosa Delauro (D-3rd District) jumping for joy and high fiving fellow lawmakers at a particular point in the President’s speech. What inspired her gleeful reaction was Obama’s...
Program for unemployed veterans slow-going at first
A jobs program to support the hiring of unemployed veterans has been slow to take hold with less than 10 percent of the money borrowed for the program reaching employers since 2012. Gov. Dannel Malloy and the General Assembly created “Step Up for Vets” nearly two...
Bridgeport Housing Authority faulted for ‘Cadillac’ employee health plan
Federal watchdogs faulted the Bridgeport Housing Authority Tuesday for improperly charging $1.7 million to Washington and for giving employees a “Cadillac” health plan. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General...
Should the State Library preserve legislative and judicial documents?
An old proposal would have brought the General Assembly and Judicial Branch under the State Library for the sake of preserving historical records and consistently maintaining government documents. State Librarian Kendall Wiggin said Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s administration...