Rome Smith & Lutz

The Connecticut General Assembly’s 2012 Legislative Session convened today.  This is a short 3 month session which will adjourn on Wednesday May 9th.  Because we will be entering the second year of the biennial budget, this session’s budget activity will be to make adjustments to fiscal year 2013.  (FY 2013:  July 1, 2012 through June 30, . . . → Read More: 2012 Session Convenes and Governor Malloy’s Midterm Budget Adjustment Plan

Rick Lopes won the open seat special election last night to fill the 24th district house seat vacated by recently elected New Britain Mayor Tim O’Brien.  He defeated Republican nominee, Peter Steele, and petitioning candidate and former State Senator, Thomas Bozek.  Lopes is a former aide to then State Senator Don DeFronzo and currently a project . . . → Read More: Rick Lopes Wins Special Election to Fill 24th Assembly District Seat

Today, the Governor announced he has named Mark Ojakian as his new chief of staff.  He will be replacing Tim Bannon, who announced last month that he will be stepping down.  Ojakian is currently the Deputy Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, and previously served for 16 years as deputy Comptroller under Nancy Wyman.  . . . → Read More: Governor Announces Mark Ojakian as New Chief of Staff

January 10th Special Election:

The open seat special election for the 24th district house seat vacated by recently elected New Britain Mayor Tim O’Brien  will be held on January 10th.  The Republican nominee, Peter Steele, was chosen last week.  The Democratic convention was held last night and they nominated Rick Lopes.  Lopes defeated both Michael Trueworthy and . . . → Read More: Political Update: Special Election, Rep Paul Davis Appointed Chair of Regulations Review, and Redistricting

http://www.courant.com/news/politics/capitol-watch/hc-with-tax-increases-kicking-in-state-budget-surplus-projected-at-101-million-20111129,0,2931351.story?track=rss

By CHRISTOPHER KEATING

1:45 p.m. EST, November 29, 2011

HARTFORD—

With the largest tax increase in Connecticut history kicking in, the state is projected to generate a surplus of more than $100 million in the current fiscal year – finally pushing the state into the black.

While the number might seem surprising after years of major budget . . . → Read More: Hartford Courant Capitol Watch: State Budget Surplus Projected At $101 Million

Newly elected Mayor of New Britain, Tim O’Brien, has resigned his seat in the 24th Assembly District in the General Assembly.  A special election date has not yet been announced.  The Governor must issue a writ of Special Election by November 25th, at which time, the special election must be held within 46 days of the . . . → Read More: Political Update: New Britain Special Election

The General Assembly will convene a special session tomorrow starting at 11:00am. The special session was called by Governor Malloy to focus on job creation. For several weeks, the Governor and legislative leaders have been working together in the hope of creating a comprehensive, bipartisan Jobs bill. The Governor, along with Democratic . . . → Read More: Special Legislative Session on Jobs tomorrow

This Thursday, there will be a series of hearings at the Legislative Office Building regarding the proposed Jackson Laboratory project at the University of Connecticut Health Center and the upcoming legislative session on jobs. The schedule for the day is as follows:

• The Finance, Revenue and Bonding committee will convene an informational hearing on the . . . → Read More: Hearings on Jackson Labratory and Jobs Session

The Governor has called the legislature into session to act on legislation related to jobs. It calls the General Assembly in on October 26th at 11:00am to “enact legislation to improve job creation, promote economic growth, create a better business climate, develop a sustainable and competitive workforce, and ensure that Connecticut becomes an international center . . . → Read More: Call of the October 26th Special Session on Jobs

Today, Governor Malloy held his Economic Summit at the Connecticut Convention Center. There were approximately 650 attendees During his opening remarks, Malloy highlighted the economic challenges he faced as an incoming governor, with a deficit that was “too large to tax our way out” and “too large to cut our way out”. Since . . . → Read More: Governor Malloy’s Jobs Summit