State of the State speech, Bysiewicz still unclear for the AG race, AIG bonuses

Here are some of the most important news concerning the Connecticut politics from the previous week.

A new U.S. attorney for the State of Connecticut was appointe by President Barack Obama. David Feine is a former White House lawyer and federal prosecutor and a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Senator Chris Dodd (D – CT) announced that he will soon introduce a constitutional amendment in response to the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling where a conservative 5-4 majority adjudicated that the government cannot limit foreign individuals, foreign corporations or foreign associations from influencing the country’s political process. It was reported that Senator Dodd’s amendment would regulate campaign finance for state and federal political campaigns.

Earlier, U.S. Representative John Larson (D, CT – 1st District) introduced the Fair Elections Now Act, a bill that would give access to public funds for federal election campaigns if a candidate reaches a certain threshold of support. According to Representative Larson, the bill now has the support of the majority of House Democrats.

Meanwhile, Representative Larson and Representative Linda Sanchez (D, CA – 39th District) introduced a resolution in opposition to Republican plans to privatize Social Security.

Senator Joe Lieberman (I – CT), along with Chris Dodd, announced that first responders in nine cities in towns in the state will receive more than $720,000 from the Assistance Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program.

Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp., has to leave its two aircraft repair plants in Cheshire and East Hartford opened, at least at this time. This comes after U.S. District Judge Janet Hall blocked the company’s earlier decision to close them. According to Judge Hall, the unit didn’t do enough to keep 1,000 jobs thus breaching its collective bargaining agreement with the International Association of Machinists (IAM) District 26. Pratt & Whitney announced that it is considering an appeal. Its attorneys are arguing that the company has the right to protect its financial interests. Pratt & Whitney’s decision from September, 2009 was to close its plants in Cheshire and East Hartford and move its operations to Columbus, Ga., Japan and Singapore.

In her State of the State address on Wednesday, Governor M. Jodi Rell criticized the recent months of “political bickering” in Connecticut on both sides of the aisle, and called for working together for the state in an effort to create jobs and balance the budget. She also called for the creation of new Connecticut Credit Consortium which will be a $500 million partnership between the state and its banks to boost credit availability; for the expansion of sales tax exemption to include tools used in renewable energy and green technology; a $2,500 loan forgiveness program for students who stay and work in Connecticut with a green job degree from college such as life and health sciences or renewable energy; creation of a 24-member commission that will examine the entire state government and address inefficiencies; and the solution to other state issues.

The Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM) released its recommendations for balancing the state budget. The office recommended that the state borrow $1.3 billion, however, the servicing of this debt would require reallocating already existing surcharges on everyone’s electrical bills to cover the state’s budget deficit instead of spending the money on green job projects. Critics of that recommendation argue that it would deny the creation of green jobs as well as business’ ambition to cut energy costs.

Governor Rell proposed changes to the state’s campaign finance law. Proposed changes include the elimination of additional qualifying criteria for third-party or petitioning candidates, equal grants to all candidates regardless of their party if any, and other. Last summer, the Citizens Election Program (CEP) was ruled unconstitutional by U.S. District Court Judge Stefan Underhill. State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal appealed to Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Governor Rell made proposals to address the budget deficit and published them on her website. Her proposals provide protections for the state’s “Rainy Day Fund” (RDF), new bonding procedures including ones that will address the state’s underfunding its employees’ retirement benefits, and increased rescission power by the Governor.

This month marked the beginning of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIPRA) which was signed into law by President Obama a year ago. The program provides children nationwide with health coverage that their parents otherwise cannot afford. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D, CT – 3rd District) informed that the program pays 2/3 of the cost of health care coverage to more than 15,000 children in Connecticut.

In a blue-ribbon Municipal Opportunities and Regional Efficiencies (MORE) Commission session, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano proposed eliminating the municipal tax on automobiles in Connecticut and creating a state-wide property tax, as reported in the New Haven Independent. The media reminded that the Mayor had a completely different position four years ago when he was running for Governor against Governor M. Jodi Rell who had the same proposal during the gubernatorial campaign as his current one.

Democrats from the General Assembly created a report and recommendations for job creation and prosperity named Majority Leaders’ Job Growth Roundtable. The Roundtable includes state Senator Garry LeBeau, who dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination for Governor, four state Representatives, and experts. According to their presentation, the initiative will create green jobs, educate and train young workers, provide incentives, and others.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal urged President Obama to stop $100 million bonuses to AIG, ConnPolitics reported. While President Obama’s “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg said that the payment of those bonuses is legal, state Attorney General Blumenthal gave an opinion where he stated that Connecticut contract law cannot be used as a basis for paying them. The state’s Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy deemed it part of Mr. Blumenthal’s bid for the U.S. Senate, adding that the state Attorney General has no jurisdiction over the matter.

Meanwhile, Mr. Blumenthal announced that the courts or the state legislature will have the last word in determining whether Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz is qualified to run for state Attorney General. According to Susan Bysiewicz, the state Attorney General’s opinion “supports what I’ve been saying all along,” CTNewsJunkie reported. Two weeks ago, Ms. Bysiewicz asked Richard Blumenthal for an advisory opinion on her qualification to run for the statewide position.