News

The longest shutdown in U.S. history is starting to wind down after a bloc of Senate Democrats joined Republicans on a deal to reopen the federal government, but Connecticut’s senators opposed the agreement because it made no guarantee to extend the policy at the heart of the shutdown fight: expiring health care subsidies.

Aside from housing, state lawmakers will take up legislation on immigration, food assistance, health care and more when they meet Nov. 12-13.

In a scene that’s been playing out across Connecticut over the past week, Diana Colombo lined up at a mobile food pantry in East Hartford on Wednesday morning — a line double its typical length.

With election results still being tabulated, Democrats are celebrating big wins across the state. Unofficial results show 27 communities flipping from Republican to Democratic control in terms of mayor or first selectmen, and 3 towns led by a Town Council switching power as well.

Democrats racked up wins in municipal elections across the state Tuesday, flipping chief executive seats in Ansonia, Stratford, Milford, and New Britain, and others. All results are unofficial until certified by the Secretary of the State’s office.

Democrats made broad gains Tuesday in Connecticut’s first general election since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, flipping open top-of-ballot seats that had been controlled by Republicans in the Democratic cities of New Britain and Norwich and suburbs of Branford and Westport.

Lawmakers want state funds to shield program

Governor Ned Lamont today announced that his administration is providing $3 million in emergency state funding to the nonprofit organization Connecticut Foodshare to help Connecticut residents who are expected to lose access to food stamp benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the shutdown of the federal government.

With property values climbing faster than paychecks, many Connecticut homeowners are facing municipal tax increases — and Republican lawmakers say the state’s record surplus should be part of the solution.

Next month, Connecticut voters will head to the polls to elect candidates for local positions in their city or town. No statewide or national elections — like those for United States Senate and House of Representatives seats or for governor of Connecticut — are held in odd-numbered years. But on Nov. 4, many communities throughout the state will still elect officeholders to positions like mayor, city councilor, alder or board of education member.

Connecticut is among the top states in the country for research and development, according to a recent report from Smilehub.org. Smilehub is a nonprofit tech company that uses data to create ratings.

MyCTSavings is a state-sponsored retirement savings program, for employers with 5 or more full- and/or part-time employees that do not offer a retirement plan. When businesses enroll, their employees can save for retirement through payroll contributions into a Roth IRA. The program is free to businesses, and more than 50 payroll companies work with MyCTSavings to provide payroll integration with your existing payroll process.

The legislation, which awaits signing by Governor Ned Lamont, includes a provision enabling licensed CPAs form other states in “good standing” to practice in Connecticut.

The bill passed in the Connecticut House of Representatives with no opposition on April 28 and the Senate on May 29 and will now move to be signed by Governor Lamont.

The boards of directors of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) have approved expansion of accountancy’s model legislation to include an additional path to CPA licensure. The optional path maintains public protection while providing added flexibility and options for CPA candidates.

It’s not common to have legislation proposed that no one speaks against. That’s the case, however, for House Bill 7020, which would offer more flexibility for state residents to become certified public accountants.

Many private schools across Connecticut object to a bill to eliminate tax exemptions for faculty and staff housing for private secondary schools, saying they already contribute to the towns where they're located and this could affect their operations.

Faced with a slumping economy and likely big cuts in federal aid, state legislators are once again weighing whether to turn delinquent taxpayers over to collection agencies — and block renewal of their driver’s licenses or vehicle registrations.

Governor Ned Lamont announced that he is encouraging businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities in Connecticut that have been impacted by recent actions from the federal government to report that information to the state so that it can be compiled into a central database and provide state policymakers with a better understanding of how these directives are affecting various groups, geographical regions, and sectors of the economy.

Members of the House of Representative’s Tax Equity Caucus and advocates called on the Connecticut General Assembly and the governor on Tuesday morning to support what they called “economic populism” in the form of tax relief for middle class and working class people.