Today the Senate is scheduled to vote on repealing the death penalty. Earlier this morning, senate leadership held a press conference to announce a amendment to the repeal proposal.
PRESS RELEASE:
Senate leaders announced today their intention to call an amendment, as part of a vote to repeal capital punishment in Connecticut, that will establish tough new conditions for individuals convicted of Murder with Special Circumstances.
Upon conviction, the inmate shall be subject to the following:
Receive Special Circumstances High Security Status (the inmate will forever retain this status) and be assigned an initial classification of Level 4 High Security Status
Undergo a re-classification process of up to 12 months at the Northern Correctional Institute, taking into consideration the risk the inmate poses to staff and other inmates
Placement in Administrative Segregation or Protective Custody, as required
Permitted only non-contact visitation
"The punishment of life in prison without the possibility of release makes more sense," said Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn). "These inmates will face conditions that are similar to and in some cases more severe than conditions on death row. It is a punishment and sentence that is certain and final."
The conditions of confinement for inmates during their entire term of life in prison without release, including time at a Maximum Security Prison, shall include but not be limited to:
Separate housing unit from other inmates not in Special Circumstances High Security Status
Continuous escorted or monitored movement only
Minimum of two cell searches per week
Cell movement every 90 days
No work assignments outside of the assigned housing unit
Non-contact visitation only
Limited time outside the prison cell (2 hours out, 22 hours in)
"This amendment provides severe punishment for the most heinous crimes," said Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney. "It is a just substitute for the death penalty."
"The death penalty, as a punishment, is deeply flawed in many ways," said Senator Eric Coleman (D-Bloomfield), Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee. It is a poor deterrent to crime, inequitably applied across racial and economic lines, and a fundamental contradiction--killing as a punishment for killing. Connecticut rarely executes its prisoners, and the time has come to stop issuing such a misguided punishment."
A copy of the amendment as well as a fact sheet provided by Senate leadership are below the fold.
With Gov. Dannel P. Malloy pledging to sign the bill into law, the state Senate is preparing for a vote as soon as Wednesday on a measure to repeal the death penalty for future crimes.
Leaders of the Senate Democratic majority intend Tuesday to canvass their 22 members for a final time, with the expectation of getting a commitment from at least 18 senators, the bare minimum necessary for passage.
"We'll make a final decision tomorrow," Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, said Monday night. "Do we want to move forward one way or the other? Yes."
Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, a longtime death-penalty opponent who presides over the Senate, is prepared to break a tie by casting a vote for repeal should the 36-member Senate deadlock.
If all three Democratic senators who have been publicly undecided cast a vote for repeal, the measure would pass with 19 votes. The three are Sen. Edith G. Prague of Columbia, Carlo Leone of Stamford and Joseph J. Crisco of Woodbridge.
Taking the megaphone Monday, [Connecticut's chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union Executive director Andrew] Schneider argued the opposite: That red light cameras actually make the streets more dangerous. He cited a 2005 Washington Post study that found that injury and fatal crashes rose 81 percent in five years at intersections in Washington, D.C. where the cameras were installed.
Schneider raised two main civil liberties concerns. The information from the cameras can be used to track drivers' whereabouts. And the bill tramples on due process rights, he argued: It would deny the driver the right to confront his accuser. The timeframe for issuing a ticket-up to 60 days after the alleged offense-is so long that drivers wouldn't be able to remember the incident well enough to come to their own defense.
"Why are we giving up our civil liberties for no safety at all?" Schneider asked.
Some, like Hartford Rep. Doug McCrory, agree with Malloy and are working to get the bill to look more like the original.
However, there were at least two members of the NAACP who disagreed that Malloy's bill is better than the committee bill.
"Maybe those who voted against it, or who voted to gut it, were right?" Michael Jefferson, a criminal defense attorney from New Haven, told Malloy.
Malloy said he doesn't believe that's correct because "in private conversations they say the opposite and with other people in the room they negotiate the opposite."
"Don't all politicians?" Jefferson asked.
"Not this one," Malloy replied.
Jefferson and Gary Highsmith, a principal at Hamden High School, were the only two to argue Monday that longstanding research on education seems to be ignored in Malloy's proposal.
A national study found 83 percent of charter schools are no better than public schools, Jefferson said.
"That's not Michael Jefferson. That's not Gary Highsmith. That's a fact," Jefferson told Malloy.
Citing another study, Jefferson said merit pay for teachers does not work.
"You can't ignore that, governor. The bill continues to ignore longstanding research," Jefferson said.
Today, in a press release, former State Rep and current State Senate candidate Steve Fontana announced that he has fulfilled the eligibility requirements needed to qualify for state's public finance grant.
Steve Fontana announced today that his State Senate campaign has met
the eligibility thresholds for a public campaign finance grant, and
that he will be submitting his prequalifying paperwork to the State
Elections Enforcement Commission this week.
Under public campaign finance rules, State Senate candidates must
raise $15,000 overall, and collect at least 300 contributions from
people who live in one of the towns of the district, to qualify for a
public campaign finance grant. The Fontana for State Senate campaign
has exceeded both of those thresholds: as of Saturday, March 31, the
campaign had raised more than $18,000 overall, and collected more than
340 in-district contributions.
"As a believer in the power of grassroots democracy, I'm really
pleased that we've met the earliest possible deadline to submit our
paperwork for the public campaign finance program," Fontana added.
"When I announced my candidacy a little more than two months ago, I
didn't know whether we could do it.
"I'm heartened and humbled by the outpouring of support we've received
from people who not only want a greater say in our political process,
but a better State Senator than they've been getting for the last ten
years. The people of all backgrounds and financial means who helped
me to reach this goal want a real fighter for the middle class."
"I'd like to thank everyone who has supported my campaign so
generously," Fontana concluded. "I'd also like to thank my campaign
treasurer, Sarah Aziz, and her deputies - Tessa Marquis, Pat Brown,
and Judith Meyers - for all of the hard work that they put into making
this early filing possible."
Ina press release today regarding the state deficit, State Comptroller Kevin Lembo outlines the importance of the month of April when it comes to projecting how deep is in the hole.
Comptroller Kevin Lembo today announced that his Fiscal Year 2012 deficit projection has grown to $45.8 million, but said that number could shift dramatically following April income tax payments.
In a letter to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Lembo cited two reasons for the $52.8-million variance in his projection from that of the Office of Policy and Management (OPM).
Lembo said there has been continued strong growth in tax refunds, putting his analysis about $22 million higher than OPM's analysis. Lembo also said that he did not incorporate OPM's $36.2 million lapses in his spending projections because, based on a four-year average of spending trends, those additional lapses will be difficult to realize.
These deficit projections are well below 1 percent of total fund appropriations, and could be erased after the state receives final and estimated tax payments in April, Lembo said.
"All eyes are on April," Lembo said. "The complex 2011 income tax withholding changes may have distorted the trend analysis used for projections. As a result, final and estimated income tax payments received in April could differ significantly from those projections."
General Fund revenue for Fiscal Year 2012 is falling $118.2 million short of original budget projections and net state spending is $49.7 million below the original budget plan. Lembo said his spending projection reflects caution with respect to the lapse due to the large increase in spending posted in January.
[...]
If a contribution is made against the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) deficit, as proposed, the projected deficit would be $120.8 million.
"Despite this deficit projection, recent job growth and other economic indicators are positive," Lembo said. " Connecticut 's economy has been posting slow sustained growth."
Recent economic indicators from the Department of Labor and other sources include:
Employment
The February unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent.
State employment numbers for February show an additional 4,900 jobs added to payroll during the month.
For the 12 months ending in February, the state added 12,100 payroll jobs.
The state has recovered over 30 percent of the recessionary job loss.
The two largest employing supersectors, trade, transportation, and utilities (2,200, 0.7%) and education and health services (2,200, 0.7%) had the largest monthly gains in February 2012.
Retail trade's monthly gain (1,600, 0.9%) was the most compelling and also considered statistically significant. Wholesale trade (600, 0.9%) was also positive this month.
In the education and health services supersector (2,200, 0.7%), both categories contributed to monthly gains, but health care and social assistance provided the statistically important movement (1,900, 0.7%). Educational services grew by 300 jobs (0.5%).
The next largest job-increasing supersector was construction (800, 1.5%) and the closely related mining (mainly gravel in the state) sector.
Warmer weather has benefitted construction this winter and more specialty trades contractors have been active throughout.
The four job-declining supersectors in February all had job losses of less than a thousand. The most significant supersector decliner was government (-600, 0.3%), as a result of losses in local government (600, -0.4%), which also accounts for Indian gaming and tribal government.
The leisure and hospitality supersector pulled back by 500 positions (-0.4%) while restaurants and hotels were lower by 700 positions (-0.6%). Meanwhile, the arts, entertainment, and recreation actually added 200 jobs (0.8%).
The information supersector dropped 200 jobs (-0.6%) and the financial activities supersector relinquished another 100 positions (-0.1%).
Since February 2011, financial activities continues to be the largest declining supersector in percentage terms (-4,100, 3.0%), while government is the largest job loser in magnitude (5,000, -2.1%).
(From Department of Labor (DOL)):
Nationally the employment picture has been steadily improving with the addition of over 200,000 jobs per month in the three month period ending in February 2012.
The national unemployment rate in February was 8.3%.
It's that time of the year again...with the first fundraising quarter of 2012 complete, 5th Congressional District Democratic candidate Elizabeth Esty reports raking in $360,000 dollars.
PRESS RELEASE:
Former State Representative Elizabeth Esty announced that her congressional campaign raised more than $360,000 in the first quarter of 2012-her campaign's strongest quarter yet. Esty's campaign has raised more $1.1 million in total from thousands of donors across the 5th District and the country. Esty begins the second quarter of this election year with more than $800,000 cash on hand. The latest numbers show that Esty's campaign has the resources and the organization to defeat Speaker Donovan in the Democratic primary.
"I'm incredibly honored by the support we're receiving from thousands of people across Connecticut's 5th District and the country," Elizabeth Esty said. "Folks want a strong Democratic candidate who can win the 5th District and bring some common-sense solutions to Washington. They're tired of political insiders and special interests getting ahead while hard-working families struggle. They're tired of politicians bickering and finger-pointing when Connecticut workers need good-paying jobs, and they know that we just can't afford the same old politics from the same old politicians. I'm energized by the overwhelming response we've gotten from voters in cities and towns across northwest Connecticut. From now through May, August, and November, I will keep listening to voters and earning their support."
How many people with intellectual disabilities in Connecticut are waiting for services from the state and what is the Malloy administration doing to meet that need?
The answers to both of those questions aren't entirely clear; but based on documents we've obtained from the administration and other sources of information, the emerging answers, as we will discuss further below, are disturbing.
Briefly, to the first question, the number waiting for services, including residential placements, may well be in the thousands. In answer to the second, the administration's response appears to be shaping up as: ignore the waiting list problem and it will go away.
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