Wednesday is the start of Connecticut’s legislative session. Lawmakers reconvene, starting squarely at a massive state budget deficit, and a crisis in pension costs that Comptroller Kevin Lembo said will “crush us” unless something is done.
All of this, sadly, seems like old news. What’s new? Democrats and Republicans are tied in the state Senate for the first time in 125 years. And in the House, the Democrats have a majority, but not by much.
There’ll be a new speaker of the house, a leader who will continue to serve in his job with a union representing state and municipal workers.
This hour, we talk about how all of this might change the dynamics in the state legislature. And we tease apart the upcoming session: pension negotiations? education cuts? A minimum wage increase? More casinos in Connecticut? Legalizing marijuana? And we preview Governor Dannel Malloy's State of the State address in these dire times.
GUESTS:
- Ben Davol - Former Republican strategist, owner of Dromana Strategies, a communication and public policy consulting firm
- Christine Stuart - Editor at CTNewsJunkie.com
- Rick Green - Assistant Managing Editor at the Hartford Courant