State Budget

Connecticut's prison population is heading for its fourth consecutive monthly increase, a trend likely to put a damper hopes that a prison closure could help balance the state's budget. The population approached 18,600 Tuesday, largely because of a jump in the number of unsentenced inmates. Read more

Optimistic assumptions about federal aid and social service caseloads came back to haunt state officials Friday as Connecticut's $19.01 billion budget, barely out of the gate, stumbled more than $60 million into deficit.

Rising income and sales tax receipts weren't enough to offset entirely a $193.4 million shortfall in federal stimulus grants and $171.7 million in projected cost overruns. Read more

The state can save $300 million a year by boosting worker pension contributions, raising retirement ages and developing a 401(k)-style retirement plan for new employees, a top budget official says. Read more

State government's new contract watchdog agency is one of many that have faced budget cuts in recent years.

But lawmakers now wonder whether the decision to strip the Contracting Standards Board of funding this year is costing more than it's saving. Read more

The state Bond Commission approved Gov. M. Jodi Rell's request for $260 million to help fund the planned New Haven-to-Springfield commuter rail line today.

But the approval only came after two of the governor's fellow Republicans opposed it to protest a Rell-approved plan to borrow $580 million in 2009 from future capital projects to help government pay its bills. Read more

Connecticut's school districts could be in line for a major economic boost this fiscal year, thanks to the new extension of federal stimulus funding - and a political miscalculation by the General Assembly and Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

The $109 million in potential good fortune for local schools also could be part of a new $156 million hole in the state budget. Read more

When it comes to pushing back the retirement age for state employees, Connecticut is testing waters that many states have plunged into over the past year.

A new report from the National Conference of State Legislatures found 10 states have passed laws this year to keep public-sector employees working longer. Read more

A major state employee union is using last spring's unsuccessful bid to cancel longevity bonuses for senior, non-union state employees to rally support for its long-running battle to allow managers to bargain collectively.

An affiliate of the Connecticut State Employees Association/Service Employees International Union sent out letters last week to about 2,500 non-union managers reminding them of a March 11 proposal from the House Republican Caucus to cancel about $4.7 million in bonus payments due in April. Read more

As the governor's office prepares to commit $260 million for the planned New Haven-to-Springfield rail project, two key state lawmakers say they want to know how that will affect other efforts to maintain and upgrade an aging, congested transportation network.

Both say they support the rail project, for which the state is seeking $220 million in federal money. But, they said, the $260 million the state would put up will likely come at the expense of other projects. Read more