Enough to Give You an Upset Stomach

The “shenanigans” with state bonds are “enough to make you vomit.”

So says a now-retired State of Connecticut employee who oversaw bond-funded grants from the Department of Social Services for 19 years.

That statement should give us all pause.

State bonds are the state’s credit card. Just about every month, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy leads a meeting of the State Bond Commission to discuss which projects to put on that credit card. Most of these are low profile capital projects like school construction and road and bridge repair. Others are more high profile projects that raise taxpayers’ eyebrows, such as the $600 million New Britain to Hartford Busway.

Still others are what are called “pork” projects. One of those pork projects recently made many, including that retired state employee, feel sick to their stomachs.

What was it?

• $300,000 for the New Haven People’s Center, an organization run by officials in the Connecticut chapter of the Communist Party USA.

The fact that your tax dollars are slated to help fix the roof at the Connecticut chapter of the Communist Party USA is odd enough, but even more peculiar is that state agencies do not have any documentation about the organization or the request for the $300,000.

So what’s going on?

Taxpayers, what we have here is an iconic example of an earmark. It reveals how your state government allocates money in a frivolous way.

• This money for the Connecticut chapter of the Communist Party was not run through the normal process of vetting.
    
• The People’s Center’s finances were not reviewed.
    
• The project was never weighed against other projects.
    
• It is not clear who exactly will have oversight of the state funds if they are approved.  

The good news – if there is any in this tale - is that this money hasn’t been approved yet. The good news is that this information is now out in the open before it can be quietly approved.

The next bond commission meeting is June 4.

Between now and then, I will continue to ask the following questions:

• Why is this group getting our taxpayer money?
   
• Doesn’t the state have thousands of better ways to spend this money?
   
• Why doesn’t this group provide their own money for the repairs, via traditional fundraisers?
   
• Why should your tax dollars be used to fund the roof repair of any political party? No party should get state funding.  

Shenanigans indeed. I hope this story did not create too much nausea out there, but I feel it is an instructive one. We need to send people to Hartford who value the taxpayers. In the meantime, I promise you that I will continue to fight for better accountability with your money.

Nightmare at the State Capitol

Maturity is absent at the State Capitol two days before the 2012 legislative session crashes to an end. Governor Malloy and Democratic majority leaders released their education reform "compromise" at a 10pm press conference. No Republicans present.

The 185-page education reform bill was released to the minority Republican legislators at Midnight. Ninety minutes later debate began.

The Democratic majority leadership and Governor Malloy should be ashamed of themselves. Claiming victory by crafting such important legislation in a back-room vacuum is disgraceful!

I will listen intently to the debate and study the bill. Unfortunately, I can't get feedback from my constituents at 2am. The only opinions I can enlist at this time are the lobbyists and special interest advocates. Though I value their opinion and information on legislation I always rely on feedback from residents in my district - my bosses - before voting on such important legislation.

My bosses are sleeping right now. This feels like a nightmare at the State Capitol.

Without reasonable input from the people most impacted by this proposal the Democrats are asking legislators to "fly blind" on a vote. I don't fly blind.

When will this irresponsible, one-sided legislative process end? When will the voters hold the Connecticut General Assembly accountable for acting without listening to our constituents?

Education reform is not the real story for the 2012 legislative session. The real story is an abhorrent legislative process driven by the majority Democratic leaders. Politics at its worst.

Connecticut Highest in Taxes AGAIN!

How ironic that May 5th is Tax Freedom Day® in Connecticut. Tax Freedom Day measures how long Americans work to earn enough money to pay this year's tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels. Connecticut is the last state to reach Tax Freedom Day this year!

The real irony is that Governor Malloy and the Democrats' largest tax increase in the history of the State of Connecticut has still generated a deficit of $280 million! Tax Freedom Day for Connecticut residents next year will come even later in the calendar after this massive tax increase is considered.

Governor Malloy and the Democratic majority leadership in the Connecticut General Assembly are completely disconnected from the reality of our struggling residents and businesses. Everyone outside of government cut spending in their budgets to match their decreased earnings. Connecticut Democrats refuse to make the difficult decisions to reform our state government and cut spending.

Who would’ve guessed Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey would ever be more competitive than Connecticut? I hope Nutmeggers will wake up and demand change!

A Lifesaving Initiative for Infants

The Connecticut State Senate approved Senate Bill 56 tonight - An Act Concerning Pulse Oximetry Screening for Newborn Infants. This is a priority of my constituent, Marie Hatcher, the proud mother of Mathew.


Marie Hatcher is a special lady with amazing persistence. Marie discovered that congenital heart defects are sometimes undiagnosed in newborn babies. Thankfully, that was not the case with her son Matthew but discovered during pregnancy. Matthew has experienced a lifetime of doctors and hospitals in his short life and thankfully he is getting the very best medical care for his heart defect.


Unfortunately, many cases of congenital heart defects in babies are not recognized until after an emergency health event or even death. Pulse oximetry screening is the current technology to identify defects at birth and the cost is only ten dollars ($10) per newborn. Marie thought this was a travesty and should be corrected so she contacted me to ask for my support of legislation mandating the screening.


Fast-forward to tonight and another positive step in the legislative process. The unanimous vote in the Senate moves the bill to the House for approval and hopefully on to the Governor for his signature.


Matthew's Hearts of Hope is the non-profit organization organized by Marie Hatcher to advance the cause of heart defect screening. Please consider supporting this worthwhile effort and say a prayer for Matthew.

Democrats' Constitutional Loopholes?

A year ago I supported a bill which sought to fully implement Connecticut's Constitutional Expenditure Cap of 1991 by enacting definitions. Unfortunately, the bill last year died in committee, as similar efforts of mine met a similar fate in two prior years.

Connecticut’s spending cap is guided by the State Constitution as well as General Statutes. The statute was a part of the income tax compromise of 1991, which looked to generate about $1 billion in new taxes for the state. To assure that the state would not engage in runaway spending, the General Assembly passed, and then the electorate ratified, the Constitutional Expenditure Cap.

The cap limits the allowable growth in appropriations by the state to no more than the greater of either the five year average growth in personal income, or the most recent calendar year’s increase in inflation.

Since the inception of the Expenditure Cap, personal income growth has served as the cap’s allowable growth. However, now the state has seen two years of negative personal income growth which will take a toll on upcoming Expenditure Cap growth rates. For the next few years we will see the lowest allowable growth, so low that the secondary growth rate of inflation is expected to be the limiting factor in Fiscal Year 2014.

It is time that we enact fully the intentions of both the General Assembly and the voters of 1991.

We have been fortunate not to have seen a financial climate where personal income tax levels are so low. However, now that we are realizing this climate, and we need to best prepare for the consequences of such. It is time that we fully implement the Constitutional Expenditure Cap by enacting the appropriate definitions. We owe the citizens of Connecticut a government that is reasonably and responsibly spending its funds. The Expenditure Cap was enacted to create a system that would promote such responsibility; we need to now adhere to that.

The legislature is considering a new bill this year at the request of Governor Malloy that will result in setting a certain class of appropriations being exempt from the spending cap. These payments include those above the actuarial required contribution for the State Employee Retirement System and Teachers Retirement System, payments above the annual cost of retiree health benefits to reduce Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) and payments for the annual deferred charge required for implementation of state finances to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) accounting.

My opposition to Senate Bill 21 does not mean I am against making additional payments to State Employee or Teacher Retirements Systems or I do not believe our state finances should be in accordance with GAAP accounting, these are very important to our state budget. However, I do not believe we should be exempting only certain expenditures from our spending cap and any additional appropriations for retirement or payments for GAAP conversion should be made within available appropriations inside our state constitutionally mandated cap. Governors and legislatures should be encouraged to move our finances towards GAAP and to reduce the unfunded ratio we currently have in our retirement systems, but in achieving these goals they should be done while living within the cap.

My primary concern for this proposal is if we start to select certain appropriations to be exempted from the spending cap we set the precedent to possibly allow further exemptions in the future. What are the next exemptions deemed important enough to circumvent the cap?

We should be working to strengthen the cap as one of our budget controls, not adding exemptions.

Obama Ignoring Religious Liberty

The following Op-Ed was published in The News-Times on Sunday, February 25, 2012:

The recent furor over the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services new regulations for ObamaCare demonstrates the clear violations of religious liberty proposed by President Obama.

Many argue the issue is all about healthcare choice but somehow have misunderstood that the objections are rooted in defense of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

The issue is the survival of constitutionally protected freedom that ensures respect for conscience and religious liberty.

Cardinal Dolan of New York stated, “Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience. This shouldn't happen in a land where free exercise of religion ranks first in the Bill of Rights."

Cardinal Dolan said in a Wall Street Journal opinion, “This latest erosion of our first freedom should make all Americans pause. When the government tampers with a freedom so fundamental to the life of our nation, one shudders to think what lies ahead.”

Catholic and other religious institutions will soon be legally required to provide services which violate a fundamental principle of their religious beliefs.

This should be a battle cry for all faith institutions – the First Amendment of the United States Constitution is under attack.

The mandate infringes on the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion and also violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Our government should be protecting freedom not violating it and American citizens owe it to their country to strongly object to this violation of the United States Constitution.

“This ruling is a violation of religious liberty, an infringement on the conscience rights of individuals and institutions that contribute immensely to the common good,” said Bishop William E. Lori of the Diocese of Bridgeport.

One of the most troubling facts about ObamaCare is that nearly 2,000 exemptions have been granted to unions and corporations like McDonalds.

Why are religious institutions not granted similar exemptions?

Many lawsuits have been filed by Catholic schools, healthcare organizations and the Eternal World Television Network (EWTN) seeking to strike down the mandate. The Beckett Fund is assisting with the lawsuits and has developed compelling arguments challenging the constitutionality of the Obama Administration’s actions.

Religious freedom prevailed in a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of the United States last month. The case determined the government may not tell churches (in this case a Lutheran school) whom to hire or fire as ministers.

This week the United States Senate is expected to vote on the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (S.1467). The proposal will ensure that Americans “retain the right to provide, purchase, or enroll in health coverage that is consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions.”

Please call Senators Lieberman and Blumenthal at the U.S. Capitol (202) 224-3121 and urge them to support this measure.

This “one-two punch” of major news brought me back to 2009, when I stood with thousands of members of the faith community on the steps of the State Capitol in Hartford.

We stood together in strong opposition to Senate Bill 1098. That bill was a flagrant and unjustified attack on the Church’s constitutionally protected autonomy.

The bill would have removed all financial control from clergy of the Catholic Church and installed it in a board of directors comprised of lay members elected from within the parish. The bill would have also expanded the state’s authority to investigate Church finances.

We fought and we won. After tremendous opposition, the legislature tabled the bill.

More than two years later, I remain encouraged that so many Catholics, and many people of other religions, made the trip to Hartford to speak their minds on that controversial bill.

I also remain hopeful that people of all faiths will stand up now to oppose President Obama’s national attack on religious freedom.

The recent Supreme Court decision was another victory for religious liberty. The ObamaCare health mandate was a defeat, but we pray it will be just a temporary one.

I urge you to contact me at Michael.McLachlan@cga.ct.gov or call (860) 240-0068 with your thoughts, ideas and comments on how I can help you at the State Capitol.

George Washington's Thanksgiving

By the President of the United States of America,a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God,to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits,and humbly to implore his protection and favor -- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was,that is,or that will be -- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed -- for the peaceable and rational manner,in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness,and particularly the national One now lately instituted -- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgression -- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually -- to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws,discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed -- to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Geo. Washington