Author: Amanda Falcone

State senators unanimously supported a bill Tuesday that would require anyone seeking a motorcycle license endorsement to take a $200 novice training course.

Currently, only licensed drivers under 18 are required to take the class.

The mandate would apply to all new endorsement applicants and to motorcyclists who let their endorsements lapse for at least two years. It would not apply to those who already have an endorsement in Connecticut or in another state.

A motorcycle endorsement is designated by the letter “M” on a driver’s license. Anyone wishing to drive a motorcycle must have a valid driver’s license and a valid motorcycle endorsement or permit.

If a person successfully completes a motorcycle training course, the Department of Motor Vehicles, by law, can waive the on-road portion of the “endorsement” application process.

Rep. Timothy Larson, D-East Hartford, proposed the motorcycle training bill after talking with East Hartford resident, Stephanie Pelletier. Pelletier’s 19-year-old son, Nicholas Cohen, died in a 2008 motorcycle accident.

“For me, this is Nick’s bill,” said Sen. Gary LeBeau, D-East Hartford.

A few lawmakers had concerns about how the state would pay for an increase in demand for the Department of Transportation’s Connecticut Rider Education Program. The Office of Fiscal Analysis says the bill, which would go into effect Oct. 1, would result in a $100,000 cost to the DOT. The legislature’s budget office says the initial costs would be covered by a federal grant, but lawmakers say they are worried about future costs.

Tuesday, the bill was amended. The mandatory motorcycle training would now be contingent on the availability of federal funding. The amendment eased some fears, but Republican lawmakers reminded their colleagues that relying on federal funding is always a risky endeavor.

Families need help during a recession, said Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington, when introducing a bill on the House floor today.

The bill aims to help children and their families during tough economic times, and the House passed it 137-7.

The goal is to tap into all available federal funds and streamline state services to make them as accessible as possible, Urban said. The bill directs state agencies to lead, she said, adding that there is an accountability measure included in the legislation. 

“This is not a poverty issue like we’ve known before,” Urban said, referring to the current recession.”There is a precedent for working together in an emergency…This is an emergency.” 

Families are hungry and the shelters are full, she said.

Lawmakers say that the current recession is expected to drive 35,000 children in Connecticut into poverty at an annual cost of $800 million in lost earnings and developmental and health problems.  

Urban said a legislative task force that she chaired has worked hard over the past year to craft the bill discussed by the House today, getting input from people throughout the state. Connecticut would be the first state in the United States to focus on the economic downturn’s impact on children and families, she said. 

Lawmakers should not just help children during a recession, said House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero. They should help those in need at all times, he said.

Cafero was particularly critical of a provision in the bill that would require the Child Poverty and Prevention Council, or a subcommittee of the council, to meet quarterly if the state’s unemployment rate is 8 percent of greater for the proceeding three months.The council would help state agencies mitigate the long-term impact of economic recessions and provide appropriate resources to families.

“Why aren’t they doing their job now?” Cafero said of state agencies and the council, explaining that more bureaucracy is not the answer. “Let’s get to the root of the problem.”

Rep. DebraLee Hovey, R-Monroe, said the bill is an outgrowth of frustration with state agencies, such as the Department of Social Services and the labor, education, public health and children and families departments. It is a bill that micromanages those agencies, she said, noting that it is beyond comprehension that legislation is needed to get state residents the help they need.

House Bill No. 5360 still needs to be approved by the Senate before heading to the governor’s desk.  

After being criticized for offering to pay University of Connecticut students extra money for every Republican registered at a voter registration drive this week, U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon has decided not to offer the bonuses.

“We have dropped the bonus component of our voter registration drive,” said McMahon’s spokesman, Shawn McCoy, today. “The bonuses are in full compliance with the law, but Linda weighed the concerns that were raised and asked that we drop that component of the plan prior to the launch.” 

Students who help with the drive will still receive $10 an hour, but will not be paid the $5 bonus, McCoy said, noting that this is not the first voter registration drive McMahon has worked on. It, however, is the first time the Republican candidate was going to offer bonuses, he said.

McMahon’s plans to offer bonuses got the attention of House Majority Leader Denise Merrill, D-Mansfield. Merrill said Monday that she would add an amendment to an existing bill that would make it illegal to pay money in exchange for registering new voters.

“I am very troubled by the practice of using money to influence or persuade a person to register to vote before an election,” said Merrill, who is running for secretary of the state this year. “Any practice like this is fraught with the potential for voter fraud.”

Merrill said she was shocked to learn that McMahon intended to pay people to register voters in her own district. “The fact that someone might take advantage of a student in need of money is appalling,” she said.

While practice of paying people to register voters is not illegal, Merrill said concerns have been raised by the U.S. Department of Justice. The department is currently looking into McMahon’s voter registration drive, she said.

The justice department has not been reached for comment.

For the third year in a row, lawmakers are debating whether to require businesses to give their employees paid sick leave.

After much debate, the appropriations committee passed a bill Friday that would require businesses with 50 or more employees to give workers paid sick leave. The vote sends the measure to the Senate, which passed a similar bill in 2008. That bill was never voted on by the House.

In 2009, the House passed a paid sick leave bill, but the Senate did not vote on it.

Currently, businesses are not required to provide paid or unpaid sick leave. Beginning in 2011, the controversial bill would require businesses with 50 or more employees to let employees accrue up to 40 hours, or five days, worth of paid sick time, and it would prevent employers from discriminating against a worker who requests or uses the time.

The bill does not apply to temporary workers or certain state college or university employees, and it would give an employer who does not follow the provisions outlined in the bill a $600 civil penalty per violation. The bill also allows complaints to be filed with the state Department of Labor if an employer violates any of the provisions.

Those who are in favor of this year’s bill say paid sick days would help prevent the spread of disease in offices and help productivity.

A report recently released by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research in Washington, D.C., says that a paid sick leave bill would save Connecticut businesses $73 million each year, because the cost of implementing paid sick time would be outstripped by a large reduction in costs associated with employee turnover.

Many people must go to work sick because they need the day’s pay, said Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia. Requiring paid sick leave is the right thing to do, she added.

The state’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women reports that currently about 553,000 Connecticut workers do not receive paid sick days. Of those workers, fewer than half would get paid sick time if the proposed bill gets signed into law, the commission says.

Opponents, however, say businesses would be hurt by the unfunded mandate during tough economic times, and they say the bill would drive businesses away from a state that is already known for being “business unfriendly.”

The Connecticut Business & Industry Association has been lobbying hard against the bill.

“This is a business killer,” said Sen. Robert Kane, R-Watertown, of the proposal.

The bill’s opponents did try to amend the bill by deleting most of its requirements at Friday’s meeting, but the amendment failed. Another effort was made to modify the bill to only apply to service workers — an amendment Prague said the Democrats had hoped to call on the Senate floor next week. That amendment also failed because the bill’s supporters did not want the bill to get tied up in a more complex legislative process. Republicans were trying to kill the bill, Prague said.

The appropriations committee is not the first committee to the pass the paid sick leave bill. The labor and public employees committee, chaired by Prague, passed the bill in March.

Today, the Senate passed, 24-11, a bill that would ban smoking in the workplace regardless of the number of employees.

Current law, prohibits smoking at business facilities with five or more employees.

The bill applies to a self-employed individual, even if they do not have an employee. It does not apply to someone who runs a business out of their home. It does, however, allow for employers to designate one or more smoking rooms.

The House still needs to be vote on the bill.

The state Senate unanimously passed a bill today that would protect student athletes by educating their coaches about head injuries and concussions.

The bill would also require coaches to pull intramural and interscholastic athletes from games, competitions or practices if they show signs of a concussion, or if they are diagnosed with a concussion. Athletes suspected of having such an injury would have to stop practicing or competing for at least 24 hours and until they receive written clearance from a medical professional.

Under the bill, anyone who holds a coaches permit issued by the state school board would have to be trained periodically in how to recognize and respond to head injuries and concussions. The course would be part of routine training for coaches, and lawmakers say it would not result in extra costs for school districts.    

All coaches would be required to complete an initial training course before starting to coach next school year. Beginning in the 2015-2016 school year, coaches would have to complete a refresher course every five years.

Several people testified in favor of the concussions bill at a March education committee public hearing, including Michael Savage, the executive director Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference. Savage said the bill protects the health, safety and well being of students and his group has developed a training course on concussions.

The bill still needs to be voted on by the House of Representatives and signed by the governor before becoming law. If it is signed, Connecticut would become only the third state in the country to have a concussions law to protect student athletes. Oregon and Washington passed such laws last year.   

Sen. Thomas Gaffey, D-Meriden, co-chairman of the education committee, cited U.S. Center for Disease Control statistics when discussing concussions today. Each year, there are 3.5 million sports-related concussions, he said, adding that more than 40 percent of athletes with concussions or serious injuries return to practice and competition before they should.

Pending legislation would require would-be motorcyclists to take a 15-hour training class, costing $200 or more, to legally ride in Connecticut. But don’t expect any opposition from 22-year-old Adam Hinckley, an officer of the Blue Devil Riders club at Central Connecticut State University. 

About four years ago, Hinckley said, only days after buying his motorcycle, he lost control while making a turn. He hit a curb and damaged his bike but got away with scrapes to his knees and elbows.

At the time, Hinckley only had his motorcycle permit. He says now that, had he taken a motorcycle training course before the accident, he would have known how to maneuver the bike properly.

Hinckley did enroll in a training course after falling off his bike. He said he learned basic techniques that motorcyclists need to know. As a bonus, he said, there are insurance discounts for riders who take such classes offered privately or through the state.

Another incentive is that, by law, the Department of Motor Vehicles can waive the on-road portion of the “endorsement” application process for individuals who successfully complete an approved training course.

Any motor vehicle driver’s license holder who plans to ride a motorcycle must get a motorcycle “endorsement,” designated by the letter “M” on a license. Motorcycle drivers must have both a valid license and a valid motorcycle endorsement or permit.

Hinckley, of East Hartford, decided on his own to take the course, but future riders might not have that option.

The legislature’s appropriations committee voted Monday 42-2 in favor of a bill that would require anyone applying for a motorcycle endorsement, regardless of age, to complete a novice motorcycle training course. Currently, only those under 18 must take a training course.

The transportation committee passed the bill in March. It now goes to the House of Representatives and the Senate for action.

Rep. Timothy Larson, D-East Hartford, decided to push for expanding the training requirement after talking with Stephanie Pelletier of East Hartford. Pelletier’s 19-year-old son, Nicholas Cohen, died in 2008 when his motorcycle and a minivan collided in Glastonbury.

“I often wonder, if Nick was required to go through formal training, would he be here today?” Pelletier said at a public hearing in March.

The state Department of Transportation’s most recent data show that 37 motorcycle riders and four passengers died in Connecticut in 2009.

The DMV says there are currently 208,107 motorcycle endorsements in Connecticut.

The motorcycle training bill would go into effect Oct. 1 and would result in a $100,000 cost to the DOT, which administers the Connecticut Rider Education Program. The bill has a price tag because more equipment would be needed to meet additional course demand.

For next fiscal year, the Office of Fiscal Analysis says, the initial cost could be covered by a federal grant. However, lawmakers worry that federal funding will not be available later on. This could mean an increase in the novice safety course fees, the legislature’s budget office says.

Kevin Nursick, a spokesman for the state DOT, says that thousands of people participate in the department’s voluntary rider education program each year and that the DOT encourages all motorcyclists to enroll in the program, which teaches life-saving techniques and motorcycle safety.

Classes are held throughout the state for beginner, intermediate and experienced motorcyclists. Fees vary depending on the class, but they start at $200.

State lawmakers are still pushing for municipal and state workers to join together to try to lower the cost of health care.

In years past, health-care “pooling” bills would have opened up the state employee’s insurance plan to municipalities, small businesses and nonprofit organizations, but Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed them because of financial concerns, and the General Assembly did not have enough support for a override.

Rell’s back-to-back vetoes caused lawmakers to rethink their approach, and this year, they crafted a bill that is thought to be health-care pooling on a smaller scale.

The bill was unanimously passed by the House Tuesday and would require the comptroller to open up the state employee’s self-insured prescription drug plan to nonstate public employees, such as municipal workers and workers for other state political subdivisions, such as school boards, quasi-public agencies and public libraries. Participation would be voluntary.

The bill would also require the comptroller to establish procedures for opening up the drug plan.

The legislature’s budget office says the state and cities and town could potentially save money coming together to purchase prescription drugs, but it has not determined how much the savings would be.

Many groups, including the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, testified in favor of opening up the state’s drug plan at an insurance and real estate committee public hearing in February. Only Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield had reservations. One of the insurance company’s concerns was that if the state’s plan was opened up, the state would initially attract groups that carry a higher monthly claims expense, which could threaten rate adequacy and pool viability.

In the bill passed Tuesday, cities and towns would only partner with the state for purchasing purposes. Risks would not be pooled.   

The finance, revenue and bonding and appropriations committees have a 3 p.m. start time today. Both committees have lengthy agendas.

The finance committee is set to take up several issues that are important to cities and towns. The bills, which are supported by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, include a measure that would give cities and towns the option of adopting a local hotel tax.

The committee could also discuss whether to tax marijuana and controlled substances.

The appropriations committee is expected to vote on a bill that deals with domestic violence. The bill would ensure that money from the marriage license surcharge is given to the Department of Social Services and the Department of Public Health. The departments split $19 between shelter services for domestic violence victims and rape crisis services. The bill would require those funds to be distributed in a timely manner.

The bill would also allow tenants who are domestic violence victims to defer one month’s rent without violating their rental agreement, and it would allow domestic violence victims to terminate leases with five days’ written notice if they provide documentation of domestic violence.

Also on the appropriations committee agenda is a bill that would require everyone, regardless of age, to to take a novice motorcycle training course before getting a motorcycle endorsement. Successfully completing such a class would allow the Department of Motor Vehicles to waive the road rest for someone applying for such an endorsement.

Currently, only 16 and 17 year olds are required to take a training class before applying for a motorcycle endorsement.  

The state Department of Transportation’s beginner Connecticut Rider Education Program cost $200 for a minimum of 15 hours of instruction. Classes are held throughout Connecticut, including Tunxis Community College in Farmington and Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury.

Rep. Timothy Larson, D-East Hartford, proposed the training requirement being considered by the appropriations committee today after talking with Stephanie Pelletier. Pelletier’s 19-year-old son, Nicholas Cohen, died in May 2008 after he collided with a minivan.    

Educators say there is no need for more delay when it comes to the state’s in-school suspension law.

State Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan took the lead at an informational forum Friday, stressing that the state’s request for federal funding through Race to the Top is linked to legislative support for a reform plan for high schools and the implementation of a 2007 in-school suspension law. The initiatives are important as the state tackles the achievement gap, he said, pointing to tell-tale statistics.

Only 79.3 percent of all Connecticut students graduate high school in four years, he said, noting that the percentage of students graduating in four years is much lower — sometimes by more than 20 percent — for African American and Hispanic students and for students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch.

As lawmakers head into the final weeks of the legislative session, the topics discussed Friday were timely. A bill that would establish more rigorous high school graduation requirements failed to garner enough support last year, but is being reconsidered this year and has already been approved by the education and appropriations committees.

A bill that would postpone the in-school suspension law for another year — until July 2011 — was passed by the planning and development committee, but died in the education committee. Groups like the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities have vowed to try to resurrect the postponement proposal before the session ends May 5.

The in-school suspension law was suppose to take effect July 2008, but has been delayed twice and will now go into effect July 1 unless action is taken to postpone it again.

Those who want the law delayed say they have concerns about funding, school space and staffing. CCM estimates that the cost of such a mandate would be between $9,000 a year for small towns and $4.5 million for larger cities.

Several prominent members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community  endorsed Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy for governor today.

Malloy is seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Malloy supports equality and helped fight for marriage equality, said several people at a press conference, mentioning a law enacted in 2005 that legalized civil unions. A few years later, the state began to recognize same-sex marriages.

“Dan hasn’t just talked equality; he’s worked for it,” said Anne Stanback, the founder and former director of Love Makes a Family.   

Malloy cares about people and recognizes that diversity in communities is the beauty of the state, said state Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford.

“We’ve been in battle with this man, and he is often leading the charge,” he said.

At the very same moment that Malloy was holding his news conference Friday morning, Democratic frontrunner Ned Lamont was across town on Franklin Avenue at a catering business. Lamont was touting his plan to eliminate the business entity tax, which has been pushed by many legislators at the state Capitol. Lamont was joined at the business by former state Rep. Art Feltman, who was elected as an openly gay member of the Hartford city council in the 1990s before being elected to the state legislature. Feltman said that he supported Lamont four years ago in his race against U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, and he is volunteering again to help Lamont now.

 “I started supporting Ned four years ago and never stopped,” Feltman told Capitol Watch. 

Sharing a personal story Friday, McDonald said that in 1998, Malloy asked him to be his corporation counsel. At that time, McDonald said he had not publicly told people he was gay, but Malloy said he didn’t care.

Others shared similar stories Friday, painting Malloy as a compassionate man who is ready to lead Connecticut.

“He is willing to listen to people who have a very real problem,” said state Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven. “Dan Malloy is the guy we need to be governor.”

For his part, Malloy said that equal rights is important and have to be extended to all. If he is governor, he said there would be no retreat on equality. Discrimination against anyone, including transgender individuals, should be illegal, he added.

“This battle is not done,” Malloy said.

Malloy also added that endorsements coming from people who have suffered and who have been subject to discrimination are meaningful.

“It’s an achievement that stands by itself regardless of the governor’s race,” he said.

In the past three Quinnipiac University polls, Lamont has been leading Malloy in the race for the Democratic nomination. They are facing Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman, Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi, and former state Rep. Juan Figueroa of Meriden.

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz had been the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination last year, but Lamont moved into first place in the poll when Bysiewicz dropped out to run for attorney general. A recent Rasmussen poll showed that former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley was ahead of both Lamont and Malloy among those polled. 

Upset residents came to the Capitol Thursday to rally for change.

They said they want less government, new leadership and more say.

Thursday’s tax day “tea party” drew a crowd of about 1,200. They were an enthusiastic group. Some held American flags; other had yellow “Don’t tread on me” flags. They recited the Pledge of Allegiance loudly and proudly, and they were eager to talk about why they wanted to see changes in government.

The Hartford tea party, organized by the Hartford Tea Party Patriots, was one of five tea parties scheduled in Connecticut Thursday — the last day to file taxes.

Arthur Caisse Jr., of Wolcott, held a sign in one hand and a dog leash in the other.

“We want to take America back,” he said as he navigated Fonze, his Maltese through the crowd.

Like his owner, Fonze also had a sign. It read, “Remember November,” and it was stapled to his sweater.

Nearby, Louiza and Jerry Martinez, of Winchester, stood quietly in the sun, surveying the crowd and listening to the speakers.

“It’s regular people who just have had enough,” Jerry Martinez said.

State lawmakers voted to change a provision in Connecticut’s campaign finance law to give themselves more time to decide how to fix the law if a federal appeals court judge decides it is unconstitutional.

Last fall, a judge for the U.S. District Court ruled that the law’s voluntary public financing provision would put minor-party candidates at an unconstitutional disadvantage against better-financing major party candidates. The state appealed the decision and is waiting for a response.

Under current law, lawmakers would only have seven days to act once a decision is made, or the state would revert back to old campaign finance laws. Prior to 2005, candidates were allowed to collect money from lobbyists, special-interest groups and state contractors.

Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell immediately signed the bill Wednesday.

To minimize the time crunch, both legislative chambers passed a bill this week that would give lawmakers a 30-day window before reverting to old laws if a decision comes down between April 15 and Aug 10, the day of this year’s primaries. After that time period, lawmakers would only have 15 days to act.

The bill would also allow candidates running for office to keep any money received through the citizens election program prior to any limitations or prohibitions taking effect.

Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted 137-12 in favor of the bill with little discussion. The Senate approved the changes 24-11 Wednesday, but its debate included failed amendments that would have eliminated the public financing part of the state’s campaign finance law.

“I believe in my heart of hearts that we need this money for other things,” said Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, who voted against the bill.

Rep. James Spallone, D-Essex, co-chairman of the government administration and elections committee, called the bill reasonable and necessary. House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, agreed, but stressed that the bill does not fix the law.

“It’s just delaying the time bomb,” he said.

House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden, said that lawmakers have not agreed on how to fix the law yet. Discussions are ongoing.

The technical changes allow lawmakers to wait for a court decision, said Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn.

“It makes all the sense in the world to wait for that opinion and not take a shot in the dark,” he said.

The bill now heads to Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s desk.

“Governor Rell was disappointed that more was not done to save the integrity of the program, but she does support lawmakers’ intention to have more time to address the federal court’s decision– whatever that may be,” said Rell’s spokesman, Adam Liegeot.

State representatives voted to change a provision in the state’s campaign finance law Tuesday to give themselves more time to decide how to fix the law if a federal appeals court decides it is not constitutional.

Last fall, a judge for the U.S. 2nd Court of Appeals ruled that the law’s voluntary public financing provision would put minor-party candidates at an unconstitutional disadvantage against better-financed major party candidates. The state appealed the decision and is waiting for a response.

Under current law, lawmakers would have only seven days to act once a decision is made, or the state would revert back to old campaign finance laws. Prior to 2005, candidates were allowed to collect money from lobbyists, special interest-groups and state contractors.  

Tuesday, both Democrats and Republicans said that part of the law needed to change.

The House of Representatives voted 137-12 to change the “reverter clause.” The changes would allow a 30-day window before reverting back to old laws if a court decision comes down between April 15 and Aug. 10, the day of this year’s primaries. After that time period, lawmakers would have only 15 days to act. 

The bill would also allow candidates running for office to keep any money received through the citizens election program prior to any limitations or prohibitions taking effect.

Rep. James Spallone, D-Essex, co-chairman of the government administration and elections committee, called the bill reasonable and necessary. Rep. Lawrence Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, agreed, but stressed that the bill does not fix any problems with the law.

“It’s just delaying the time bomb,” he said.      

House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden, said Tuesday that lawmakers have not agreed on how to fix the law yet. Discussions are ongoing.

The state Department of Correction has selected The Connection Inc. as the preferred bidder for the creation of 12, pre-release, sex-offender treatment beds.

The Middletown-based agency was the only agency to submit a request for proposal for the project. The deadline for submissions was March 8, and a review committee with the correction department made the recommendation to accept The Connection’s proposal.

The Office of Policy and Management had to grant the department a waiver because the process normally requires a minimum of three bids.

According to The Connection’s proposal, the beds will be located at the Cochegan House, a halfway house program the agency operates at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Uncasville. Correction department Commissioner Brian Murphy, however, has asked agency to look at other possible locations.  

Because The Connection’s bid has been accepted, the state can move forward with contract negotiations. Murphy says there will be an emphasis on strong security for the facility.

The correction department says it will work with the Judicial Branch, which issued its own request for proposals for the sex offender beds in 2009.

The beds are expected to cost the state $1 million annually, and a contract is expected to start July 1.

Reacting to the correction department’s announcement Tuesday, Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, chairman of the judiciary committee, said that the state will be paying more for the same proposal it received last year. In 2009, Lawlor said The Connection bid on the project, but the state went out for a second request for proposals. Now operating costs have increased, he said.

“As several of us said in December and January, there was a valid award of this contract in March of 2009 – over one year ago – and it should have moved forward,” Lawlor said in a prepared statement.

With a 20-20 vote, a bill that would set rules for entertainment ticket sales died in the judiciary committee Monday.

It was a tie vote even after the committee amended the bill, deleting its most controversial provision.

The original version of the bill would have required entertainment ticket venues with more than 3,000 seats to share with the public the total number of tickets available for an event, the number of tickets released to the public and the number of unavailable tickets.

That was the provision that was deleted, and it was the part of the bill that entertainment venues loudly opposed.

The state’s venues said that entertainment choices in Connecticut would be limited because the hottest stars would not come to the state. Venues said the stars would not want to report how they distribute tickets. 

The venues, and the state’s economy as a whole, would suffer, opponents said.

The secondary ticket market, however, supported the bill. They say the bill, particularly the section that lawmakers deleted, would better protect consumers and provide industry transparency.  

The amended bill kept language that would require venues to allow season ticket holders to resell their tickets without penalty. It also included a ban on the use or sale of software designed to circumvent security measures used to ensure equitable purchasing. Under the bill, violating the ban would have been a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

Lawmakers will not pass a bill requiring seat belts on school buses this year. Instead, lawmakers intend to gather more information about the issue.  

Monday, the appropriations committee amended a bill that had called for all new school buses purchased after the start of 2012 to have lap-and-shoulder, or three-point belts. The bill would now require the state to study the pros and cons of having seat belts on buses.

Appropriations Committee Chairman John Geragosian, D-New Britain, offered the amendment, saying that discrepancies were evident in recent estimates made by the legislature’s budget office.

“It’s clear we need some better information,” Geragosian said.

The Office of Fiscal Analysis says that purchasing new buses with seat belts would cost local and regional school districts an additional $45.2 million to $103.4 million over a 12-year period. It would cost the state technical school system between $644,000 to $1.5 million.  

The estimates are for 12 years because that is how long it is expected to take to replace the state’s fleet of roughly 6,553 large buses. A new bus with belts is expected to cost, on average, between $80,000 and $116,000. On average, a new bus without seat belts cost between $75,000 and $100,000. 

In addition, the legislature’s budget office says school districts and the technical school system would have to pay an additional $500 per bus annually for maintenance. It adds that the districts may have to buy another bus or add bus routes because seat belts result in less capacity.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles would have to hire a new bus inspector, at an annual cost of $65,329, if seat belts are required on buses. To comply with a new law, the department would also have a one-time cost of $17,050.  

The transportation committee had passed the seat belt bill last month. It had been referred to the appropriations committee, which opted to amend it. 

The bill was proposed by transportation committee Chairman Antonio Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, after a teenager from his hometown died in a bus crash in January.

Sixteen-year-old Vikas Parikh was riding a school bus to a robotics event Jan.9 when the bus and a car collided on I-84. The bus fell down an embankment, and Parikh died. Several other students and a teacher were injured.  

The final vote on the amended seat belt bill is not available at this time.   

The state Department of Environmental Protection has ordered its contractor to shut down nochildleftinside.org because someone hacked into the web site.

The web site is associated with the state’s No Child Left Inside initiative, which was established to encourage families to enjoy the outdoors, and it is a place where families can register for the Great Park Pursuit program, a seven-week family contest that is part of the initiative.   

Because the Great Park Pursuit program is free, there is no record of financial information or social security numbers on the web site, but information like names, addresses and phone numbers is collected, said DEP Spokesman Dennis Schain. 

Families who signed up for the program were notified of the breach.

The DEP is working with law enforcement officials, other state agencies and the Pita Group, of Rocky Hill, which operates the web site, to determine the extent of the breach, and the site will be shut down during the investigation, Schain said, adding that the DEP also shut down Facebook and Twitter accounts associated with No Child Left Inside.

Registration for the Great Park Pursuit program began March 13. The program is not scheduled to begin until May 8. Schain said DEP is looking at alternative ways to register and communicate with families during the investigation.  

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says he raised $1.87 million from more than 2,300 donors in the first fundraising quarter since he entered the U.S. Senate race.

The total is among the highest amounts in state history for a three-month period.

The Federal Election Commission will not make his fundraising details available until after the April 15 filing deadline.

In a prepared statement released today, Blumenthal’s campaign chairman, Mike Cacace, was quoted as saying that Blumenthal was successful because of a strong, statewide grassroots fundraising effort. The release reports that more than 56 percent of the total contributions came from individuals who gave $200 or less.

Blumenthal’s total of more than 2,300 donors in only three months is far, far more than any other candidate this year. In the entire 2002 election cycle at the peak of his popularity, then-Gov. John G. Rowland had fewer than 2,500 donors for the entire cycle.

In the U.S. Senate race, Republican candidate Linda McMahon has already spent more than $6 million, including plenty of money on television commercials. Republican Rob Simmons, who is battling to win the party’s convention in May, has not yet broadcast any commercials. Investor Peter Schiff is currently on the air with a 30-second spot.

Blumenthal’s opponent, Merrick Alpert, is far behind in the money-raising race for a potential Democratic primary that would be held on August 10.

Cacace said Blumenthal’s fundraising success is important because he may be up against a “self-funded opponent who intends to spend $50 million of her own money on this race.”

Cacace was referring to McMahon — the race’s Republican front runner.

“We are taking nothing for granted, and Dick will continue to work as tirelessly as he always has to earn the support of Connecticut’s voters in November,” Cacace said, noting that the campaign has nearly $1.6 million cash on hand.

Former state Rep. Rene Dugas Sr., a Democrat from Norwich, died in December 2009 at age 100. He served in the House of Representatives from 1947-1949 and 1957-1959.

Wednesday, the House remembered Dugas and his committment to public service with a moment of silence and some kind words.

He was described as a “true renaissance man” and a legend.

Public service is only a part of Dugas’ legacy.

He was a local photographer, who used his photography skills during World War II. He worked at the Underwater Sound Lab and received a citation from the U.S. Division of War Research.    

He was a member of the Knights of Columbus Ponemah Council 34 in Taftville, and he wrote two books: “The French-Canadians in New England” and “Taftville, CT and the Industrial Revolution.”

Just last year, Dugas was the grand marshal in Norwich’s 350th anniversary parade.

A copy of Wednesday’s joint House resolution expressing sympathy for Dugas’ death will be given to his family.