Author: Amanda Falcone

William Petit Jr., the lone survivor of the 2007 Cheshire home invasion, urged lawmakers Wednesday to make changes to Connecticut’s death penalty that would stop unnecessary delays in the death penalty process.

He also said that victims should have the right to be heard by a jury in death penalty cases before a verdict is determined. Currently, victims are allowed to read impact statements in court before a verdict is announced, but after a verdict has been determined.  

The state should have some sense of responsibility to victims, said Petit, who lost his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and his two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, in the home invasion.

Petit’s comments were made in support of a bill that looks to streamline the death penalty process by shortening the appeals process. The bill also includes recommendations made by a 2003 commission established to study the death penalty. One such recommendation is allowing victims to speak before a verdict is reached.

Judiciary committee Chairman Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, said committee leaders were reluctant to raise a death penalty bill this year. Last year’s bill that would have abolished the death penalty passed both the House and Senate, but was vetoed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell. House Bill No. 5445 was raised at the request of Rep. David Labriola, R-Naugatuck, and Rep. Willam Hamzy, R-Terryville, Lawlor said.

Some, including public defenders with the Innocence Project and committee member Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, question whether the proposed bill would actually complicate the death penalty process because of unintended consequences. There could be constitutional challenges to the part that would streamline the appeals process, they said.   

Although her son, Jumar, was shot and killed in Hartford in 2008, Pamela Joiner opposes the death penalty and any reform changes. Her son’s murder remains unsolved, and the death penalty will not help her, she said.   

Joiner told lawmakers Wednesday that it was her first time testifying in Hartford and that she was doing it because her son no longer had a voice. Joiner said the death penalty was not on her mind when Jumar was killed. Instead, she said she was seeking justice.

“My son’s just gone,” Joiner said. “He’s just a statistic.”

Jeffrey Deskovic, who was wrongfully convicted for the 1989 murder of Angela Correa in New York when he was 16, is also opposed to the reform bill. DNA evidence proved his innocence, and he was released from prison in 2006.

Because he was a minor, Deskovic did not receive the death penalty, but believes that had he been only two years older, he would have been sentenced to death and likely would have died before he was proven innocent. Deskovic said his appeals ran out in 2001. He was not released until four years later.    

“There is no fixing the death penalty,” Deskovic said. “If you have the death penalty, you will execute innocent people.”

Among those still waiting to testify on the bill are Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane.   

ROCKY HILL — Gov. M. Jodi Rell is hoping to improve the living areas at the State Veterans’ Home and wants to rehabilitate the five state-owned homes across the street for veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan.

Funding for the two projects is expected to be approved by the state bond commission March 16, Rell said.

Nearly $2.5 million in state bonds will help the state upgrade living areas at the veterans’ home on West Street. The total cost of the project is $9.2 million, and Rell says the federal government has already given conditional approval to pay the remaining 65 percent.

The state will use the money to make the brick building that was built in the 1940s handicapped accessible and to install centralized air conditioning in the home’s sleeping area. Other work will include upgrading fire sprinkler systems, modernizing common bathroom areas, replacing leaky roofs and gutters and upgrading to energy-efficient heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems.

The veterans’ home has about 500 residents who range from age 23 to 97.

Across the street from the veterans’ home are five state-owned houses that were built in 1957. They were once used by veterans’ home staff and have been vacant since about 2004.

Rell wants the state to bond $250,000 to fix these homes up for veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan who need a temporary place to stay. There would be a total of 16 bedrooms, said Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Linda Schwartz, adding that many veterans have difficult finding a place to stay when they return to Connecticut. Schwartz said the homes will especially help married couples and veterans who are single mothers.

Additional state workers will not be needed to watch over the houses. The state will ask veterans groups for help in getting tenants.

“We’re ready to go,” Schwartz said of the two projects.

Today, the labor and public employees committee passed a bill that would require businesses with 50 or more employees to give workers paid sick days. The vote was 6-4.

Voting in favor of the bill were six Democrats: Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Oakdale, Rep. Tim O’Brien, D-New Britain, Rep. Louis Esposito Jr., D-West Haven, Sen. Edwin Gomes, D-Bridgeport, and Rep. Barbara Lambert, D-Milford.

Voting against the bill were Rep. William Aman, R-South Windsor, Rep. Selim Noujaim, R-Waterbury, Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, and Sen. Anthony Guglielmo, R-Stafford Springs.

Hewett was the only Democrat to vote against the bill.

“He lost a lot of jobs in his district, and he knows this is not the time to add mandates,” said Kia Murrell, an attorney who lobbies on labor issues for CBIA, the chief opponent of the bill.

The bill is now likely headed to the judiciary and appropriations committees before hitting the Senate floor. The bill died in the Senate last year without a vote after lawmakers said the issue was tied at 18 to 18.

Murrell, who has been following the issue closely for CBIA, would not predict whether the current count is 18 to 18 or 19-17 in the Senate.

“It’s shaky all around,” Murrell told Capitol Watch. “It will go down to the wire. I never predict because I never want to eat my words.”

No states have adopted a paid sick leave bill. Three cities – San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Milwaukee – currently have such policies.

The death penalty issue is back and will be discussed at a judiciary committee public hearing Wednesday.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in room 2C of the legislative office building.

Last year, lawmakers in both the House and the Senate voted to abolish the death penalty, but did not have the numbers to override Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s veto. This year’s bill would not get rid of capital punishment, but it would attempt to streamline the complicated death penalty process. The bill allows lawmakers to see if there’s some way to fix the “broken system,” said Michael Lawlor, co-chairman of the judiciary committee.   

This year’s death penalty bill includes suggestions from a 2003 report by a commission charged with studying the death penalty. It would also recycle an amendment to last year’s bill, which would shorten the end of the appeals process.

The 2003 recommendations were included in the bill because Rell suggested that lawmakers consider the document when she issued her veto message last year, Lawlor added. Recommendations touch on areas such as the cost of the death penalty and the training and experience of prosecutors and defense counsel. The 2003 report also makes suggestions on how to address disparity based on race, ethnicity, gender and other factors.

Lawlor said he does not believe the state can make the death penalty workable, and he supports abolishing it. The governor has said she supports the death penalty and believes that the current law is effective and should not be changed.

Still, Rep. David Labriola, R-Naugatuck, and Rep. William Hamzy, R-Terryville, believe changes can be made to make the death penalty workable by shortening the appeals process in a way that is constitutional, and they asked judiciary committee leaders to raise a death penalty bill again this year.  

“Others states do it; why can’t we?” Labriola said, adding that he believes the bill has a good chance of being passed by the legislature.  

While Lawlor agreed to a public hearing and said he would likely support the bill, he noted that the timing of the conversation is unfortunate. The bill would not impact the process for two men on trial for allegedly killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, in a 2007 home invasion in Cheshire, but Lawlor said discussion on the death penalty process will occur at a time when many are frustrated about jury selection in that specific case.

Lawmakers do not know if the lone survivor of the home invasion, William Petit, will testify at Wednesday’s hearing. He waited for hours last year to tell lawmakers that he supported the death penalty.  

Nancy Alderman’s passion about a wood smoke bill prompted the environment committee’s chairman to single her out at a public hearing Monday- and not because of her ideas.

Alderman cut off state Rep. Bryan Hurlburt, D-Tolland, as he commented on the bill, which would both ban outdoor wood-burning furnances from April 15 to October 15 and make wood smoke a public nuisance

Alderman, president of Enivronment and Human Health Inc., favors the wood smoke bill, saying it is a step in the right direction. In her testimony, she stressed that wood smoke furnances are dangerous and can cause health problems. Wood smoke plumes can travel about a half mile, she added, noting that nine Connecticut towns already prohibit wood smoke, incouding Granby, Hadaam and Woodbury.

Hurlburt, however, said he thinks the bill is not necessary because local health departments already have the right to regulate such issues.

The obvious clash got to Alderman, who interrupted the senator, acknowledged the difference of opinion and told him that she was never going to make him understand. Hurlburt responded by saying that he still had the floor.

As the confrontation unfolded, there were a few chuckles from those in the packed hearing room. The exchange prompted Rep. Richard Roy, D-Milford, co-chairman of the environment committee, to intervene. Roy politely told Alderman that she could not interrupt people during the hearing just because she was upset.

Alderman apologized.

HARTFORD — Connecticut is an example of why it is so important to expand and extend the emergency contingency fund for the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families’ block grant, said U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-Conn.

In Connecticut, government and the private, philanthropic and nonprofit sectors are working together to leverage federal funding and to create more job training opportunities for future workers. These groups, however, say they need more time to maximize opportunity and to develop plans that meet eligibility requirements for stimulus money.

The emergency contingency fund for the needy families’ grant is set to expire this fall.

Larson came to the legislative office building Monday to lead a forum on the needy families’ grant. The congressman is a co-sponsor of a bill that would extend the grant’s contingency fund for one year. It would also allow states to get 100 percent federal funding for eligible spending increases.

The grant’s $5 million emergency contingency fund was passed as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Investment Act. 

The stimulus money is important because it can help the middle and working class- the people who are being hit the hardest by the recession, said Elaine Zimmerman, executive director of Connecticut’s Commission on Children, noting that people are out of work, families are starving and teenagers are having trouble finding jobs.

If Connecticut had the stimulus money, it would be put to good use, said Dona Cassella, director of human resources for Northeast Utilities. Northeast Utilities is working on plans for a 12-week job training program for future utility workers, she said.

It is sometimes difficult to understand funding opportunities, said state Rep. Toni Walker, D-New Haven, at Monday’s forum. “People really don’t understand the value of what these dollars really do,” she said.   

Officials from the Connecticut State University System and the University of Connecticut rattled off statistics Thursday, trying to show that the college tuition increases for the 2010-2011 school year are warranted.

They spoke about enrollment, the impact of the state’s early retirement incentive and about the complicated tuition process. 

In their testimonies before the legislature’s higher education and workforce advancement committee, university officials said they oppose a bill that would require university boards of trustees to report to the higher education committee before voting on any tuition changes. It would also allow committee members to comment on any proposed changes.   

Both David Carter, chancellor of the Connecticut State University System, and Peter Nichols, UConn’s provost and executive vice present for academic affairs, said lawmakers do not need to require universities to appear before the committee about tuition issues through legislation. All the committee has to do is ask for information, they said.   

Sen. Mary Ann Handley, D-Manchester, says the bill would not give lawmakers the power to make or change a decision regarding tuition. It would just give lawmakers a chance to understand a decision made by a board of trustees better — and before it is reported in the media, she said.

“I think folks have misunderstood what we’re trying to do here,” Handley said.

The idea for the bill came after the UConn board of trustees decided last month to increase tuition, fees, room and board for in-state students by 5.9 percent, or $1,180, for the next academic year, Handley. Out-of-state students will see a total increase of 5.78 percent, or $2,044.  

“I knew nothing about it,” said Handley, who co-chairs the higher education committee, adding she was getting questions from many people about the tuition hike, but she did not have the answers.

Students attending the other state universities, such as Southern Connecticut State University, will see a total 6.3 percent increase next school year.  

The Office of Health Care Access formally approved the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services’ application for a certificate of need this week, meaning that the department now has the green light to close Cedar Ridge in Newington, the psychiatric division of Cedarcrest Hospital.

The department expects to close Cedar Ridge by July 1 and move patients to other state facilities and into the community. Workers will be given other department jobs.

The process of closing Cedar Ridge has led to disagreement between Democratic lawmakers and Gov. M. Jodi Rell. Rell has pushed for the facility’s closure in budget requests, while Democrats included money in the budget to keep Cedar Ridge open.

Regardless of the legislature’s intent to keep Cedarcrest open, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services moved forward with its plans by asking for a certificate of need, or the necessary permission to close the facility. It is an administrative action that helps the state agency operate following the state’s retirement incentive program, says the Office of Policy and Management.

According to a recent memo from the department’s commissioner, the closure of Cedar Ridge will happen in stages and the department will try to minimize the impact on clients, their families and workers.

When it comes to fixing the state’s Citizens’ Election program, state Rep. Christopher Caruso, D-Bridgeport, and Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, D-New Haven, are asking their colleagues to act quickly.

The pair want leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate to call for an emergency-certified bill the next time the two chambers meet — or before. The purpose would be to fix parts of the state’s landmark campaign finance reform law, which was passed in 2005. 

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

Caruso and Holder-Winfield maintain that swift action is necessary because of a provision in the current law that only allows the legislature seven days to act once a court decision is made. If no action is taken, the state would revert back to old campaign finance laws that allowed lobbyists and state contractors to give money to political campaigns. The citizens’ election program would be eliminated.

They should at minimum change the reversion clause, Caruso said at a press conference Tuesday.

Lawmakers are considering two bills that would make changes to the reform law. Both bills would lower the grant amount received by candidates running for office. One of the bills would eliminate the qualification requirements for minor-party candidates, while the other would lower those qualification thresholds. The government administration and elections committee held a public hearing on the bills last week.

Between the two bills, there is a way to fix the law, Caruso said, adding that he believes that state residents want public financing. But instead of trying to preserve and improve a good program, Caruso said lawmakers are moving slow. 

“Here we sit like birds in the wilderness waiting for the legislature to act,” Caruso said, modifying a line used during his summer camp days.

Caruso and Holder-Winfield say the legislature lawmakers who were opposed to campaign finance reform a few years ago are still trying to stall the process now. They fear that moving slowly will jeopardize the citizens’ election program.

“If we can’t do something in two days, we aren’t going to something in seven days,” Caruso said.

Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, co-chairwoman of the government administration and election committee, says her committee is currently drafting a bill to address the concerns with the citizens’ election fund, and she said Caruso, a former chairman of the committee, is out of touch with the issue now that he is not even a committee member.

The news of the day is not that the committee is working on a bill, but rather that the governor, who supports the program, is proposing to take $12 million from the fund for deficit mitigation, Slossberg said. Taking that money away from the citizens’ election fund would cripple public financing, she said, noting that the fund needs between $38 and $48 million to work.     

State lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are still baffled by the hefty bonuses paid to employees of banks that received TARP funding, and they are considering whether to make Connecticut workers who get bonuses of at least $1 million pay more in taxes.

Democrats are heavily lobbying for the passage of a bill that they say would preserve and create jobs in Connecticut, and, for the most part, Republicans are on board.

Republicans support creating a revolving loan fund of up to $20 million to help businesses with less than 50 employees — a proposal also made by Gov. M. Jodi Rell. Both Democrats and the governor look to cancel bond authorizations to pay to for the new bonding.

Although Republicans want to see more drastic changes made to the business entity tax, they say they like that the Democrats’ bill would suspend the $250 tax for two years for businesses with at least one employee and net income under $50,000.

Republicans, however, do not like that Democrats want to add a tax surcharge for workers who get bonuses of more than $1 million from banks that accepted TARP funds, meaning that those individuals would pay 2.97 percent on top of the income tax rate of 6.5 percent on income over $1 million. The total tax rate would still be lower than the tax rates in neighboring states, said Senate Pro Tem Donald Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, citing New York City and state’s combined tax rate of 12.6 percent and New Jersey’s 10.75 percent rate as examples.

The surcharge would apply to bonuses paid in 2010 and 2011, and Democrats say the extra revenue — estimated to be $30 million — would offset the money the state loses from the business entity tax.

“We think this is fair,” Williams said.

Sen. Leonard Fasano, R-North Haven, disagreed, questioning the constitutionality of the proposal and calling it a punitive measure.

The state has plans to put a veterans memorial that will honor all Connecticut veterans on a grassy meadow adjacent to the Col. Raymond F. Gates State Veterans Cemetery.

The cemetery is located across from the State Veterans Home on West Street in Rocky Hill.

The state hopes to break ground on the project this spring or summer and intends to hold a dedication ceremony by the end of the year.

To make the memorial a reality, Gov. M. Jodi Rell is holding a design competition. The competition will be open to all residents, artists, architects, landscape architects and resident and non-resident college students. Entry rules, instructions and site photos can be found at www.cthonorsvets.org.

HARTFORD — Three NBC Universal executives came to the legislative office building Thursday to praise the state’s film tax credit program and to tell lawmakers that changing the program could scare television and film companies from doing work in Connecticut.

The legislature’s commerce committee held a public hearing on a bill that would make the program a tax rebate program rather than a tax credit program. Sen. Gary LeBeau, D-East Hartford, says the move would eliminate the third party involved in the tax credit process. A transfer of billing is required because film companies do not have tax liability, and the third party takes a percentage of the tax credit, he says.

The proposed bill would also require that 50 percent of a project’s total production be located in studios in Connecticut.     

The  film industry took issue with both components of the bill, saying that filming for most projects takes place in a variety of locations and that a tax rebate would make the companies unsure about annual appropriations.  

With the exception of talk shows and sitcoms with live audiences, few projects are confined to a studio, said Richard Ross, the senior vice president of production for NBC Universal.   

NBC Universal’s Brian O’Leary added that the transferable tax credits show film companies that Connecticut is a partner, and it shows that the state wants to help with industry growth. A tax rebate is a risk because it would be tied to the state budget, he said.

NBC Universal has a studio in Stamford and has moved three of its talk shows to Connecticut, including the “Jerry Springer Show.”

LeBeau listened Thursday as NBC Universal and others in the film industry shared their concerns, saying that he is not looking to hurt the program, but is trying to help the state.

“The bill is not out there for frivolous reasons,” he said. “We’re trying to get the biggest bang for our buck.”

The state’s film tax credit program took effect in 2006. Former House Speaker James A. Amann, D-Milford, was instrumental in getting the legislation passed.

The credits are intended to promote the development of a permanent film industry in Connecticut, and companies can get up to 30 percent on qualified digital media and motion picture production, pre-production and post-production expenses incurred in the sate.  

HARTFORD — Wanda Cobbs, of Hartford, is a single mom. She has three children and says money is always tight.

She works as a school bus driver in West Hartford for First Student, and she says her company does not provide paid sick days for their bus drivers or monitors.

Cobbs says she cannot afford to stay home when she or her children are sick, and she could have used a few paid sick days last December when her children had H1N1. Cobbs took time off to care for her children, but eventually caught the virus. She said she had to keep working, because she had already lost a week’s pay.     

Cobbs was just one of several people who spoke in support of a bill that would require businesses with more than 50 employees to offer their workers five paid sick days each year.

Similar bills have been proposed in the past, but have failed to make it to the governor’s desk.

Advocates say businesses do not benefit when sick people go to work, and they say workers should not have to decide whether keeping their jobs or getting better is more important.

The bill’s opponents worry that requiring paid sick days is a mandate that would harm the state and make businesses less competitive.

MERIDEN — Democratic leaders came to Paul’s Courtyard Cafe on West Main Street today to try to build support for a bill that would help small businesses throughout the state.

Most of Connecticut’s jobs are with firms that are considered small businesses, and those businesses could use a little relief, said Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn

There will be a hearing on Senate Bill No. 1 next week, Williams continued, noting that the bill would suspend the state’s $250 business entity tax for two years, create a revolving loan fund for small businesses and consolidate economic development entities.    

Democrats want to pay for their jobs bill by putting a temporary 2.47 percent surcharge on TARP bonuses. Under their plan, bonuses of $1 million or more paid to employees of TARP entities would be subject to the surcharge. The surcharge would apply for two years- until 2011, and the surcharge would be on top of the state’s existing income tax rate.

“It’s very important we all step up,” Williams said.

Sean Moore, president of the Meriden Chamber of Commerce, praised lawmakers for trying to help small businesses at Monday’s press conference, calling the business entity tax a nuisance and saying that the revolving loans would certainly help.

Also at Monday’s press conference was House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, and Sen. Thomas P. Gaffey, D-Meriden.

These are tough economic times and there are high unemployment rates, Gaffey said, stressing that lawmakers are doing what they can to brings jobs back to the state.

“This is an incredibly important initiative,” he said.

Donovan agreed, saying, “Jobs are our No. 1 priority at the Capitol.”  

The government administration and elections committee is holding a lengthy public hearing today on two bills that would modify Connecticut’s campaign finance laws.

The bills are a result of a federal district judge’s September ruling, which said the state’s public financing provision would put minor-party candidates at an unconstitutional disadvantage against major-party candidates.   

The hearing started at 10 a.m.

One bill being considered was proposed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell. House Bill No. 5021 would treat majority and minor-party candidates the same. All candidates, regardless of party affiliation, would receive the same grants through public financing if they qualify. It would also reduce the amount of some grants.  

The second bill, House Bill No. 5022, would reduce grant amounts, eliminate grants for unopposed candidates and reduce the qualifying thresholds for minor-party candidates. It would also replace supplemental funds for candidates going up against wealthy candidates who are not participating in public financing with a new supplemental grant system that would allow a candidate to raise more funds. That money would then be matched.   

Bill no. 5022 was raised by the government administration and elections committee.

Photo courtesy of the governor’s office.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell says she is a big Yankees’ fan, and she took time out of her day Friday to check out the team’s 2009 World Series’ trophy. 

With the help of her staff, Rell said she even captured the moment via a web camera and sent the footage to her family in Colorado.  

Rell was not the only one to pose for a picture with the trophy. For several hours Friday, a steady stream of people filed into the Capitol to see the hardware. The line to see the trophy was out the door and some waited for more than an hour in the cold. 

While some Yankees’ fans kept glancing at their watch, Valerie Pistritto and her 10-year-old son, Michael, both of Newington, did not mind waiting. The pair called themselves life-long Yankees’ fans and said they have seen the team play in both Florida and New York.

Michael wore his Yankees’ hat and jacket to the Capitol Friday and posed for two pictures — one with the trophy and one with the governor, who made her way through the crowd, shaking hands along the way.

http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-yankee-trophy-capitol-0219-pictures,0,7987714.photogallery

HARTFORD — When family and friends of Vikas Parikh walked into a legislative office building hearing room Wednesday to voice their support for a bill that would require seat belts on school buses, the room fell silent.

Parikh, a student at both Rocky Hill High School and the Greater Hartford Academy of Mathematics and Science in Hartford, died Jan. 9 as a result of a school bus crash on I-84.

The crash renewed debate over whether seat belts should be installed on public school buses.  

“We fully believe our son would have been with us today had there been seat belts,” said Pratik Parikh, Vikas’ father.

Vikas’ mother, Dolly Parikh, added that what happened to her son could happen to anyone’s son or daughter. Following her statement, she turned to the friends and family standing behind her and started to cry.

Pictures: Seat Belt Hearing At The Capitol

Vikas Parikh was the only person who died in the January crash, but several other students and a teacher were injured.

According to Keye Frank, a student on the bus that crashed, two injured students have still not returned to the classroom and the teacher who was injured is not expected to return to work for a few more months.

Wednesday, the Parikh family, along with others involved in the crash, urged state lawmakers to be proactive and to find a way to make school buses safer. They tried to squash arguements made by those who oppose putting seat belts on buses.

Those who oppose seat belts on school buses say the costs associated with installing the seat belts is too high, and they say seat belts are not needed because of compartmentalization. Compartmentalization is when cushy seats are placed close together to absorb impact.  

“Although the accident we were in was incredibly rare, it still happened,” Frank reminded lawmakers.

“We are the future,” said Sameer Laul, another student riding the bus that crashed. “Without protection, what can we do?”

http://www.courant.com/news/politics/

 In photo: Pratik Parikh comforts his wife Dolly as one of Vikas Parikh’s friends describes what it was like on the school bus that crashed on I-84 and killed him. (John Woike/Hartford Courant)

The National Coalition for School Bus Safety answers the question: Why are there no seat belts on school buses?

Connecticut turns 375 years old this year, and the governor is planning to kickoff a year-long celebration this Wednesday at the State Library.

The event is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m., and Gov. M. Jodi Rell will be joined by school children, historians and ceremonial guards.

“This celebration is for everyone – for the young and old, for those with deep roots and those who have recently called Connecticut home,” Rell said in a prepared statement. “It is a great state to live, work and raise a family. Over the course of 2010, we will honor Connecticut – its founders and future.”  

A 375th anniversary commission is putting together a calendar of events for the year.

Members of the commission include Nikki O’Neill, wife of former Gov. William O’Neill, and former Lt. Gov. Eunice Groark.

The state’s website offers a few facts about Connecticut in its “About Connecticut” section.

Did you know that the state’s nickname, “The Constitution State,” was adopted by the legislature in 1959?

The state’s population was 3.4 million, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, and the website says Connecticut has an area of 5,018 square miles.

The state, of course, has 169 towns. There are 21 cities and nine boroughs.

Noah Webster, who is known for his dictionary, was born in West Hartford. The Hartford Courant has been publishing its newspaper since 1764.

Also, from 1703 to 1875, Connecticut had two capitals. The General Assembly met alternately in Hartford and New Haven.

Check out the state’s site for more trivia and be on the look out for anniversary events.

Avoiding electricity issues may be the only way for the energy and technology committee to get anything done this year, according to state Rep. Elizabeth Esty.

As they begin the 2010 legislative session, Esty, a Democrat from Cheshire, said committee members are frustrated. The committee was pretty unsuccessful last year because there were major philosophical differences over the regulation and deregulation of electricity, she said, noting that even co-chairmen Sen. John Fonfara, D-Hartford, and Rep. Vickie Nardello, D-Prospect, disagree.

Fonfara, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, supports deregulation, which allows consumers to choose their electricity supplier, while Nardello says she would support stronger regulatory rule.

Connecticut deregulated the electricity industry in 1998.

Nardello acknowledged that there were philosophical differences between committee members, but said debate is healthy.

Esty’s comments came after Thursday’s committee meeting — the first of this legislative session.

At the meeting, Rep. Sean Williams, R-Watertown, urged his colleagues to work together and to put aside their differences.

“I say that without pointing fingers,” he said, referencing how few of the committee’s bills were passed last year.

It reported out nearly 70 bills, but less than 10 were signed into law by the governor.

A second bill aimed at the school bus industry will be considered by the transportation committee this legislative session.

The bill would require that a Department of Motor Vehicle phone number be painted on the rear and sides of all buses. The number is where people can report the unsafe or illegal operation of a school bus.

The bill would also increase the fines for companies that break school bus safety laws. Law breakers are currently fined between $100 and $500. Those fines would only apply to first-time offenders if the bill is passed. Subsequent offenses would result in fines between $500 and $1,000.

The Connecticut School Transportation Association opposes the proposals.

This bill comes after transportation committee Co-Chairman Rep. Anthony Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, proposed a bill that would require seat belts on school buses. Guerrera’s bill calls for lap-and-shoulder belts to be installed on buses by January 2011 and includes a provision that would allow the DMV to suspend a bus’ registration after that date until seat belts are installed.

As the debate plays out, Gov. M. Jodi Rell already knows where she stands. Rell supports the idea of putting seat belts on school buses.

The transportation committee had an informational public hearing on both bills scheduled for Wednesday, but it was canceled due to weather forecasts. It has been rescheduled for Jan. 17.