J Brendan Sharkey

Connecticut lawmakers approve sweeping new gun law

2013-04-03 23:40:00

Lawmakers in Connecticut, the site of the Dec. 14 massacre that renewed a national debate over gun control, passed a bipartisan measure that increases background checks for buyers and bans the sale of semiautomatic rifles like the one used in Newtown&...

Secretly Drafted Bill Would Leave Release of Some Newtown Investigative Records Up To Families

2013-05-22 17:38:00

A secretly drafted bill to block release of photos, tapes of 911 calls and death certificates related to the Dec. 14 Newtown elementary school massacre could be acted on in the General Assembly as early as the end of the week, officials said Wednesday....

Senate Backs Bill To Label Genetically Modified Foods

2013-05-21 19:20:00

A bill that would require food made with genetically modified organisms to carry labels cleared the state Senate late Tuesday night. The Senate's approval, on a 35-1 vote, gives new energy to a measure that had strong grassroots backing but appeared...

Commission Seeks Change In State Law On Public Notices

2013-05-21 13:12:42

A commission created by the House Speaker is calling for elimination of the state law requiring public notices to be printed in daily newspapers. The newspaper issue has become one of the more controversial matters at the state Capitol as the General...

Plan to end car tax resuscitated by state's MORE Commission

2013-05-15 04:54:03

House Speaker Brendan Sharkey and members of the Municipal Opportunities Regional Efficiencies Commission want to lower the vehicle property tax rate beginning next year. "The local motor vehicle property tax is the most regressive tax on the books,...

Finizio, Maynard back driver's license measure

2013-04-30 02:04:02

New London Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio and state Sen. Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, spoke at the state Capitol Monday in favor of allowing people who had illegally immigrated to the U.S. or were in the country illegally to obtain driver's licenses....

Malloy Claims Middle Ground With Support For 75-Cent Minimum Wage Hike

2013-04-26 17:21:00

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Friday pushed to raise the state minimum wage by 75 cents over the next two years, backing a measure that steps back from a proposal in the legislature but still lacks the support of the business lobby. "I believe that we can...

Malloy Signs Gun Control Bill, One Of Strictest In Nation

2013-04-04 16:56:00

HARTFORD — Flanked by family members of Newtown massacre victims and the legislative leaders who spent months trying to respond to their tragedy, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed a sweeping gun-control bill Thursday whose big provisions — such...

Short-Term Judges Win Pension Lottery

2013-03-08 17:52:00

You are right to wonder why a hefty tax increase and claims to have gotten spending under control have not brought stable finances to state government. Sometimes a jarring example will help explain something as complex as Connecticut's troubled, growing...

Impatience Showing On Gun Legislation

2013-03-02 11:54:00

The louder the public pledges of bipartisan cooperation and resolve, the deeper the undercurrents of private distrust and resentment — or at least, that often seems to be the rule in legislative politics. And it seems to be taking hold as the...

Lawmaker's Comment Is Bad From Every Angle

2013-03-01 15:32:00

There's a certain ambiguity in state Rep. Ernest Hewett's crude response to a teenage intern's testimony at a Feb. 20 budget hearing. But that ambiguity doesn't excuse what the New London Democrat said. The teenager, speaking on behalf of the...

Newtown Police Commissioners Ask For Changes In Workers' Compensation Law

2013-01-08 19:35:00

The board of police commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to ask the legislature to expand Connecticut's workers' compensation law to provide benefits for those who might have "sustained physical or emotional injury" as the result of the Sandy Hook...

State Senate Minority Leader John McKinney speaks during a press conference on an agreement on proposals for gun control in the state Monday evening. Others are, from left, Sen. Donald Williams, state Rep. Brendan Sharkey and House Republican Leader Larry Cafero.

2013-04-01 00:00:00

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy arrives in the Hall of the House to deliver his budget address Wednesday afternoon. Applauding his arrival are Rep. Brendan Sharkey, Speaker of the House, left, and Sen. Donald Williams Jr., Pres. Pro Temp.

2013-02-06 00:00:00