1of19Creates a new quasi-public Connecticut Port Authority, with a statewide harbor master appointed by the governor to administer the deep-water ports including Bridgeport. The authority, which takes effect July 1, 2016, will focus on development, dredging and infrastructure improvements and will take over the duties currently held by the state Department of Transportation. It will also have bonding authority to long-term capital improvements and place local harbormasters under the authority of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.Brian A. PoundsShow MoreShow Less2of19Allows out-of-staters to drive golf carts on roads, where currently only state licensees are allowed.Show MoreShow Less3of19Requires operators of youth athletic leagues to make available information on concussions, starting January 1, 2016.Tyler SizemoreShow MoreShow Less4of19Lets private employers require injured workers to obtain workers’ compensation treatment from a list of medical providers and to provide workers with the list within two days of reporting a mishap.Show MoreShow Less5of19Gives $1 million in annual grants to Boys and Girls Clubs of America located in the state, starting July 1.Show MoreShow Less6of19Allows towns and cities to assess local property taxes on residential properties owned by colleges and universities.Fairfield Citizen/ContributedShow MoreShow Less7of19Creates a new economic-competitiveness panel to study tax policy.Show MoreShow Less8of19Mandates the state labor commissioner, state comptroller and state treasurer to contract a consultant to establish procedures for a paid family leave program, including a procedure for state employees to pay into a system they might utilize later.Tyler SizemoreShow MoreShow Less9of19Raises the salaries of judges, family support magistrates and referees by 3 percent in each of the two fiscal years, starting July 1. Superior Court judges who currently make $162,751 a year will rise to $167,634 in the first year and $172,663 in the second.zimmytws - FotoliaShow MoreShow Less10of19Protects minors from liability for payment of overdue public-service bills in cases where an adult fraudulently used a minor’s Social Security number on an account.Show MoreShow Less11of19Lets the Connecticut Lottery Corporation create a statewide keno video lottery game, but not until the governor’s budget office wins agreements with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes. It limits the amount of revenue the state may offer the tribes to 12.5 percent of gross keno sales, subtracting for prize payments.Contributed PhotoShow MoreShow Less12of19Lets the governor require candidates for judgeships and executives of state agencies, to submit to fingerprinting and criminal-history checks.Photo by ClearShow MoreShow Less13of19Allows monthly filers of sales and use taxes to report on the last day of the month rather than the 20th day, but retailers who are required to file quarterly or weekly must continue to do so.Show MoreShow Less14of19Transfers $7.8 million from the Citizens Election Fund for General Assembly and statewide campaigns, to the General Fund.Getty ImagesShow MoreShow Less15of19Mandates the state commissioner of Education to develop a variety of programs to improve education, particularly in low-income urban areas.Tyler SizemoreShow MoreShow Less16of19Requires drivers of motor vehicles to reduce speed or stop near horses and prohibits motorists from activating their horns or causing other loud noises that might startle the animals.Brian A. PoundsShow MoreShow Less17of19Expands the state’s racketeering law to include violations of cigarettes-tax rules, including the forging of or possession of counterfeit tax stamps.Autumn Driscoll/File PhotoShow MoreShow Less18of19Requires landlords to include information in residential leases about the presence of working fire-sprinkler systems, including the date of the system’s previous servicing.Albany Times UnionShow MoreShow Less19of19Creates a new Aquaculture Advisory Council to determine the future of the state’s clam-and-oyster industry.Christian AbrahamShow MoreShow Less
Remember when the so-called budget implementers did not contain barely related legislation that amounted to end runs around the legislative vetting process? Neither can the Blogster. Click through the slideshow above to see a few of the items signed into law by the governor yesterday. Polite company calls them special-interest legislation, but in the Capitol, they’re called “rats” because they’re furry and twitch their whiskers, of course. Not to be confused with a wombat, (below).
