Political Capitol

As noted in the blog post below, Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford and Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, may have tabled the bill about Catholic parish finances last week but there are plenty of controversial proposals the judiciary committee chairmen have left to review.

One after another gun owners are testifying at today’s public hearing in opposition to new firearms legislation.

One – Charles Trombley – cut loose with a particularly personal attack on McDonald and Lawlor. I imagine his sentiments are shared by plenty of others after the events of last week over the parish proposal.

Trombley blamed the chairs for not passing the penalties Republicans wanted for three-time-violent offenders in the wake of the 2007 Cheshire home invasion and for just last week holding a hearing on a bill that would abolish the death penalty.

“They cause nothing but havok,” said Trombley, who wore a red, white and blue bandana around his neck that read “NRA” for National Rifle Association.

Trombley said there should be term limits for how long McDonald and Lawlor can continue to chair the judiciary committee.

“You’ve been in that position too long Mr. McDonald. You and Mr. Lawlor,” Trombley said. “I’m not a Democrat because of you.”

Actually Trombley said he WAS registered as a Democrat but this week plans to go Republican, which drew a round of applause from others in the audience.

McDonald, who is no stranger to weathering angry testimony and personal attacks during judiciary hearings, calmly thanked Trombley for his testimony and called up the next speaker on the list.

Visitors to this blog or readers of The Advocate might be interested in a pair of meetings on the state budget that have been scheduled for the coming days in Norwalk and in New Canaan.

Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, is responsible for the first, which takes place Monday night (March 16) at 7 p.m. at Norwalk City Hall.

Then on March 23 Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich and Rep. John Hetherington, R-New Canaan are teaming up for a budget forum at the New Canaan Public Library. The program begins at 7:30 p.m.

On Feb. 24 the legislature’s Democratic majority told reporters they had found a new way to take a bite out of the current fiscal year’s growing budget deficit – by combing through 15-pages worth of $1.6 billion in appropriated but unspent funds they claim had only recently been identified.

Some of the accounts on the list were, as I mentioned then, head scratchers while others actually did have a purpose and cannot be tapped.

The Democrats gave themselves until later this month to identify an estimated $220 million in savings.

Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s office this afternoon said its own thorough “couch cushion” review (i.e. they’re digging under the cushions for change) found only about $188 million – and that’s if the Democrats are willing to wipe out monies set aside for stem cell research, historic preservation, the state’s new public campaign financing program and the Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Marines’ Trust.

“I am not surprised by the results of this review,” Rell said. “My budget office said from the beginning that these ‘newly discovered funds’ were mostly depleted, restricted or needed to pay for important ongoing programs.”

Rell said she will “not allow” the Democrats to wipe out some of these funds, like the Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Marines’ trust “in lieu of putting realistic spending cuts on the table.”

It will be interesting to see what money the Democrats come up with.

Lawmakers are supposed to fix the current deficit and adopt a new, two-year budget that addresses an estimated $8 billion fiscal hole by July 1. At this rate, we’ll be well into next winter before the sides reach an agreement.

UPDATE: House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden, quickly responded with his own statement that Rell’s press release is “counterproductive” to finding a bi-partisan solution to the budget crisis.

“The Governor was unaware of these hidden accounts from the start. We did the hard work to find these savings and the status of many of them is still being concealed by the administration,” Donovan said.

He said Rell assigned budget staff to work with the Democrats in combing through the accounts. That’s true. I can’t find the e-mail but I remember getting it a week or so ago.

But instead of working as partners, Donovan said, they came to their own independent conclusions.

“We are pleased to see that they have found tens of millions of dollars in savings and we are confident we will be able to find significantly more” WITHOUT, Donovan adds, “wiping” out money for stem cell research or the soldiers, sailors and marines.

This is analogous to a family scrapping over how much is in the penny jar while facing bankruptcy.

Like I said, it’s shaping up to be a looooonnnnngggg budget season.

No matter which side of the Catholic Church finance bill you were on, I think everyone can agree it’s been a tiring week packed with emotional debate, rhetoric, some political posturing and more than a few inappropriate slurs and threats aimed at the co-chairs of the judiciary committee.

Thank goodness when members of the judiciary committee reconvene Monday they don’t have any other bills on their agenda likely to inflame such passion. It’s the start of a brand new week. Everyone can take a nice deep breath and relax…

Oh crud. I spoke too soon.

A spokesman for the University of Connecticut said school officials will not oppose a bill proposed by Stamford lawmakers requiring a study of the “highest and best use” of the aging parking structure at the UCONN Stamford campus.

The bill was passed out of the Higher Education Committee earlier this week but needs final approval from the full General Assembly.

A UCONN spokesman had been previously unavailable for comment when the bill was first pitched by Stamford legislators hoping the garage site could be reconfigured to potentially include student housing – the campus has none – classroom space and some retail.

“We do support the bill and we look forward to working with members of the Stamford community to determine how best to use the parking garage,” UCONN spokesman Karen Grava said. “The garage has some issues because it’s close to inland/wetlands and a flood plane. And it’s right next to the river and it’s nearing the end of it’s useful service life.”

I assumed – I thought pretty correctly – that the scores of buses lining the streets around the capitol today were used to transport the thousands of Catholics and other protestors who showed up to fight the bill about Catholic parish finances.

But then our transportation reporter – Martin Cassidy – pointed out to me the transportation committee was at the same time hosting a hearing on a bill to increase penalties for harassing transit workers. And, Cassidy said, bus drivers showed up to address the committee.

What are the odds bus drivers would have to testify in Hartford and truck a bunch of protestors to the capitol ON THE VERY SAME DAY?

That’s the number of people capitol cops estimated turned out today to mostly protest the Catholic parish finance legislation.

That’s a huge amount of people to drive to Hartford to weigh-in at a public hearing on a bill whose sponsors tabled it the day before.

When I pulled up to the capitol today, the streets leading up to the building were lined with buses. Anyone looking for a curbside metered spot was out of luck.

A large crowd rallied outside while another large crowd packed the hearing room.

It proves that Catholics, as well as members of other religions, can be motivated to speak out when necessary. Having priests reading letters from bishops condemning the proposal at mass this past weekend certainly helped.

Now I wonder if this many will turn up over the coming weeks to weigh in on the issues you’d think they’d also be passionate about.

The Judiciary Committee is debating abolishing the death penalty. The state’s current budget crisis is going to put at risk funds for social services and for efforts to expand healthcare to the uninsured. Some Democrats are still hoping to push through an earned income tax credit for the working poor.

It will be interesting to see if any of those issues draws even close to the same size crowds.

A lot has been said today about the proposed legislation that would alter how Catholic parishes oversee their finances.

I thought one of the better quotes came from Susan Liguori, a parishioner at St. John’s Church in Darien.

A high profile embezzlement case at the church a few years ago has been cited by proponents of the legislation, including Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, whose district includes parts of Darien, as a reason to pursue financial reform.

Rev. Michael Jude Fay, St. John’s former pastor, spent some $1.4 million over a six-year period on a lavish lifestyle for him and his boyfriend. The theft came to light only after a parish employee and another priest, frustated with the Bridgeport diocese’s lack of a response, turned a private investigator loose on Fay.

Yet despite the Fay issue, Liguori and a handful of her fellow parishioners traveled to Hartford today to condemn McDonald’s legislation. They – one included current parish trustee Anne Van Geldern – said they were never told it was in the works and have no idea if any members encouraged McDonald to pursue it.

The group said they and the diocese have a good system in place to monitor finances.

“If anyone thinks they’re doing this on our behalf – No thank you,” Liguori said in an interview afterward.