Senate and House Democrats and Senate Republicans over the past two days announced chairs, vice-chairs, ranking members and members of 28 legislative committees.

If your local state Representative or Senator has yet to take a job with Governor-Elect Dannel Malloy’s administration, below are the areas where he/she will be focusing their efforts during the upcoming 2011 session.

I have not received similar master lists from the House Republicans but I know members have been issuing their own press releases containing committee information. You can visit all of their websites by clicking here.

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HOUSE COMMITTEES (Democrats)

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Aging Committee

Joseph Serra, Chair

Michelle Cook, Vice Chair

David Aldarondo

Jonathan Steinberg

Kathy Tallarita

Peter Villano

Appropriations Committee

Toni Walker, Chair

Catherine Abercrombie, Vice Chair

Patricia Billie Miller, Vice Chair

Henry Genga, Vice Chair

Juan Candelaria

Charles “Don” Clemons

Patricia Dillon

Kim Fawcett

Andrew Fleischmann

Minnie Gonzalez

Gregory Haddad

Gail Hamm

Debra Heinrich

Ernest Hewett

Brian Hurlburt

Marie Kirkley-Bey

Douglas McCrory

Sandy Nafis

Linda Orange

Kelvin Roldan

Elizabeth Ritter

Thomas Reynolds

Kevin Ryan

Peggy Sayers

Linda Schofield

John Thompson

Diana Urban

Peter Villano

Roberta Willis

Gary Holder-Winfield

Banks Committee

William Tong, Chair

Timothy Larson, Vice Chair

David Baram

Antonio Guerrera

Edward Moukawsher

Tim O’Brien

Matthew Ritter

Daniel Rovero

Patricia Widlitz

Select Committee on Children

Diana Urban, Chair

Kim Fawcett, Vice Chair

Juan Candelaria

Gail Hamm

Mary Mushinsky

John Thompson

Commerce Committee

Jeffrey Berger, Chair

Gregory Haddad, Vice Chair

Brian Becker

Linda Gentile

Ed Jutila

Russell Morin

Elaine O’Brien

Chris Perone

Ezequiel Santiago

Bruce “Zeke” Zalaski

Education Committee

Andrew Fleischmann, Chair

Douglas McCrory, Vice Chair

Michelle Cook

Paul Davis

Henry Genga

Auden Grogins

Gail Hamm

Debrorah Heinrich

Susan Johnson

David Kiner

Matthew Lesser

Christopher Lyddy

Steven Mikutel

Patricia Billie Miller

Sandy Nafis

Tom Reynolds

Jason Rojas

Energy & Technology Committee

Vickie Nardello, Chair

Lonnie Reed, Vice Chair

Terry Backer

Brian Becker

James Crawford

Kim Fawcett

Henry Genga

Susan Johnson

Matthew Lesser

Elizabeth Ritter

Jonathan Steinberg

Peter Tercyak

William Tong

Environment Committee

Richard Roy, Chair

Paul Davis, Vice Chair

Terry Backer

John “Jack” Hennessey

Bryan Hurlbert

Geoff Luxenberg

Robert Megna

Edward Moukawsher

Mary Mushinsky

Kim Rose

Kevin Ryan

Diana Urban

Roberta Willis

Christopher Wright

Elissa Wright

Executive & Legislative Nominations

Claire Janowski, Chair

Linda Schofield, Vice Chair

David Aldorondo

Christopher Caruso

Stephen Dargan

Matthew Ritter

Richard Roy

Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee

Patricia Widlitz, Chair

Jason Rojas, Vice Chair

Elissa Wright, Vice Chair

Emil “Buddy” Altobello

Joe Aresimowicz

Andres Ayala

Jeffrey Berger

Elizabeth “Betty” Boukus

Larry Butler

Christopher Caruso

John “Jack” Hennessey

Susan Johnson

Tim Larson

Roland Lemar

Carlo Leone

Geoff Luxenberg

Robert Megna

Russell Morin

Edward Moukawsher

Mary Mushinsky

Timothy O’Brien

Chris Perone

Hector Robles

Kathy Tallarita

Peter Villano

Christopher Wright

Bruce “Zeke” Zalaski

Elizabeth “Betty” Boukus, Bonding Chair

Andres Ayala, Transportation Bonding

Government Administration & Elections

Russell Morin, Chair

Matthew Lesser, Vice Chair

Catherine Abercrombie

Andrew Fleischmann

Gerald Fox

Bob Godfrey

Geoff Luxenberg

Tim O’Brien

General Law Committee

Joseph Taborsak, Chair

David Baram, Vice Chair

Emil “Buddy” Altobello

Louis Esposito

Sandy Nafis

Frank Nicastro

Lonnie Reed

Hector Robles

Kathy Tallarita

Higher Education & Employment Advancement

Roberta Willis, Chair

Juan Candelaria, Vice Chair

Patricia Dillon

Gregory Haddad

Bryan Hurlburt

Claire Janowski

Douglas McCrory

Daniel Rovero

Peggy Sayers

Select Committee on Housing

Larry Butler, Chair

Christopher Wright, Vice Chair

Joe Aresimowicz

Patricia Billie Miller

Bruce Morris

Human Services Committee

Peter Tercyak, Chair

Bruce Morris, Vice Chair

Larry Butler

Michelle Cook

Mae Flexer

Marie Kirkley-Bey

Christopher Lyddy

Linda Orange

John Thompson

Toni Walker

Gary Holder-Winfield

Insurance & Real Estate Committee

Robert Megna, Chair

Susan Johnson, Vice Chair

David Aldarondo

Emil “Buddy” Altobello

Joe Aresimowicz

Christopher Caruso

James Crawford

Stephen Dargan

Vickie Nardello

Kelvin Roldan

Linda Schofield

Internship Committee

Mae Flexer, Chair

Elizabeth “Betty” Boukus

Peggy Sayers

Judiciary Committee

Gerald Fox, Chair

Gary Holder-Winfield, Vice Chair

David Baram

Jeffery Berger

Charles “Don” Clemons

Patricia Dillon

Mae Flexer

Mary Fritz

Bob Godfrey

Minnie Gonzalez

Auden Grogins

Gail Hamm

Ernest Hewett

Bruce Morris

Melissa Olson

Kelvin Roldan

Joseph Serra

Joseph Taborsak

William Tong

Toni Walker

Elissa Wright

Labor & Public Employees Committee

Bruce “Zeke” Zalaski, Chair

Ezequiel Santiago, Vice Chair

Louis Esposito

David Kiner

Ernest Hewett

Joint Committee on

Legislative Management

Christopher G. Donovan, Chair

Brendan Sharkey, Vice Chair

Emil “Buddy” Altobello

Marie Kirkley-Bey

Louis Esposito

Bob Godfrey

Deborah Heinrich

Ernest Hewett

Melissa Olson

Linda Orange

Kathy Tallarita

Planning & Development Committee

Linda Gentile, Chair

Auden Grogins, Vice Chair

Mae Flexer

Mary Fritz

Roland Lemar

Elaine O’Brien

Lonnie Reed

Tom Reynolds

Matthew Ritter

Jason Rojas

Kim Rose

Program Review & Investigations Committee

Brian Becker

Mary Mushinsky

Diana Urban

Public Health Committee

Elizabeth Ritter, Chair

Christopher Lyddy, Vice Chair

Catherine Abercrombie

Andres Ayala

Christopher Caruso

Linda Gentile

Deborah Heinrich

Matthew Lesser

Vickie Nardello

Melissa Olson

Kevin Ryan

Joseph Taborsak

Peter Tercyak

Patricia Widlitz

Public Safety & Security Committee

Stephen Dargan, Chair

Ed Jutila, Vice Chair

Elizabeth “Betty” Boukus

Charles “Don” Clemons

Louis Esposito

Minnie Gonzalez

David Kiner

Steven Mikutel

Linda Orange

Hector Robles

Daniel Rovero

Richard Roy

Regulations Review Committee

Tim O’Brien, Chair

Andres Ayala

Paul Davis

Carlo Leone

Transportation Committee

Antonio Guerrera, Chair

Steven Mikutel, Vice Chair

Elizabeth “Betty” Boukus

Christopher Caruso

James Crawford

Gerald Fox

Claire Janowski

Ed Jutila

Timothy Larson

Roland Lemar

Carlo Leone

Russell Morin

Frank Nicastro

Elaine O’Brien

Chris Perone

Ezequiel Santiago

Peggy Sayers

Joseph Serra

Jonathan Steinberg

Veterans Committee

John “Jack” Hennessey, Chair

Frank Nicastro, Vice Chair

Joe Aresimowicz

Antonio Guerrera

Kim Rose

Reapportionment Committee

Christopher G. Donovan

Sandy Nafis

Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs

Legislative

Patricia Dillon

General Government A

Patricia Billie Miller

General Government B

Henry Genga

Regulations & Protection

Tom Reynolds

Conservation & Development

Bryan Hurlburt

Health & Hospitals

Juan Candelaria

Transportation

Kim Fawcett

Human Services

Gail Hamm

Peter Villano

Higher Education

Roberta Willis

Elementary & Secondary Education

Andrew Fleischmann

Judicial

Douglas McCrory

Collective Bargaining

Ernest Hewett

RBA

Diana Urban

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SENATE COMMITTEES (Democrats)

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AGING

Edith Prague, Chair

Thomas Gaffey, Vice Chair

APPROPRIATIONS

Toni Harp, Chair

Edith Prague, Vice Chair

Members: Andrew Maynard, Edwin Gomes, Bob Duff, Joan Hartley

BANKS

Bob Duff, Chair

Joseph Crisco, Vice Chair

CHILDREN

Vacant, Chair

Anthony Musto, Vice Chair

COMMERCE

Gary LeBeau, Chair

Joseph Crisco, Vice Chair

Members: vacant

EDUCATION

Thomas Gaffey, Chair

John Fonfara, Vice Chair

Members: Beth Bye, Andrea Stillman

ENERGY & TECHNOLOGY

John Fonfara, Chair

Bob Duff, Vice Chair

ENVIRONMENT

Edward Meyer, Chair

Andrew Maynard, Vice Chair

EXECUTIVE & LEGISLATIVE NOMINATIONS

Martin Looney, Chair

Donald Williams, Vice Chair

Members: Toni Harp, Thomas Gaffey, Joan Hartley

FINANCE, REVENUE & BONDING

Eileen Daily, Chair

John Fonfara, Vice Chair

Members: Thomas Gaffey, Gary LeBeau, Ed Meyer,

Andrea Stillman, vacant

Bonding Subcommittee: John Fonfara, Chair

Transportation Bonding Subcommittee: Gary LeBeau, Chair

GENERAL LAW

Paul Doyle, Chair

Vacant, Vice Chair

Members: Anthony Musto

GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION & ELECTIONS

Gayle Slossberg, Chair

Edward Meyer, Vice Chair

HIGHER EDUCATION & EMPLOYMENT ADVANCEMENT

Beth Bye, Chair

Gary LeBeau, Vice Chair

HOUSING

Edwin Gomes, Chair

Paul Doyle, Vice Chair

HUMAN SERVICES

Anthony Musto, Chair

Eric Coleman, Vice Chair

INSURANCE & REAL ESTATE

Joseph Crisco, Chair

Joan Hartley, Vice Chair

INTERNSHIP

Joseph Crisco, Ranking Member

Members: Beth Bye, Eileen Daily

JUDICIARY

Eric Coleman, Chair

Paul Doyle, Vice Chair

Members: Beth Bye, Edwin Gomes, Edward Meyer, vacant

LABOR & PUBLIC EMPLOYEES

Edith Prague, Chair

Edwin Gomes, Vice Chair

LEGISLATIVE MANAGEMENT

Donald Williams, Chair

Martin Looney, Vice Chair

Members: Gary LeBeau, Joseph Crisco, Toni Harp,

Joan Hartley, Eileen Daily

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT

Steve Cassano, Chair

Eric Coleman, Vice Chair

PROGRAM REVIEW & INVESTIGATIONS

John Fonfara, Chair

Members: Steve Cassano, Eric Coleman

PUBLIC HEALTH

Andrew Maynard, Chair

Gayle Slossberg, Vice Chair

Members: Andrea Stillman, Edith Prague

PUBLIC SAFETY

Joan Hartley, Chair

Eileen Daily, Vice Chair

Member: Steve Cassano

REGULATIONS REVIEW

Anthony Musto, Ranking Member

Members: Paul Doyle, vacant

TRANSPORTATION

Andrea Stillman, Chair

Bob Duff, Vice Chair

Members: Steve Cassano, Andrew Maynard,

Gayle Slossberg

VETERANS AFFAIRS

Vacant, Chair

Gayle Slossberg, Vice Chair

REAPPORTIONMENT

Members: Donald Williams, Martin Looney

——–

SENATE COMMITTEES (Republican)

——–

Aging

RM (Ranking Member) Kelly

Appropriations

RM Kane

Markley

Welch

Banks

RM Frantz

Children

RM Markley

Commerce

RM Frantz

Kelly

Education

RM Boucher

Kane

Energy & Technology

RM Witkos

Environment

RM Roraback

Exec. & Legis.

Nominations

RM Fasano

McKinney

Roraback

Finance, Revenue & Bonding

RM Roraback

Guglielmo

Boucher

Frantz

General Law

RM Witkos

Kissel

Government Admin. & Elections

RM McLachlan

Higher Education

RM Boucher

Housing

RM McKinney

Human Services

RM Markley

Insurance & Real Estate

RM Kelly

Internship

C Witkos

Guglielmo

Welch

Judiciary

RM Kissel

Roraback

McLachlan

Welch

Labor & Public Employees

RM Guglielmo

Legislative Management

RM McKinney

Fasano

Kissel

McLachlan

Planning & Development

RM Fasano

Program Review & Investigations

RM Kissel

Guglielmo

Markley

Public Health

RM Welch

Kane

Public Safety

RM Guglielmo

Witkos

Regulations Review

C Roraback

Kelly

Markley

Transportation

RM Boucher

Frantz

McLachlan

Veterans’ Affairs

RM Fasano

Reapportionment

McKinney

Fasano

Mark McQuillan, Connecticut’s commissioner of education under retiring Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, resigned suddenly Wednesday after having expressed interest in working for Democratic Governor-Elect Dannel Malloy.

In a letter to the state Board of Education, McQuillan wrote, “I realized that I no longer wanted to do this work and saw all too plainly that the stresses of my job are more than they should be and more than I am willing to accept.”

But anyone who thinks McQuillan was a shoe-in for either the commissioner’s job or another education post under Malloy doesn’t remember his role in last year’s controversial closing of J.M. Wright Technical School in Stamford.

Malloy was wrapping up his term as Stamford’s mayor and both he and the individual he tapped last week as his general counsel – state Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford – were vocal critics of how the Wright Tech matter was handled.

McDonald, a close friend and confidant of Malloy’s, in particular was frustrated with McQuillan after our newspapers published an in-depth report about the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that resulted in the school’s closure.

I phoned McDonald, who technically is not part of the Malloy administration until the new governor is sworn in January 5, and asked him if he would have had significant reservations about McQuillan’s remaining education commissioner.

“I’ve had no comment or position on that,” McDonald said. “I will serve as general counsel to the governor and will advocate his positions, not my own.”

McDonald, however, also said, “Wright Tech was an extraordinarily important issue for Stamford and surrounding communities and I was very disillusioned about how the department handled that issue from the very beginning. It was extraordinarily disappointing and heartbreaking for the students and families who had to live through it.”

One of our editors got a surprise in the mail today – a Flip video camera in a black velvet pouch emblazoned with the World Wrestling Entertainment logo.

Stamford-based WWE is owned by Vince and Linda McMahon. Linda, a Republican, recently spent $50 million on an unsuccessful self-funded bid for U.S. Senate.

The $200 phones were sent as holiday gifts to other colleagues in the media as well (Clarification: More accurately, one other colleague that I know of), although they do not appear to have been as widely distributed as the WWE paraphernalia Vince shipped to reporters in the final week of his wife’s campaign.

I e-mailed WWE spokesman Robert Zimmerman and asked him for additional details about the Flip phones.

“Just like many other media/entertainment companies do at the holidays, it is a holiday gift that was sent out to select people that WWE has done business with during the past year,” Zimmerman wrote back. “Nothing more, nothing less.”

We’re talking about donating it to a high school journalism class.

Hearst Connecticut Media Group colleague Ken Dixon and I interviewed a lot of folks for this weekend’s piece on retiring Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s legacy.

She leaves office January 5 after six years, two of which were to complete Republican Gov. John Rowland’s term after he resigned amidst an impeachment inquiry and a federal investigation.

For space reasons, many quotes were left out of the story and instead grouped together in a sidebar that ran in our print editions. So for those of you who instead read the story on-line, here are those comments about Rell you might have missed. Think of this as our Director’s Cut…

—————-

I took an opportunity this morning to ask Democratic Governor-Elect Dannel Malloy if he is pleased the state will not at this time borrow $81 million for the last 38 of 380 new Metro North rail cars.

The bi-partisan state Bond Commission, chaired by retiring Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, last Friday moved forward with authorizing the expenditure, against the wishes of members Sen. Eileen Daily, D-Westbrook and Rep. Cameron Staples, D-New Haven.

Daily and Staples are co-chairs of the General Assembly’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee and unsuccessfully raised concerns about recent glitches that have held up putting the delivered cars into service. They also said such an expenditure should be left to Malloy.

Malloy will be sworn in January 5.

Turns out the Bond Commission has to schedule a do-over for Dec. 22 because of confusion over the voting process, as reported today by my colleague, Ken Dixon. Dixon also reported Rell decided not to include the $81 million for the train cars, recognizing they would not receive enough votes in this second go-round.

I asked Malloy today if he is happy with that result.

“When the governor said she might ask for the money, my statement was, ‘We only have one governor at a time’,” Malloy said.

But he added, “Clearly the votes weren’t there.”

I asked Malloy if he had urged Daily and Staples to oppose borrowing the $81 million.

“I had no conversations about that,” Malloy said.

However state Comptroller Nancy Wyman, who will be sworn in as Malloy’s lieutenant governor and is a Bond Commission member, boycotted last Friday’s meeting arguing the new governor should have the right to decide whether to add to the state’s long-term debt. Seems to me if Malloy really felt it was urgent to place an order for those additional 38 rail cars, Wyman would have showed up and Daily and Staples would not have raised their objections.

A bi-partisan commission, co-chaired by state Senator Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, today formally approved 30 proposals members believe could save more than $450 million in fiscal years 2011 and 2012 if enacted by Democrat Dannel Malloy’s incoming administration.

The Commission on Enhancing Agency Outcomes got off to a rocky start in 2009, but has slowly but steadily been continuing its work examining how to run the state more efficiently.

Slossberg in a statement said the commission today approved “a solid package of reforms, options that don’t require cutting vital services or raising taxes … There are many opportunities in this report to tackle our budget problems head-on.”

She highlighted the following:

• Engage in more aggressive efforts to transition senior care out of nursing homes and into assisted home care
• Find savings through cooperative purchasing and reverse online auctioning
• Encourage greater generic prescription drug use, and change management of the state’s prescription drug program for low-income individuals to a third-party system
• Enhance community prevention and intervention efforts in the Department of Children and Families
• Restore the State Contracting Standards Board and other entities charged with reviewing contracts and identifying waste
• Reduce energy costs by 10 percent
• Expand tax auditing and enforcement to pursue delinquent accounts
• Consolidate back-office human resources functions in the state’s various human services agencies
• Reduce postage usage and convert business entity filing to electronic methods

Readers of this blog will recall I recently wrote about retiring Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s skepticism regarding Malloy’s promises to overhaul government once he takes office on January 5.

And the Commission on Enhancing Agency Outcomes’ website provides a handy run down of all the various “good government” studies gathering dust on capitol shelves.

I asked Malloy spokesperson Colleen Flanagan for a comment and she e-mailed me the following statement: “Governor-Elect Malloy and his Office of Policy and Management Secretary Designee Ben Barnes are reviewing a number of recommendations, ideas and suggestions to achieve substantial savings, and will propose those in his formal budget presentation next year.”

Attorney General/U.S. Senator-Elect Richard Blumenthal today announced the results of a multi-state lawsuit against yogurt-maker Dannon Company, Inc.

Blumenthal and his colleagues went after Dannon’s claims about its Activia yogurt, promoted in numerous television commercials by actress Jamie Lee Curtis.

According to the press release, which you can read in full below, Dannon was essentially acting like one of those Old West hucksters, travelling from town to town, convincing the local yokels to buy bottles of a wonderful new tonic to cure whatever ails ya!

Or, in Blumenthal’s own words, “Dannon outrageously over played the health power of yogurt.”

I’ve been wondering why smearing Activia on that burn didn’t seem to be helping…

Ah, for the days when you could trust advertisements.

Dannon issued the following statement:

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ATTORNEY GENERAL ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH DANNON OVER ACTIVIA AND DANACTIVE CLAIMS ABOUT DIGESTIVE HEALTH AND IMMUNITY

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced a $21 million multistate settlement with Dannon Company, Inc. for allegedly overstating the digestive, immunity and other health benefits related to Activia yogurt and DanActive dairy drinks.

This multistate settlement — the largest to date involving alleged deceptive claims by a food producer — stops misleading health claims and provides Connecticut $425,000.

“Dannon must stop deceptive hypes for health and digestive benefits of Activia and DanActive,” Blumenthal said. “Dannon outrageously overplayed the health power of yogurt — making unscientific claims about promoting good digestion, preventing flu and enhancing health.

“False food claims really ruin good digestion. We are setting the record straight on food labeling and advertising by fighting health hype.”

The states simultaneously filed a lawsuit and settlement today alleging Dannon made unlawful claims in advertising, marketing, packaging, and selling Activia yogurts and DanActive dairy drinks, including claims unsubstantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence.

Dannon claimed that Activia promoted digestive health because it includes a bacterial strain with “probiotic benefits” that Dannon trademarked under the name “Bifidus Regularis.” In fact, the name “Bifidus Regularis” was entirely concocted by Dannon.

Dannon represented that consuming one serving per day of Activia for two weeks improved digestive health. In reality, the majority of studies demonstrated a benefit only for individuals who consumed three servings per day for two weeks.

The company made other unsubstantiated claims about Activia, as well as unlawful and unsubstantiated claims about “immunity” and cold and flu prevention benefits associated with DanActive dairy drinks.

As with Activia, Dannon’s advertising and marketing claims emphasized a probiotic bacterial strain — although in DanActive’s case, Dannon trademarked the bacterial strain as “L. casei Immunitas.”

The settlement prohibits Dannon from making unsubstantiated claims about Activia and DanActive preventing, treating, curing or mitigating disease. Dannon must also provide competent and reliable scientific evidence to support claims about health benefits, performance, efficacy or safety of its probiotic food products.

… at least with me.

Got the ex-Republican Governor on the phone tonight, pulling into his driveway, he said, en route from his afternoon radio show on Hartford’s WTIC 1080.

I hoped he would answer a few questions about his former lieutenant governor – retiring Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell – who took over running the state in July, 2004 after Rowland resigned in the midst of a federal corruption investigation and impeachment inquiry.

Rowland subsequently served a brief stint in prison.

Rell ran for and won a full four-year term in 2006. She leaves office on January 5, meaning this is the time when reporters like myself start calling around asking folks to reflect on her tenure/legacy.

“I’m not doing any interviews,” Rowland told me.

How about issuing a statement about his successor?

“I’m not doing any interviews,” he repeated.

Which is a shame, particularly because Rell took a couple of shots at Rowland during today’s meeting of the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce.