Political Capitol

Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford and Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairs of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, are drafting a letter to Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell about her announced plans to veto the capital punishment bill the two spearheaded.

Lawlor said the letter, which may be released later today, urges Rell to offer a proposal to make the death penalty more workable. Even supporters of executions have argued the lengthy, sometimes decades-long appeals process cited as one reason for doing away with capital punishment in Connecticut should be somehow shortened for the sake of the victims’ families.

The message to Rell, Lawlor said, is simple – “Look, we came up with our solution. What’s yours?”

“If the only question is ‘can we make it workable’ we need to know the answer to that?” Lawlor said.

He pledged he and McDonald would convene public hearings on any ideas Rell puts on the table.

It’s just after 2 a.m. In a few hours you lawmakers will return to the capitol for the final day of the 2009 session and the scramble to get as many bills as possible passed before the midnight deadline will begin.

For some of you, the day is going to end well.

For others, well, you’ll feel crushed at first, particularly the freshmen. But remember, there’s always next year. The open container bill has been proposed, debated, nearly passed, and ultimately killed for around a decade or so. No reason the same can’t happen with your legislation. Okay, that came out wrong. But you know what I mean. You’ll be back! Unless, of course, you ran on passing a certain bill and it didn’t survive the session. Then you’ve got some explaining to do back in your district. But, if you’re a Democrat, blame it on the Republicans. If you’re a Republican, blame it on the Democrats.

And when all else fails, blame Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford and Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, the co-chairmen of the Judiciary Committee.

Anyway, good luck today. And save some energy for eventually balancing that budget.

… Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, a sponsor of the proposal, issued a press release today criticizing lawmakers’ failure to pass the legislation, which was inspired by February’s chimpanzee attack in Stamford.

“The tragic chimp attack, leaving the victim with severe, lifelong injuries, underscored the urgent need to carefully regulate and restrict private possession of wild animals,” Blumenthal said. “Unregulated ownership of exotic pets is a tragedy waiting to happen and the state should act before another person is badly injured – even killed.”

Reasons for the bill’s failure can be found here and here.

As someone who has, on occasion, tried to make a green light and wound up stuck in a busy intersection, I can’t say I am all that excited about a proposal allowing cities and towns to authorize their police to ticket selfish, self-centered drivers like myself.

But I was surprised tonight when the bill, which was inspired by a law in New York City, proposed by Stamford lawmakers and received bi-partisan support in the Senate, was targeted by House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk.

Cafero argued on many occasions he has been caught in the midst of a busy intersection in Norwalk, not because he is trying to force his way through a green light, but just because an odd roadway configuration, combined with a busy neighboring business – in this case a Dunkin’ Donuts – and other turning motorists conspire to trap him under the changing light.

“This bill does not reflect real life,” Cafero said. “We’re going to start handing out infractions for people who drive … normal every day.”

Suddenly the debate was cut-off and the bill “passed temporarily” or sent into limbo by House Majority Leader Denise Merrill, D-Mansfield. If not revived by midnight tomorrow when the session ends, it dies.

Merrill afterward said she intervened because she believed Cafero and the House Republicans intended to filibuster block the box because they were trying to delay a vote on the next scheduled piece of legislation involving U.S. Senate vacancies.

Whatever Cafero’s motives – and between you and me, Larry, you had me at “this bill does not reflect real life” – he did not share them with block the box backer Rep. Livvy Floren, R-Greenwich, who also represents a portion of Stamford.

“I had no idea he was going to start talking,” Floren said afterward. “I thought it was just going to go sailing through.”

Making the opposition even more awkward is the fact that the Stamford delegation sponsored the bill in part at the urging of Robert “Gabe” DeLuca – a prominent Stamford Republican.

UPDATE: The bill was revived and passed just after midnight, 138 votes to 3. Cafero voted “yes.” It now heads to Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

After a lengthier-than-expected debate Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives this afternoon “passed temporarily” legislation making it illegal for drivers or their passengers to have open containers of alcohol in their vehicles while on the road.

That gives supporters an increasingly narrow window of opportunity before the session concludes at midnight tomorrow to work out the kinks behind the scenes so the legislation can be revived for a vote.

“Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don’t,” House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden, said.

The death of the open container legislation has become an end-of-session tradition at the capitol.

Every year proponents think they have addressed the opposition’s concerns, and every year someone finds new reasons to oppose the bill.

“The more that you compromise and try to resolve multiple concerns and issues it turns into something very different (and) you risk losing support,” said Rep. David Scribner, R-Brookfield, a ranking Republican on the Transportation Committee.

This year’s issue was a concern that the law unfairly penalized sober drivers for the actions of their passengers and discouraged the practice of choosing a designated driver.

Although the state Senate did not have the same problem, Rep. Tony Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, a Transportation Committee co-chairman, said that never guarantees quick passage in the much larger House.

“We all know in this place – two chambers, different viewpoints,” Guerrera said.

Donovan said he had thought there was enough support for the bill to pass this year, which is why he allowed it to be brought up for a vote today.

“It’s kind of going slower than slow,” Donovan said as the debate dragged on.

While on the topic of Super 7 I spoke briefly today with Department of Transportation Commissioner Joseph Marie, who was hired about a year ago to take over the agency, about whether he might consider selling off the land acquired for the long-dormant expressway linking Norwalk to Danbury.

The state purchased the land decades ago at a cost of $29.4 million and it is now valued at around $164.7 million.

Marie said he has not given it any thought, but added: “The likelihood of us building Super 7 in the next 10 to 15 years is negligible … It’s not going to happen.”

“Spy vs. Spy” is a nearly 50-year-old cartoon that originated in MAD Magazine depicting two spies – one garbed all in white, the other all in black – who are constantly at odds with no clear victor. Sometimes one wins, sometimes the other wins.

I was reminded of those characters today while reading a catch-all Department of Transportation bill that was passed this afternoon by the House of Representatives and is on its way to the Senate for final action before the session ends Wednesday at midnight.

Tucked inside the legislation is language freeing the DOT to sell or use “in any manner that is not transportation compatible” 890 acres the state purchased decades ago to replace the old Route 7 connecting Norwalk to Danbury with an expressway.

The project never got off of the ground and the state has instead begun widening sections of Route 7. But technically the expressway or Super 7 is still possible – and I use that term very loosely – since the state still owns all that land.

This leads me to Sens. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton and Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, both influential members of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. Boucher wants to put the final nail in the expressway’s coffin. Duff every year promises to fight to make Super 7 a reality. Inevitably one of them manages to sneak a piece of legislation before the General Assembly to accomplish their goal and the other scrambles in the final few days of the session to kill the proposal.

A few years ago Duff was able to insert language into another massive transportation bill requiring the DOT study the completion of Route 7. Boucher, despite her minority party status, had the clout to defeat the effort.

Earlier this year Boucher proposed a bill authorizing the DOT to sell off the Route 7 land. That effort resulted in the language I mentioned above freeing the DOT – but not instructing the agency – to put the property on the market.

Boucher told me today she thought it was a compromise. But as expected, Duff said he plans to try and eliminate that section of the bill when it reaches the Senate before the session ends at midnight on Wednesday.

And repeat next session. Spy vs. Spy.

… he really needs to get the names of his sugary snacks correct.

Cafero, R-Norwalk, is currently lambasting a piece of legislation that would require restaurant chains include calorie information on menus.

In the midst of his speech he referred to junk food ingested by children, including something he called a “Yo Ho.”

Larry, you’ve got your “Ho Hos.” You’ve also got your “Yoo-Hoo.”

“Yo Ho” is what pirates yell and not to be confused with “Hi Ho Hi Ho” which is what dwarves sing while walking through the woods, perhaps while snacking on Ho Hos and drinking Yoo Hoo.