Political Capitol

Sen. Eileen Daily, D-Westbrook, is not prepared to convene a full informational hearing of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee over this week’s sudden announcement the state has replaced tax refund checks with JPMorgan Chase debit cards.

But Daily, the finance co-chair with Rep. Pat Widlitz, D-Guilford, said the two will schedule a meeting with Department of Revenue Services Commissioner Kevin Sullivan to learn more about the changes.

Daily said she has no interest in jumping on the “hysterical bandwagon” over the debit cards. But, she said, “We have to make sure the public has nothing to lose here.”

Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield on Tuesday urged the committees on finance, banks and general law hold an informational session so lawmakers could learn more about the reasons behind the change from paper to plastic and allay any fears.

Daily acknowledged that, like McKinney, she only learned of the debit cards this week when DRS Monday announced the new policy in a pretty bare bones statement to the press.

“That’s never well advised,” Daily said.

She said Sullivan should have at least briefed key lawmakers first.

I’ve heard grumbling from a couple Democratic lawmakers and Democratic operatives up at the capitol that this is a manufactured controversy.

Let me make what seem like pretty obvious points.

1. Fair or not, people don’t generally have good feelings for the tax department and are suspicious tax officials are always out to claim more than government’s fair share of their hard-earned paychecks. And then there’s the fact Connecticut’s tax department spent the fall and early winter having to explain glitches that caused folks to suddenly have more taxes than normal withheld from their paychecks.

2. Fair or not, people also don’t have a high opinion of big banks like JPMorgan Chase after the financial crisis.

3. To issue the cards, DRS has to turn over taxpayers’ Social Security Numbers to Chase. People get a little nervous about that. Lawmakers know this. On Tuesday and Wednesday Attorney General George Jepsen and Senate Democrats, respectively, issued press releases about efforts to better protect constituents’ personal data – including Social Security numbers. And Jepsen advised, “Never provide sensitive information, such as your Social Security Number, unless there is a legitimate purpose, such as for employment or health care reasons.” Nothing in there about handing it over to Chase for a tax refund.

4. Whether it’s the banks’ fault or the customers’ fault, some people have trouble using debit cards and the very term can conjure up visions of complicated contracts and high fees and other headaches.

So when you combine all four of the above – the DRS, a big bank, giving out personal information and debit cards – it’s only natural that, unless properly explained, some taxpayers will have a negative reaction. But some decision-makers in Hartford convinced themselves residents would welcome these changes the way they welcome getting a gift card at Christmas.

Daily agreed that just the words “debit card” and “big banks” raise red flags for some.

“Absolutely,” she said. “There are loads of people in my district who operate mainly on a cash and check basis. So this idea of a debit card doesn’t sound like they’re getting money back. (And) a lot instantly don’t trust Chase.”

Sen. Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, and Tom Swan, head of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, rarely agree on policy matters.

But Swan this evening backed up McKinney’s call for legislative Democrats to convene an informational hearing on the Department of Revenue Services’ announcement Monday the agency has replaced tax refund checks with JPMorgan Chase debit cards.

“Why are banks able to profit off people’s refunds?” Swan - no fan of big banking institutions -said.

According to state Treasurer Denise Nappier, the contract with the partnership of Chase and Bridgeport-based People’s United Bank is worth $25,000. There are, however, no fees for using the cards at Chase and People’s ATMs. Fees of $1.50 will be applied at other ATMS after three uses.

Sullivan and Nappier maintain the debit cards are more secure than checks, more convenient and will also cut the state’s administrative costs by an estimated $290,000.

Swan continued, ”This is the type of thing that should be discussed and shared in a public way … Kevin Sullivan should not just be able to go off and do this without any public process.”

McKinney noted DRS didn’t initially explain the bidding procedure Monday and left it to Nappier’s office Tuesday to reveal nine banks showed interest and the contract was worth $25,000.

“It would have been nice if this was released as part of the total rollout Monday,” McKinney said.

Although DRS claims the changeover from paper to plastic tax refunds (direct bank desposits are also still an option) has been in the works for over a year, one person closely involved in tax preparation services knew nothing about it until Monday’s announcement.

“We just heard about it ourselves and we’re putting the word out,” Dan Arnold, state coordinator for the AARP’s tax aid program, told me tonight. “This is the first time we’ve seen this. We just don’t know what the reaction is going to be.”

Here’s our full report on this issue and the calls for a hearing.

State Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, raised $160,000 in the last quarter of 2011 and has roughly $300,000 cash-on-hand, according to a statement from his campaign for U.S. Senate.

For those keeping track, ex-Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, who also wants the nomination, announced this week that her Senate campaign raised “over $273,000 and has cash on hand of about $890,000.”

And earlier this month U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy announced he had raised $720,000 in the 4th quarter.

Tong’s campaign manager continued to try to use his candidate’s underdog status to his advantage:

“Our campaign is an underdog’s campaign and that is exactly what our state needs right now.  Our strategy isn’t to out raise Washington’s candidate.  We aren’t interested in funding our campaign with Wall Street and Washington PAC money.  Our plan is to have the resources necessary to run a very aggressive ground operation and peak at the right time,” said campaign manager, Marc Bradley.

Bradley doesn’t mention Murphy by name, but the “Wall Street” comment echoes accusations Bysiewicz has been leveling at the perceived frontrunner.

To be fair, I just flipped through Tong’s prior financial disclosures yesterday and there were $1,000 and $2,500 donations from folks who perhaps don’t all work directly on Wall Street, but are employed by major players in the financial services industry in Stamford, New York and elsewhere - UBS, Trilogy Capital, Oak Investment Partners, Goldman, Sachs & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Freepoint Commodities, Aladdin Capital, PSQ Capital, Citigroup and Lubben Capital.

Gov. Dannel Malloy today announced the formation of a Red Tape Review and Removal Taskforce charged with reviewing education mandates.

That is the kind of name that only someone with a very serious appreciation for government and a strong belief in the things government can accomplish could suggest with a straight face.

Perhaps this group will achieve great things.

At this moment I will exercise my right to make fun of the absurdity of the name.

You just know politicians are dying to figure out how they can turn the Grote & Weigel sausage company closing to their advantage during this election year where the focus is on jobs/the economy.

So which local pol or congressional candidate is going to be the first to let the dogs out, so to speak?

R.I.P delicious hot dogs

Those of us who spend election years sifting through candidates’ campaign finance reports know that special thrill of stumbling over celebrity, semi-celebrity and/or pseudo-celebrity donors.

Here are some discoveries I made this afternoon…

Saturday Night Live alum Jane Curtin of Sharon gave a small amount – $250 – of her Conehead cash to Democratic state House Speaker Chris Donovan’s bid to represent the 5th Congressional District.

Forensic expert Dr. Henry Lee of Branford was far more generous to state Rep. William Tong, donating a total of $5,000 to the Stamford Democrat’s campaign for the party’s U.S. Senate nomination.

And Robert Gallo, owner of E & J Gallo Winery in California, sent a $500 check to Liz Esty, the ex-state legislator who is competing with Donovan for the 5th District nomination.

One semi-celebrity who has helped Republican U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon in the past is absent from less involved in her most recent campaign filing … Linda McMahon.

McMahon used the wealth her family accumulated through its Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment empire (that’s husband and occasional WWE performer Vince whose hair’s getting yanked) to fund her $50 million Senate run in 2010. McMahon is trying to do more fundraising this time around…

————

January 30, 2012

Linda McMahon’s campaign for US Senate today announced raising $326,646 from 1,085 new donors in the fourth quarter of 2011. More than 80 percent of the contributions to the campaign came from Connecticut residents.
 
The 1,085 individual donors have joined Team Linda as part of a strategic grassroots effort to reach voters across Connecticut.



The chairs of the legislature’s Public Safety and Security Committee, which has oversight over gaming matters, have scheduled a February 2 forum to discuss Connecticut’s entry into the world of online gambling and online lottery sales.

Looking at the current agenda, the groups that stand to benefit from more gambling opportunities outnumber those focused on gambling addiction, four to one.

————

PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMITTEE SCHEDULES

INFORMATIONAL FORUM ON ONLINE GAMING

State Representative Stephen Dargan (D-West Haven) and State Senator Joan Hartley (D-15^th District), Co-Chairs of the Public Safety and Security Committee, are announcing they have scheduled an informational forum on online gaming.

The forum will be held on Thursday, February 2, 2012, in Room 2C, Legislative Office Building, at 10:00 a.m.

The Agenda

1. Opening Remarks

     11. Presentation

                Bob Clark, State Attorney General’s Office

                Chuck Bunnell, Mohegan Sun Casino

                Bill Satti, Foxwoods Resort Casino

                Anne Noble, Connecticut Lottery Corporation

                Brooks Pierce, Sportech, Inc.

                Carlos Reinoso, Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling

In 2010 Mindy Myers helped then-Attorney General Richard Blumenthal portray his opponent for U.S. Senate – Republican Linda McMahon – as a wealthy, out-of-touch candidate using her own fortune to try and buy public office.

In terms of public service, Blumenthal had McMahon beat, having served as the state’s popular chief civil lawyer for two decades. During that time McMahon and her husband were turning Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment into a sometimes controversial international pop culture behemoth.

But Blumenthal was and still is hardly a pauper.

This election year Myers is back managing the Senate bid of a monied Democrat who is acting like they’re not.

Myers in November was hired by Elizabeth Warren, who is trying to unseat Sen. Scott Brown, R-Massachusetts, whose 2010 victory in that blue state Republicans hoped at the time signaled blue Connecticut would also go red for McMahon.

Warren just last week was downplaying her wealth on MSNBC and raising some eyebrows in the process.