Tagged: connecticut

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut lawmakers are considering minimum standards for school emergency plans, more drills and additional training in the wake of the Newtown massacre.

West Hartford state Rep. Andrew Fleischmann is co-chairman of the legislature's Education Committee. He says many districts have excellent plans that are properly practiced. But he says some districts might have weak plans, and that's not acceptable.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The issue of highway tolls in Connecticut is back on the legislature's agenda.

The Hearst Connecticut Media Group reports that lawmakers are again considering tolls to raise money as a special transportation fund established decades ago to fix roads and bridges is depleted by officials looking for money.

FARMINGTON, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is proposing a new $200 million fund to help attract and invest in more bioscience companies to the state. 

The Democrat made the announcement on Thursday during a groundbreaking ceremony for The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, which is being built on the grounds of the University of Connecticut Health Center.

Malloy said the new bioscience fund will be part of his two-year state budget proposal, to be presented to the General Assembly on Feb. 6.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut officials are welcoming President Barack Obama's sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence following the deadly shooting at Newtown's Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat, credited the president on Wednesday with taking "the critical first step" in making sure such a tragedy does not happen again. Malloy said the president has offered "common sense measures" that "we should all be able to agree on."

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut legislators are establishing a bipartisan task force to recommend possible legislation to prevent gun violence, provide mental health care and improve school safety.

Senate President Pro-Tem Donald Williams Jr. said Tuesday the group will review current law and could propose a comprehensive bill for a vote by the end of February.

The effort stems from the Dec. 14 shooting rampage at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, which killed 20 first graders and six educators.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut task force recommends that local zoning laws reflect changes in rising sea levels and new flood elevations after two storms devastated the state's shoreline.

The legislative report released Monday recommends that municipalities and the state consider the impact of rising sea levels when deciding whether to build or issuing public health permits for sewage disposal.