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Mandatory Sick Days Bill May Linger in Senate.

The hotly contested bill requiring Connecticut employers to provide sick days to workers may fester on the Senate calendar if proponents cannot guarantee leaders they have the 18 votes that would allow Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman to break a tie in favor of the controversial measure.  Opponents of the measure think the bill’s supporters have 17 votes, but some of those may be wobbly.  That means they will vote for it if they have to but some would prefer it if the bill is never promenaded around the Senate floor for a debate and vote.

This is where legislative ground gets very slippery.  Fidgety supporters do their maneuvering in private with leaders. Democratic opponents of the bill would like to be spared the pain that comes with opposing a measure that is becoming orthodoxy in some influential wings of the party.  Leaders are going to need help from Senate moderates on more significant bills, so they may not want to wound them in the combat over mandatory sick pay. This is one of the bills that arises every session with implications and consequences beyond its four corners.

2 comments

1 Palin Smith { 03.08.11 at 4:47 pm }

There’s a rampant plague loose in Connecticut’s legislature!
Reckless spending of other peoples’ money is not healthy. You want real health care reform? In 2012 vote out every tax and spend liberal and rino!!

2 Zany { 03.08.11 at 9:32 pm }

I sat in on the Labor Committee meeting and subsequent vote noted in this article. I am not a business owner, just a concerned citizen. The 4 Republicans sat to my left of the co-chairs; the 5 Democrats, to their right. Co-chairs were Rep. ‘Zeke’ Zalaski (Southington) and Sen. Edith Prague (reps. many small towns in central eastern CT).

This meeting began with Rep. ‘Zeke’ announcing that there would be a 30 min limit to discussion on each of the bills they would review that day. Rep. Aman (R) had a problem with that and many good points arguing against that limitation. The Dem. Co-Chairs needed to figure these rules out as they did not know? that they couldn’t limit discussion. Another issue: Rep. Rigby (R) asked Sen. Prague when the hearing would be scheduled for a certain bill that had already been raised in committee. Sen. Prague said that it would not be heard. Larry Cafero was brought in to advise the co-chairs on procedure!!!!!

….for about an hour and a half as the co-chairs had further discussion.

Vote taken on Paid Sick Days bill. 6-5.

Then, discussion on the $ the state borrowed in order to continue paying unemployment comp. $1.5 Billion. The interest on this ‘loan’ is coming due. CT businesses will have to cough up $40/employee by 9/30/11, with each year through 2014, an incrementally higher amount (just for the interest due on this loan). So, a 20 employee business will have an $800 bill this fall. The State of CT Labor Dpt employee spoke to this matter. Rep. Miner (R) spoke to the fact that we have $3.5Bill deficit plus this $1.5Bill loan…plus interest, to which, Sen. Prague said, “Talk about being depressed!” To the Labor employee she asked, “Could there be any attempt for the state to pay off this debt?” then after a pause questioned, “Does this not even make sense? Does what I just said not even make any sense?” She then was counting with great hope on the fact that Dick Durban in D.C. would succeed in getting his bill passed for tax abatements to states that are broke (for loans such as ours). The excellent CBIA speaker, Kia Morrell, advised Sen. Prague that this was not likely as there are now Tea Party Freshmen there and the R’s have a majority in the House. Likely, per Kia, they would not being forgiving debts from the states. Seemed to me that Sen. Prague did not want to go back to her constituent business owners and tell them the bad news of another bill they have to pay. The Senator then did not understand the suggestion, per the feds, that states begin now in ‘saving for a rainy day’ for the next recession, so that their coffers would be filled for the next big unemployment comp. payout a decade or more down the road. Again, Kia Morrell, spoke clearly about how this was a recommendation / wish of the feds, but that she would advise against it, as business owners are broke; don’t have the means to outlay any more $. The Senator said to Kia, “This is not an issue of us against you……Kia, I would appreciate it if you would speak with (the Labor Dpt guy) and get back to us…..as we need a comprehensive opinion as to what is the right thing to do.” (this had been discussed more than once with the good Senator; how it was a suggestion by the feds, but that it was not doable now….given our recession, etc. ) yet still, it didn’t seem to be sinking in.

This was a wake-up call to me about how out-of-touch some of our elected officials are. Note to Prague and Zalaski constituents: you may want to work to affect their next election outcomes. If there are further Labor Committee meetings, try to attend so you can see for yourself.