It seems like a strange time to begin talking about campaigns again, but with only a few weeks remaining until local town committees nominate their local candidates, Governor Rell has signed legislation that will take the luck out of politics.

Since Connecticut's leaders pulled the state constitution out of the Charter Oak, it has been common practice to decide a tied election using a coin toss. Well, maybe not that long ago, the Secretary of State tells us it was actually formally enacted in 1955. It is unclear how many times this method has been used throughout history, but we know for certain that this luck of the toss was instrumental in changing the face of CT politics in the 70's and was utilized again just recently in the 2006 elections.

Infamous former Speaker of the House Irv Stolberg (D- New Haven) was first elected in a primary in 1971 by winning a coin toss. During his time in office, Stolberg chaired the Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee. He held the coveted position of Speaker of the House for two terms in '85-'86 and then again when the Dem's took back control of the House in '89- '90. He then went on to be Speaker-at-Large in '91 and '93 prior to retiring. His biggest legacy is what is now called the LOB (Legislative Office Building) and the modern day legislature complete with full time staff and a budget, now at $36 billion, to manage and operate the state legislature. All of that from one lucky flip!

The most recent use of the coin toss was in 2006. Two Democratic candidates for the 41st House Seat, Elissa Wright and Rita Schmidt, were neck and neck going into primary day. When all was said and done, each candidate managed to earn 457 votes. The election was dead even and something had to be done to break the tie. Political scholars studied the issue and found that the matter was to be decided by a coin toss (or in other words: luck). In the end, Elissa Wright came out the winner as the Charter Oak Quarter lands tails up.

Even though a dead even race is a rarity in the political world, it seems to be occurring more frequently. More and more races are being won by the narrowest of margins, with the 2000 presidential race being the most famous example in recent history, or even the 2nd Congressional district race in 2006 where now Congressman Joe Courtney defeated former Congressman Rob Simmons by a mere 83 votes. In the 2006 elections in CT, there was one race decided within one vote and several more under 20. In Connecticut, there is an automatic recount triggered if the margin of votes between the winner and loser is less than 20 votes and/or less than one half of one percent of all ballots cast.

But luck will not prevail here in Connecticut any longer. Governor Rell signed a bill recently that would require a special run-off election to be held in the case of a tie, whether it is a primary or general election. This law would also apply to statewide elections as well. Previously, when candidates running for statewide office tied, the General Assembly picked a winner.

It is a benefit to all of Connecticut's citizens that the choosing of our elected officials will no longer be left up to lucky coin tosses. The power will reside where it is meant to be - in the voters' hands. Some may say that if more residents got out to vote then maybe this new law may not have been needed!

This week, Governor Rell offered her sixth veto on HB 7338 AAC the Implementation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). As its title implies, this bill may not be as "sexy" as some of the other recently vetoed issues such as the legalization of marijuana for patients with prescriptions or offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. Nonetheless, the issue is still important as it illustrates the eye for detail that the administration must have when sifting through mounds of passed bills.

The intended purpose of the bill according to the Governor was, "to allow both the Office of the Comptroller and the Office of Policy and Management greater flexibility with regard to the preparation of the annual state budget." However, rather than limiting that authority to the preparation of the state budget, the language as drafted was much broader. Essentially, the bill could allow the state comptroller to prepare financial statements in whatever manner he or she saw fit, rather than following GAAP guidelines, the industry standard. "There is no doubt our State Comptroller [Nancy Wyman] does not intend to deviate from GAAP for financial reporting purposes, but there is nothing in HB 7338 that would prevent a future Comptroller from doing so," said the Governor in her veto statement.

While Governor Rell vetoed this piece of legislation, she did articulate that she is more than willing to the support the original intention of the bill. While the Governor has a slew of attorneys, commissioners, and staff members who help review the mountains of legislation that reach her desk, she too scrutinizes every bill. Clearly, even when the issue is not big and controversial, sometimes big problems can arise from even the smallest, overlooked, or even unintentional, sections of bills. Looks like the Governor caught the problem this time; just 44 bills left to inspect. We'll see if the rest of the bunch will make the grade.

According to the joint rules of the legislature, after a bill is passed by both the House and Senate during session, the Governor has 5 calendar days, exclusive of Sundays and holidays, from when a bill is presented to sign or veto the bill. After session has adjourned, the bill becomes a law unless the Governor vetoes the bill within 15 calendar days after presentment. It takes at least 2/3 of the members of each house to override the Governor's veto. The Democrats currently have the numbers to do so in both chambers.

As the House and Senate pass bills, S&L will continue to post the bills that are of interest to our clients that have been signed into law and become public acts (PA) or special acts (SA), or vetoed, by Governor Rell. For a list of bills passed, but not yet acted upon by the Governor, please click the link below.

The Governor signed the following regular session bills:
PA 07-170 (SB 1249) AN ACT CONCERNING TAX ABATEMENTS FOR PROPERTY CONVEYED TO A NONPROFIT LAND CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION

PA 07-173 (HB 7025) AN ACT CONCERNING CIVIL PREPAREDNESS

PA 07-176 (HB 7210) AN ACT CONCERNING THE PREVENTION OF ABUSIVE AND DECEPTIVE DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES

PA 07-177 (HB 7231) AN ACT INCLUDING ON- BOARD OIL REFINING SYSTEMS IN THE DEFINITION OF LOCAL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

PA 07-178 (HB 7263) AN ACT CONCERNING THE HEALTH CARE CENTERS AND INSOLVENCY PROTECTION

PA 07-179 (SB 429) AN ACT CONCERNING LAW ENFORCEMENT AND FIRE RESCUE VESSELS

PA 07-180 (SB 703) AN ACT CONCERNING FIRE SAFE CIGARETTES

PA 07-185 (SB 1484) AN ACT CONCERNING THE HEALTHFIRST CONNECTICUT AND HEALTHY KIDS INITIATIVES

PA 07-189 (HB 7249) AN ACT CONCERNING THE COLLECTION AND RECYCLING OF COVERED ELECTRONIC DEVICES

PA 07-191 (SB 1213) AN ACT CONCERNING THE FINANCIAL SECURITY REQUIREMENT FOR PREFERRED PROVIDER NETWORKS

PA 07-192 (SB 1258) AN ACT CONCERNING UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS

PA 07-197 (SB 66) AN ACT EXPANDING INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR SPECIALIZED FORMULAS FOR CHILDREN

PA 07-198 (SB 1172) AN ACT CONCERNING WHOLESALE BEER PRICE POSTING AND MODIFYING BEER PACKAGING FOR CONSUMPTION ON AND OFF PREMISES

PA 07-199 (SB 1392) AN ACT CONCERNING THE DIESEL FUEL TAX

PA 07-200 (SB 74) AN ACT REQUIRING THE REGISTRATION OF PHARMACY BENEFITS MANAGERS

PA 07-201 (SB 145) AN ACT CONCERNING THE FILING OF CERTAIN STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL INTEREST AND ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE OFFICE OF STATE ETHICS CONCERNING MUNICIPAL ETHICS

PA 07-203 (SB 761) AN ACT CONCERNING REIMBURSEMENT FOR PAYMENTS MADE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES FOR THE CARE OF A CHILD

PA 07-204 (SB 848) AN ACT CONCERNING LOANS TO MUNICIPALITIES TO FULLY FUND PENSION SYSTEMS

PA 07-207 (SB 1054) AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF DETERIORATING AND DETERIORATED PROPERTY IN REDEVELOPMENT AREAS, REFERRAL OF STATEMENTS OF COMPENSATION TO THE OMBUDSMAN FOR PROPERTY RIGHTS, A STUDY OF THE CALCULATION OF LOST GOOD WILL FOR RELOCATION ASSISTANCE FOR DISPLACED BUSINESSES AND COMPENSATION FOR OUTDOOR ADVERTISING STRUCTURES

PA 07-208 (SB 1110) AN ACT CONCERNING SECURITY ASSESSMENTS AND ASSISTANCE FOR SCHOOLS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

PA 07-209 (HB 5639) AN ACT CONCERNING THE CLOSING OF A LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY

PA 07-210 (HB 6897) AN ACT CONCERNING LIQUIDATED DAMAGES PROVISIONS IN CONTRACTS AND REQUESTS FOR MORTGAGE PAYOFF STATEMENTS

PA 07-211 (HB 6988) AN ACT UPDATING THE SOCIAL SECURITY RETIREMENT AGE TO REFLECT FEDERAL CHANGES AND CONCERNING A RETIREMENT ANNUITY PROGRAM FOR MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES

PA 07-212 (SB 739) AN ACT CONCERNING THE NEW MOTOR VEHICLE LEMON LAW

PA 07-215 (HB 7204) AN ACT CONCERNING THE ENFORCEABILITY OF AUTOMATIC CONTRACT RENEWAL PROVISIONS

PA 07-219 (HB 5751) AN ACT ESTABLISHING A PILOT FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER TRAINING PROGRAM

PA 07-220 (SB 1277) AN ACT CONCERNING TOURISM DISTRICT REPRESENTATION AND THE CONNECTICUT MUSIC HALL OF FAME

PA 07-253 (HB 7182) AN ACT CONCERNING CERTIFIED COMPETITIVE VIDEO SERVICE

The Governor vetoed the following bill:
PA 07-229 (HB 7338) AN ACT CONCERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES (GAAP)