As many of you saw in our special edition of In the Loop, long time Speaker of the House Jim Amann announced his retirement in the hall of the House. It was touching to see the reaction from his colleagues. Republican Leader Larry Cafero was warm and personal with his congratulations for Amann's decision for a new direction in his future while Majority Leader Chris Donovan remarks were touching and, true to form, humorous!

In the halls - WOW - the talk was wild and curious. Why now? What's really up? The news spread so fast, we had agency folks calling to make sure the news was true.

So what does it all mean? With the huge majority of Democrats divided into several caucuses - the Freshman, Minority, Moderate, and the Progressive to name the largest and most active - there's going to be a lot of horse trading going on. Many current committee chairs almost anticipated they would run one more time to return as a committee chair again and then see what the future has brought. Now some are talking about whether it's worth the grueling primary run and the adjustment to new campaign finance requirements to return. They also wonder if they will be appointed by the new speaker to a chairmanship.

Only time will tell. With less than two weeks left in the session, there was need to focus priorities especially when the state finance numbers will become public this week, let alone try to figure out who will be sitting in what seat come next January's opening day.

You can count on us to keep tabs and bring you the newest developments!

This week, Senate President Williams announced that AARP will begin an two-week campaign to help Connecticut become the first state in the nation to offer a universal 401(k) plan. SB 652 An Act Concerning Small Business Retirement Plans was first unveiled back in February. Twelve other states, including California, are considering similar legislation.

SB 652 would pool together employees from small businesses across Connecticut to create a 401(k) plan. Currently, 75 percent of small businesses in Connecticut do not offer pension or retirement savings plans. Advocates claim that this legislation will help small businesses be more competitive with their larger counterparts.

It's a controversial initiative with the area's major financial services companies expressing grave concerns over the impact on their growing business portfolios.

"The fees associated with 401(k) plans have a disproportionate impact on people who work for small businesses. The result is that the majority of these employees don't have 401(k) plans, and at the same time, the small businesses are at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to recruiting workers," said Williams.

In addition to launching an advertising campaign, AARP also released a report stating that "...nearly six out of ten private sector workers in Connecticut do not participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan." The report also states, "...the prominent problem in the state of Connecticut is retirement plan coverage for the 36 percent of workers employed by small firms."

Even under the Senate President's program there are big questions if small business owners would take advantage since they would still remain liable under federal rules for the general decisions made about the plans.

Businesses would have the option to join this program and would not have to contribute to the plan unless they chose to do so. Businesses could also opt out of the plan at any time. The plan would cost $500,000 in start up fees that would be recouped through administrative fees. The net cost to the state would therefore be zero.

Williams commented that the AARP report, "shows the bold and dynamic direction we need to move in to ensure fiscal stability." "We're ready to take on the special interests and fight for working families and small businesses here in Connecticut," he added.

SB 652 is currently awaiting action in the Senate. We'll keep you posted.

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 do not have the numbers to do so in both chambers, they are short in the Senate.

As the House and Senate flip bills between chambers in the next two weeks, S&L will continue to post the bills that are of special interest and have been signed into law. They will be assigned a public act number (PA) or special act number (SA) if signed by the Governor. So far the Governor has not taken out her veto pen! But don't think she won't. If you recall last session in total she vetoed six public acts.

Governor Rell signed this week:
HB 5748 AN ACT CONCERNING TEENAGE DRIVERS

So far this session, Sullivan & LeShane has been involved with more than 650 bills. Here's a quick summary of their status:

Died in committee: 332 bills (almost half - sometimes this is a good thing!)

Moved to the Foot of the Senate Calendar: 26 bills (meaning on hold until the budget is passed or being held for a potential vehicle for some other reason)

Passed by the House and Senate: 20 bills (as we've reported there hasn't been much action happening as both chambers get bogged down in 6 hour debates on a regular basis)

Signed by the Governor: 4 bills

Days left: 9!

Bills still hanging around - 276 bills (looks like it's gonna be a hectic nine days!)