Extraordinary exemptions from common sense requirements have not been enough to steady the finances of the comptroller’s health insurance Connecticut Partnership Plan. The program requires another bailout to keep its municipal members from a 10.5% increase.

The Connecticut Partnership Plan received a $40 million infusion from the state in December. Without it, the Plan would have inflicted a 14.5% increase on plan members this year. Members were advised to plan for an 8% increase in their budget deliberations. They were recently told that advice had become inoperative. The cost of coverage would be hiked by 10.5%.

Legislators and Local leaders locked in three-year contracts with the plan scambled over the weekend to claw another $25 million from taxpayers. Then-State Comptroller Kevin Lembo told legislators last year, “The Connecticut Partnership Plan has an enrollment of nearly 60,000 members and over 140 participating groups. That plan has allowed the municipalities that voluntarily join to protect themselves from skyrocketing costs due to a few catastrophic health events, keep costs predictable and offer the highest-quality care to teachers, first responders and other town and city workers.”

What’s been predictable is that without the reserves required of private health insurance companies, the state treasury will constantly be at risk of looting by the the Connecticut Partnership Plan. Rates charged by private health insurance companies are regulated by the state’s insurance department. Those companies are required to maintain significant reserves to deal with the swings and roundabouts that circumstances can inflict on the most prudent expectations of human behavior.

In February 2021, Lembo told legislators, “The Partnership Plan is now projected to run at an MLR under 100% for the foreseeable future, cementing its reputation as a market-leading option for municipal and non-state government groups.” Fifteen months have battered that declaration.

At the same public hearing, Senator Matt Lesser pointed out in what now looks like a misbegotten attempt to be helpful to Lembo that “in fact you’re directed to reduce risk to taxpayers and to make sure we are protecting the General Fund in the State of Connecticut.” Lembo replied, “That’s correct, Senator.”

A correct statement of the law but not of the plan’s finances. Lesser should have an opportunity to explain what’s gone wrong in the past 14 months.

Approval of an annual increase of 14.5%, 10.5% or 8% sought by a private insurer would draw the fury of consumer groups and the comptroller’s office. The same people who criticize companies that operate in the regulated market will likely remain silent as the comptroller’s plan scrambles to convince legislators to require taxpayers to provide tens of millions more in rescue financing.

Published May 2, 20222.

What a difference a federal criminal investigation makes. In November 2019, then-Office of Policy and Management Secretary Melissa McCaw was in a twist over the grim state of the Connecticut Port Authority. A CT Mirror story by Keith Phaneuf highlighting more embarrassing revelations included in a report from state auditors had caught McCaw’s attention.

McCaw told the agency’s spokesperson, Chris McClure, that she needed the durable Democrat to “take the lead on crafting OPM’s comm plan to highlight our extensive and outstanding work, including timing of release, etc. Currently the administration is silent and all these audit issues and I want to get in front of it and be clear that we’ve taken the lead and we are restoring the financial integrity and related and confidence back into this organization…This progress is not DECD’s. It is OPM.”

McCaw subordinate Jeffrey Beckham replied that he and colleague Robert Dakers would be delivering the budget agency’s testimony at a December 4th legislative hearing on the audit. “Draft it,” McCaw replied, “I might present it depending on workload although I believe I’m scheduled to be out.” McCaw did big foot Beckham and Dakers at the daylong hearing, presenting testimony alongside Paul Mounds, Governor Ned Lamont’s chief of staff, and David Kooris, who was serving as acting chair of the authority as well as deputy commissioner of DECD.

In the aftermath of the port authority scandals, McCaw’s deputy and close friend, Kostantinos Diamantis, was given extraordinary dominion over the State Pier project at the New London port. The decision by Lamont to entrust Diamantis with extensive power baffled observers at the time. Federal criminal investigators appear to be focused on the former Democratic state representative’s role in the creation of a $235 million wind turbine hub.

The emails were included in the Lamont administration’s compliance with a federal subpoena seeking documents related to the probe. Nobody is in the hunt for credit now. McCaw and Diamantis have left OPM. Beckham has succeeded McCaw. Lamont continues to be notably incurious about who knew what at OPM.

The federal criminal investigation, which Lamont said he learned of “in passing” from his corruption-busting legal counsel, continues.

Published April 29, 2022.

Bookish Ructions readers, you are making a difference. You may not have known you have contributed to creating a “literary landscape.” Greater Hartford ranks number two in a ranking of best book cities, the Washington Post’s Book Club reports. Providence tops the list.

Clever Real Estate, The Post’s Ron Charles writes in his newsletter, “analyzed data on libraries, indie bookstores, literacy rates, bookish Google searches and coffee shops to rank the 50 most populous metro areas ‘from the best to the worst cities for book-lovers.'” 

Boston will be miffed to have placed third. College students reading Instagram and watching Tik Tok must not have been included in the calculation.

Now get back to Proust.

Published April 29, 2022.

U.S. Senate hopeful Leora Levy has used most of the campaign contributions she has received to reduce her $750,000 loan to the campaign. Levy’s pre-nominating convention campaign finance report shows the Greenwich Republican has raised $338,000 in contributions. She’s used $250,000 to reduce her loan to the campaign to $500,000.

Candidates Themis Klarides and Peter Lumaj each have about the same amount of cash on hand. Klarides has $392,000 on April 17th, the end of the reporting period. The former state legislator had an outstanding loan of $40,000 to her campaign. Lumaj, a Fairfield Republican making his fourth bid for statewide office, has provided his campaign with $250,000 and reported $447,000 in the bank 11 days ago. Levy reported $450,000 on hand after the repayment to herself.

The race to be their party’s underdog challenger to Democratic incumbent Richard Blumenthal has reached the pre-convention guerrilla stage. A helpful Daily Ructions reader pointed out that Levy and her husband were contributors to Richard Blumenthal’s 1998 campaign. Expect more of that in the next week—and keep checking Daily Ructions.

Published April 28, 2022.

Top Lamont administration budget adviser and head of school constructions grants Kostantinos Diamantis mixed state and personal affairs in his state email account. The former Democratic legislator’s messages were included in a response to a federal subpoena requesting documents from the state as part of an ongoing corruption investigation. The administration has made thousands of documents provided to in compliance with the subpoena available under the Freedom of Information Act.

One thread of emails that Diamantis forwarded to his state email account details the saga of his successful efforts to obtain a boost in financial aid from a Vermont prep school for the youngest of his five daughters. Diamantis details where his other daughters went to school and tells a Vermont Academy official in a March 11, 2021 message, “At 65 I live a simple lifestyle dedicating my life to all 5 of their education.” The e-mail was sent 3 years after Diamantis added, according to public records, an 18’ x 36’ in-ground pool at his Farmington home. The building permit estimates the cost at $15,000.

A happy ending.

Published April 28, 2022.

Peter Mariano, Naugatuck’s judge of probate nearing the end of his fifth term, will return to Waterbury’s criminal court in May. The Republican’s four criminal files for three 2021 arrests for driving under the influence and two for operating a vehicle under suspension were scheduled to be heard on Monday, after being moved from their May 23rd court date last Friday afternoon.

Mariano is seeking a fifth term as probate judge. He faces state Representative Rosa Rebimbas (R-Naugatuck) at their party’s May 18th nominating convention. Even in this era of political tumult, it would be unusual for a major political party to nominate a candidate in Mariano’s dismaying situation for a judgeship.

Published April 28, 2022.

State Senator Matt Lesser may have made a decision. The Middletown Democrat will make a “special announcement” Thursday at 2 p.m. in Minute Man Park.

Lesser has been running for the Democratic nomination for secretary of the state under the guise of a campaign finance exploratory committee. With the party’s state convention scheduled to endorse candidates for the state ticket on May 7th, Lesser has reached a time for choosing. Run for secretary of the state or run for re-election to the Senate?

An announcement Thursday that he will compete at the state convention allows Democrats in the 9th Senate District to become candidates to face popular Rocky Hill mayor Lisa Marotta. the Republican candidate in the district that includes Cromwell, Middletown, Newington, Rocky Hill and part of Wethersfield. State Representative Gary Turco, a two-term Newington Democrat, is ready to launch his campaign for the Senate. The deference senators impose on others come with a sell-by date attached to election calendars.

Lesser, who bills himself as an “independent voice” on his Senate website, faces fellow Democrats Maritza Bond, and state Representatives Josh Elliott, Hilda Santiago, and Stephanie Thomas for their party’s nomination. New Haven Democrat Darryl Brackeen is no longer in the race.

Published April 27, 2022.

Governor Ned Lamont has withdrawn the nomination of Alina Marquez-Reynolds to the Superior Court, Daily Ructions has learned. Monday’s hearing on the Fairfield lawyer revealed she was quickly ushered through the approval process for no clear reason. Marquez-Reynolds was admitted to practice law in Connecticut on Friday, three days before Monday’s hearing.

Governors rarely lose a judicial nomination. It is difficult to recall a governor whose party enjoys overwhelming control of the legislature blundering so seriously that party members in the House and Senate cannot hold their noses, avert their gazes and lift the governor’s choice to the bench. Associate Justice Andrew McDonald’s nomination for Chief Justice was narrowly approved by the House and defeated by the evenly divided Senate when two Democrats joined 18 Republicans to oppose Dannel P. Malloy’s 2018 nomination of his close adviser. A Senate with today’s 23-13 partisan divide would have approved McDonald with no suspense.

Judiciary Committee members appeared ready to advance Marquez-Reynolds’s nomination to the full legislature Monday afternoon. They decided to hold the nomination as questions on when she had obtained in-house counsel status after joining the Grace Farm Foundation in 2019.

Published April 26, 2022.

A remarkable day at the Judiciary Committee. Governor Ned Lamont’s nomination of Alina Marquez-Reynolds, of Fairfield, ran into trouble after the committee learned that Marquez-Reynolds was admitted to practice law in Connecticut on Friday. That’s Friday, April 22nd, three days before the hearing and nine days after Lamont nominated the former assistant United States attorney to the Superior Court.

Marquez-Reynolds has served as general counsel to Grace Farms Foundation, a Connecticut-based non-profit organization, from 2019. She did not, however, become an Authorized House Counsel until 2021. Told of an opportunity to ascend to the Superior Court, Marquez-Reynolds applied to the Judicial Selection Commission and was given unusually quick consideration. The Commission appears not to have inquired if Marquez-Reynolds was admitted to practice law in Connecticut, a prerequisite, one would think, to consideration and approval.

Lamont and his staff appear to have been unusually incurious about the details of Marquez-Reynolds’s status as a lawyer admitted to practice law in Connecticut. The nomination of a lawyer who was not admitted to practice in Connecticut when the governor nominated her to the bench reflects the low regard in which Lamont holds lawyers, judges, and our courts.

The committee adjourned Monday without voting on the nomination. The legislature’s regular session ends at midnight on Wednesday, May 4th.

Published April 25, 2022.

Supporters of exempting Tesla from Connecticut’s automobile franchise act are on the move as the legislature enters its last 10 days of its regular session. The proposal may be considered by the Senate early this week.

Connecticut law has for decades required manufacturers to sell their cars and trucks to the public through dealerships. The dealers have long been seen as a bulwark against the market manipulation powers of manufacturers. The dealers provide service to consumers and provide the market with competition. Tesla’s supporters want to exempt the electric vehicle manufacturer from the law but dare not try to repeal the act. Instead they will extend privilege to privilege and allow Tesla to dispense with dealers required of other manufacturers.

In the pursuit of selling a car, whether it’s a traditional gasoline vehicle or an innovative electric model, having clarity on its value is paramount. With the evolving landscape of regulations and market preferences, leveraging tools like car valuation services becomes essential for sellers. These services provide individuals with comprehensive insights into their vehicle’s worth, taking into account various factors such as make, model, mileage, and condition.

Regardless of the regulatory landscape, understanding how much is my car worth to sell empowers sellers to navigate the sales process confidently, ensuring they receive fair compensation for their vehicle. As debates surrounding dealership requirements and manufacturer privileges unfold, sellers can rely on valuation tools to guide their decisions and secure favorable outcomes in the ever-changing automotive market.

Tesla’s boosters blotted their copy early this year when two state senators, Will Haskell and Bob Duff, were scheduled to appear at a Senate Democratic campaign fundraiser in Westport. The invitation to the event stated revealed donations would “provide leadership with leverage to fence-sitters” on the Tesla bill.

Haskell and Duff may have hit the fundraising target the blunt appeal claimed was essential to purchase votes. Fence-sitters could risk face harsh examination at home if they embrace the legislation. What price Tesla? Which Senate Democrats will have traded equality under the law for campaign contributions? Only a roll-call will tell.

As part of their campaign to give the trillion dollar company special treatment, last week Tesla’s supporters accused auto dealers of racism. Tesla advocates, on the other hand, appear unmoved by or unaware of workers’ complaints of abuse at a notorious company plant. California officials alleged in a February lawsuit that Tesla managers have ignored “years of complaints from Black employees at” its Fremont factory.

This month, a federal judge upheld a California jury verdict finding Tesla liable for ignoring racial abuse heaped on a Black worker at the California plant. The judge reduced the jury’s damages award to the employee to $15 million.

Brutal treatment of employees may matter little to the odd sentimentality that can sometimes poison decisions at the legislature. Sound public policy may have trouble competing with a handful of influential Democrats’ desire to give a parting gift to Haskell. The Westport Democrat is leaving for law school after two terms. Seen by some Democratic colleagues as a tiresome credit hog, Haskell has been a champion of abandoning fairness to satisfy Tesla. Leaders are said to want to hand him a win on his way out the door.

Auto dealers, often active and generous supporters of community organizations and events, will have to rouse themselves into action Monday. They will need to remind legislators they seek only what lawmakers often promise: a level playing field. It’s not a lot to expect in a place that calls itself the Constitution State.

Published April 24, 2022.