by Christine Stuart

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will be proposing sweeping changes to Connecticut’s religious-based “blue laws” that regulate the sale of alcohol, according to several sources who have been briefed on the proposal.

Malloy is expected to announce on Saturday that he wants to allow package stores to sell alcohol on Sundays and will allow them to stay open until 10 p.m., instead of 9 p.m.

Under the proposal, restaurants and bars will be allowed to stay open until 2 a.m. every day of the week, if they choose. Currently, they are only able to stay open until 2 a.m. on the weekends. Click here to read more…..

This morning, I’m being sworn in as an alternate on the East Granby Planning & Zoning Commission.  I’m eager to serve my community in this capacity as I’m interested in land use.

As is the case in many small towns, I was drafted into this position. Our Democratic Town Committee meeting went like this:

Chair: We need someone to serve as P&Z alternate. Ryan, how about you?

Me: Does this require campaigning? Can I lose this election?

Chair: No and no.

Me: I’ll accept.

Before getting sworn in, I decided to ask Westlaw what an alternate member of a planning and zoning commission does? Here’s what I found:

Alternate members must be electors and cannot be members of the zoning commission or the zoning board of appeals.  The statute allows alternates to attend all meetings and executive sessions of the planning commission, but they should not participate in the discussion or decision of the application unless they are designated to participate on it instead of a regular member of the commission. 9 Conn. Prac., Land Use Law & Prac. § 10:2 (3d ed.)

So unless there is a vacancy or a conflict – I’ll be listening and learning.

Wishing you a great 2012.

I really hope that in 2012 the General Assembly kills the blue laws on our books. These laws are nonsensical barriers in a free market.  Connecticut loses revenue as a result of these laws. If you don’t believe me, check out all of the Connecticut license plates at stateline package stores this weekend.  Here’s the line from  DCP:

“We typically receive many inquiries from liquor retailers, police officers, and the general public about this matter, so I want to ensure that buyers and sellers understand what the law says,” Rubenstein said. “According to Section 30-91d of the Connecticut General Statutes, when Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on Sunday, retail sales of liquor on that Sunday and the following Monday are prohibited. In short, package stores will not be open on December 26^th or on January 2^nd.  Link.

(this headline is my editorial commentary and was not drafted by Mr. McQuaid)

by Hugh McQuaid

Anyone planning to have a drink on Monday, the day after Christmas, should stock up this Saturday. Liquor stores in Connecticut will be closed on Dec. 26 due to a little-known state law.

Connecticut’s religious-based “blue laws” prevent liquor stores from opening on Sundays but when Christmas falls on a Sunday, Section 30-91d of the Connecticut General Statutes also requires package stores to remain closed the next day, according to a press release from the Department of Consumer Protection. The same will apply the week after when New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday.

“We typically receive many inquiries from liquor retailers, police officers, and the general public about this matter, so I want to ensure that buyers and sellers understand what the law says,”DCP Commissioner William M. Rubenstein said. “…In short, package stores will not be open on Dec. 26 or on Jan. 2.”  Click here to read more.

Attorney General George Jepsen today announced a $34.25 million multistate settlement with GE Funding Capital Market Services, Inc. (“GE Funding”) as part of an ongoing nationwide investigation of alleged illegal conduct in the municipal bond derivatives industry.

Connecticut and New York led the investigation for the working group of 24 states and the District of Columbia. As part of the multistate settlement, GE Funding has agreed to pay $30 million in restitution to affected state agencies, municipalities, school districts and not-for-profit entities nationwide that entered into guaranteed investment contracts with GE Funding and two of its affiliates – Trinity Funding Company, LLC and Trinity Plus Funding Company, LLC – between 1999 and 2005.

The State of Connecticut and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority are expected to receive approximately $185,000 in restitution under the settlement. As a lead state in the investigation, Connecticut also will receive an as-yet undetermined share of a $1.25 million civil penalty and $3 million in fees and expenses for the investigation, which GE Funding agreed to pay to the settling states.

“This is a good result for the State and the people of Connecticut. It reflects the determination of the multistate task force to investigate and take action against wrongful conduct in the municipal bond derivatives marketplace,” Attorney General Jepsen said.

“GE Funding, Trinity Funding and Trinity Plus all violated the trust that bond issuers placed in them.  This settlement and the accompanying federal settlements will help to compensate the issuers for their losses as a result of the wrongful conduct,” Jepsen said.

The multistate settlement is one component of a coordinated, global $70 million settlement that GE Funding entered into today.  GE Funding also reached agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Internal Revenue Service.

GE Funding is the fifth financial institution to settle with the multistate working group in the ongoing municipal bond derivatives investigation following Bank of America, UBS AG, JP Morgan and Wachovia.  To date, the state working group has obtained settlements worth almost $350 million for the participating states.

The states’ investigation developed evidence that certain traders at GE Funding, in concert with certain brokers, engaged in conduct that allowed the broker to determine in advance that GE Funding would win a bid for a guaranteed investment contract. The conduct allowed GE Funding to submit a “last look’’ bid, while the broker arranged for other financial institutions to submit purposely non-winning courtesy bids.  Because of the “last look,” on many occasions GE Funding was able to lower its bid to the issuer and still win the transaction.

Jepsen acknowledged GE Funding’s cooperation, which helped the states to pursue its investigation into the municipal bond derivatives industry, and for providing restitution to those harmed by the unfair practices.

Municipal bond derivatives are contracts that tax-exempt issuers use to reinvest proceeds of bond sales until the funds are needed, or to hedge interest-rate risk. Guaranteed investment contracts are a specific type of municipal bond derivative.

In April 2008, the states began investigating allegations that various schemes to rig bids and commit other deceptive, unfair and fraudulent conduct in the municipal bond derivatives market, were being used by certain large financial institutions, including national banks and insurance companies, and certain brokers and swap advisors.

The ongoing broader investigation uncovered alleged collusive and deceptive conduct involving individuals at certain financial institutions, and certain brokers with whom they had working relationships. The alleged wrongful conduct took the form of bid-rigging, submission of non-competitive courtesy bids and submission of fraudulent certifications of compliance to government agencies, among others, in contravention of U.S. Treasury regulations.

The objective of the schemes was to enrich the financial institution and/or the broker at the expense of the issuer – - and ultimately taxpayers – - depriving the issuer of a competitive, transparent marketplace. As a result of the alleged wrongful conduct, state, city, local, and not-for-profit entities entered into municipal derivatives contracts on less advantageous terms than they would have otherwise.