A Connecticut Law Blog » ct legislature

CT State Senate Approves Probate Court Reform Bill

Ryan — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:03:21 +0000

by Ryan McKeen

The Senate last night approved a bill that cuts the current 117 probate court districts by more than half. It also imposes regular schedules in those courts and requires future probate judges to be attorneys. Conn Politics.TV

You can read the text of the bill here.

My question is where is the state going to put these courts?

I’ve been to dozens of probate courts throughout the state. Many of them are tucked in cramped offices in the basements of local town halls. Very small spaces.

It’s certainly possible for small towns to share a court. For example East Granby and Suffield already do.

I agree that Connecticut has too many probate courts. Mostly in small towns in the eastern and western parts of the state and consolidation is a good idea.

But I suspect that the logistics of implementing this bill will prove to be challenging to say the least.

CT Legislature Passes Deficit Reduction Bill

Ryan — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:30:15 +0000

Connecticut lawmakers have approved a bill aimed at taming the state’s budget deficit, now estimated at more than $1 billion. ConnPolitics.Tv

You can find the bill here.

Read OLR’s analysis here.

I guess the big news is that the legislature will expand the bottle law to include non-carbonated beverages. Don’t they know that all the cool kids have nalgene or Sigg water bottles? Plastic water bottles are so 2000. I hope the legislature factored in cool kids with Sigg bottles in their income projections.

CT legislature considering a dog and cat lemon law

Ryan — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 04:01:23 +0000

By Ryan McKeen

I’ve written about lemons before and Attorney Sergei Lemberg writes about them all the time.

If you’re a long time reader then you know my dog Brady. I adopted Brady from the Hartford Pound as a puppy. Dogs at the pound are given 8 days to be adopted or be put to sleep. Click here for a list of pets available at the Hartford Animal Shelter.

Brady is many things.

She is loving, kind, and a good pet.

She’s also a lemon.

Within months of owning her, Brady had to have major hip surgery. The surgery was needed so that she can walk. Her condition was no fault of Hartford Animal Control.

The legislature is considering protection for residents who purchase a dog or cat from a breeder or a pet store. The proposed law would seek to ensure that cats and dogs sold in Connecticut are healthy at the time of purchase and not subject to inhumane conditions. Check out the text of the bill here.

I’ll take back what I wrote earlier. In no sense is Brady a lemon. She’s lemonade.