As Connecticut marks Election Day with customary fanfare, it should be noted this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Connecticut General Assembly voting to abolish the county government system, on May 9, 1958.
Connecticut county governments never gained the importance of those in other states (such as New York), according to Rosaline Levensen, a historian who wrote a 1966 book on the topic. That was in part due to the state assuming some functions such as liquor licensing and foster care that eroded revenue and influence, and partly because towns controlled property taxes.
Becoming effective in 1960, the law was the first salvo in sweeping changes to the state”™s legal system over the next decade. Connecticut replaced its local courts in favor of district courts in 1961; and created six Congressional districts roughly equal in population in 1964 (that number was reduced to five in 2001).
And in 1965, in a rare example of eponymous legislation, the Constitution State authorized and approved a new constitution.
Fifth most interesting new business name:
Coastline Consignment, Bridgeport
(A fresh way to market beachfront property.)
Fourth most interesting new business name:
Club Sandwich of New Canaan, New Canaan
(Make it a putter on rye and a shillelagh on pumpernickel.)
County government looks to doff shroud
Of course, the question of whether to convene a Constitutional Convention was again on the Connecticut state ballot this year, as is the case every 20 years. The stakes were raised after the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled gay marriage legal in Connecticut, and the Catholic church threw its weight behind the measure.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell has stated that she is open to the idea of limited use of referendum questions to give citizens the right to vote directly on proposed laws.
Third most interesting new business name:
Science United Network Occupational Services and Health Association, Bridgeport
(Casting brevity to the wind since 2008.)
Second most interesting new business name:
Diamond Dreams, Westport
(One of life”™s largely gender-specific dreams.)
The most interesting new business name:
Hula and Limbo, Westport
(Where being spineless is a plus.)
A really big suggestion box
The Rell administration has created a new Web site that gives taxpayers an opportunity review the entire two-year state budget and make recommendations on how to make state government more efficient via a “submit ideas” section.
The interactive budget can be accessed by clicking on the “Budget Forum” link on the governor”™s Web site at: www.ct.gov/governorrell.
“We welcome scrutiny. We welcome ideas,” Rell said, in a written statement. “This is not my budget, nor the Legislature”™s. It belongs to the taxpayers of Connecticut who have a right to be part of the process, and most importantly, the solution.”
How about a line-item veto?
