Law Commons^™

The Impact Of Connecticut's Clean Election Law: An Empirical Quick Look, A. E. Rodriguez, Lesley A. Denardis

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

The State of Connecticut’s General Assembly passed a Clean Elections Law in 2005. In this paper we conduct a preliminary appraisal of the law’s performance based on recently published data on the voting results of the 2010 and 2008 state-wide office elections. The Clean Elections Law was considered among the most stringent in the nation at the time of its passage. It established full public financing for all elections to state offices, including the state legislature. The law applied to primaries as well as general elections. It allowed for supplemental monies in unbalanced contests pitting a privately-financed candidate against a …

Introduction, The Constitution Of The State Of Connecticut, Gary L. Rose

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Gary Rose has written the introduction to The Constitution of the State of Connecticut, published by Sacred Heart University Press in 2011. This introduction outlines the history of the document drafted in "The Constitution State". The constitutional tradition can be traced to the Fundamental Orders of 1639, drafted by representatives from three Connecticut River towns. In 1662 the Fundamental Orders were replaced by a Royal Charter, formally recognizing Connecticut's system of self-government. Later, the Constitution of 1818 proved to be very effective and served the people of Connecticut until 1965, when a new constitution was again drafted and adopted. …

The Politics Of Reorganizing Connecticut State Government: Altering Administrative Structures In The Land Of Steady Habits, Lesley A. Denardis

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Despite numerous attempts to reorganize state government aimed at streamlining, reducing, and creating greater efficiencies, the size and scope of Connecticut’s administrative apparatus has grown considerably over a fifty year period. This study will trace the political history of previous reorganization efforts with a particular emphasis on more recent attempts such as the Gengras (1970), Filer (1976), Thomas (1991), and Hull and Harper Commissions (1992). Observed trends follow national patterns: 1) reorganization commissions are cyclical in nature more likely to be undertaken in the wake of similar efforts at the federal level and 2) they are more likely to be …

The Constitution Of The State Of Connecticut, Sacred Heart University Press

Sacred Heart University Press Books

Text of the Constitution of the State of Connecticut, including Preamble and Amendments to the Constitution. Preface by Deborah G. Stevenson, J.D. and Gary L. Rose, Ph.D.

The text of the Constitution is from the Secretary of the State of the State of Connecticut, Register Manual, Constitution of the State of Connecticut at < http://www.sots.ct.gov/sots/cwp/view.asp?A=3188&Q=392288 >

Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District: History, Politics, And The Maverick Tradition, Gary L. Rose

Sacred Heart University Press Books

Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District: History, Politics, and the Maverick Tradition is a case study of one of the most unique congressional districts in the United States. Located in Fairfield County, the fourth district is a bedroom community close to New York City. The district's close proximity to Wall Street, the tendency of the district's constituents to elect free-thinking congresspersons, and the wealth and celebrity status of many district residents have resulted in a setting which can be described as an anomaly in the larger context of congressional politics. Contents: Introduction -- Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District: geography and demographics -- A …

Can Allocation By Sortition Resolve The Connecticut Education-Financing Impasse?, A. E. Rodriguez, Lesley Denardis

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

It has been over 40 years since Connecticut amended its Constitution to ensure citizens a right to a free public education. Despite the constitutionally prescribed right, dramatic inequities in educational conditions continued to characterize the state's K-12 educational system, especially between suburban/rural white and urban minority school districts. In the 1970s plaintiffs challenged the prevailing mechanism for allocating education funds with a host of court cases that tackled the thorny question of how much financial responsibility the state should assume to equalize the spending disparities between school districts. Prodded by court decisions, many formulas and approaches have been proposed by …