[For aspiring candidates, learn about how to qualify for public finance dollars in the 2008 State Legislative elections. PDF Link here]

The State Elections Enforcement Commission will offer free public informational and training sessions about the Citizen’s Election Program for prospective candidates, treasurers and any other interested individuals. All sessions will be held at the Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT. All sessions will include question and answer periods.

The upcoming sessions will be held at the following dates and times:

• January 29, 2008 – 5:00-7:00pm, Hearing Room 1D
• January 31, 2008 – 2:00-4:00pm, Hearing Room 2D

Please contact the Commission to register for the session date of your choice by calling (860) 256-2940.

The training sessions will describe the major provisions of the Program, such as:

• Raising qualifying contributions,
• Qualifying for a grant from the Citizens’ Election Fund,
• Limits on a participating candidate’s use of personal funds,
• Limits on loans to the committee of a participating candidate,
• Grant amounts,
• Permissible expenditures,
• Expenditure limits, and
• Supplemental payments to a participating candidate facing a high-spending opponent who has not elected to participate in the Program.

CCAG Calls for Ethics Legislation for Public and Quasi Public Boards

In anticipation of tonight’s vote by Members of the Metropolitan District Commission to re-elect William A. DiBella as chairman, the CT Citizen Action Group (CCAG) is calling for new ethics rules that would protect the public from potential exposure to corrupt acts.

“With all the corruption in CT over the last decade, we believe the state must act this session to limit taxpayer’s exposure to potentially corrupt acts,” stated Phil Sherwood, Legislative Director of CCAG.

“Therefore we will be introducing legislation that will forbid individuals who have been banned from serving on boards of publicly traded corporations from serving on public and quasi-public boards, such as the MDC,” said Sherwood. “We’re optimistic the legislature and Gov. Rell will support such a proposal.”