Speaker of the House James Amann called many of Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s proposals “a drop in the bucket.” For instance the nursing home crisis. He said she glossed over the serious problems, such as staff to patient ratios, that exist in nursing homes throughout the state.
Rep. Peter Tercyak of New Britain, who is a nurse, said moving 230 mental health patients out of nursing homes and into community settings by 2011, “doesn’t change things.” He said he would have liked to see increases in staffing levels.
Senate President Donald Williams said she started out her speech talking about help for Connecticut’s families and ended it with something “that doesn’t meet the needs of struggling families.”
Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero said her delivery of the speech was “flawless,” and called it a “befitting kick off to the new legislative session.” Cafero who proposed property tax credits for Connecticut residents just last week, said he doesn’t mind that she’s being cautious by deciding to put the state’s surplus into the Rainy Day fund, instead of giving it back to taxpayers.
