{"id":1650,"date":"2009-03-10T17:08:03","date_gmt":"2009-03-10T21:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=1650"},"modified":"2009-03-10T17:39:21","modified_gmt":"2009-03-10T21:39:21","slug":"connecticut-backs-off-plans-to-regulate-catholic-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/03\/10\/connecticut-backs-off-plans-to-regulate-catholic-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecticut Backs Off Plans to Regulate Catholic Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s amazing how when you turn on the lights the cockroaches run for cover<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Following the biggest political firestorm of the 2009 legislative session, a public hearing scheduled for Wednesday on the financial and administrative management of the Catholic Church has been canceled. The bill is dead for the rest of the legislative session.<\/p>\n

As soon as word spread about the bill, the Legislative Office Building was flooded with telephone calls and e-mails on Monday. The bill,\u00a0virtually overnight, became the hottest issue at the state Capitol.<\/p>\n

The cancellation came less than 24 hours after Senate Republican John McKinney of Fairfield called for the cancellation, saying that his caucus was unanimously against the bill because they believe it is clearly unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

The Democratic co-chairs of the legislature’s judiciary committee, Rep. Michael P. Lawlor of East Haven and Sen. Andrew McDonald of Stamford, just released the following statement:<\/p>\n

“For reasons that are unclear, Connecticut has had generations-old laws on the books singling out particular religions and treating them differently from other religions in our statutes.\u00a0 That doesn’t seem right.\u00a0 In fact, many of our existing corporate laws dealing with particular religious groups appear to us to be unconstitutional under the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. If that is correct, any changes to that law would likely also be unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

“With that in mind, it would serve no useful purpose to have a conversation about changing the laws that govern existing Roman Catholic corporations until we know if any of these existing laws are constitutional.\u00a0 At the request of the proponents who are advocating this legislation, we have decided to cancel the public hearing for tomorrow, table any further consideration of this bill for the duration of this session, and ask the Attorney General his opinion regarding the constitutionality of the existing law that sets different rules for five named separate religions.<\/p>\n

“We think it would be more appropriate to invite representatives from all religious denominations around the state together with legal scholars on this topic to participate in a forum regarding the current law.\u00a0 Such a conversation would be more appropriate to have when the legislature is not in session and other more important issues, such as the current fiscal crisis, are resolved.\u00a0 We intend to do that once we have the benefit of the Attorney General’s opinion.<\/p>\n

“In the meantime, we think it would be most beneficial if the proponents who requested these changes and church officials meet together privately to see if they can come to a resolution on their own. Open and honest communication between these two groups could only help.\u00a0 For our part, we intend to reach out to representatives of the Catholic Conference and continue the discussion that began in 2008 on this issue.\u00a0 We hope they will agree to meet with us.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’m not at all surprised the hearings have been canceled given the overwhelming negative reaction from voters… If the Letters to the Editor in our local paper (see here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a>) this morning are any indication the bill’s sponsors Rep. Michael Lawlor (D-East Haven) and Sen. Andrew McDonald (D-Stamford) were in a politically untenable position.<\/p>\n

Ed Morrissey has more at Hot Air<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s amazing how when you turn on the lights the cockroaches run for cover: Following the biggest political firestorm of the 2009 legislative session, a public hearing scheduled for Wednesday on the financial and administrative management of the Catholic Church has been canceled. The bill is dead for the rest of the legislative session. As […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,7,511],"tags":[514,510,209,513],"class_list":["post-1650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-culture","category-politics","category-religion","tag-andrew-mcdonald","tag-catholic-church","tag-connecticut","tag-michael-lawlor","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfpI7-qC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1634,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/03\/09\/connecticut-moving-to-regulate-catholic-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":1650,"position":0},"title":"Connecticut Moving to Regulate Catholic Church???","author":"Jeff","date":"March 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Some days I feel like\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2454,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/07\/02\/reminder-connecticut-july-4th-tea-parties\/","url_meta":{"origin":1650,"position":1},"title":"Reminder: Connecticut July 4th Tea Parties","author":"Jeff","date":"July 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Just a quick reminder that on Independence Day, the Connecticut Tea Party Patriots will hold public rallies in Hartford, Norwich and Stratford to encourage elected officials to exercise fiscal restraint, rein in government growth and support America\u2019s free market economy. The Hartford Tea Party will take place from noon to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"navyjack1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/navyjack1.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2502,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/07\/10\/speed-bump-senate-democrats-delay-action-on-obamas-healthcare-climate-initiatives\/","url_meta":{"origin":1650,"position":2},"title":"Speed Bump: Senate Democrats Delay Action on Obama’s Healthcare & Climate Initiatives","author":"Jeff","date":"July 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Democrats in the House and Senate handed President Barack Obama a double dose of bad news yesterday when they moved to delay on his top legislative priorities, healthcare and climate change. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said they would put off work on the climate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3912,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2011\/03\/10\/wisconsin-gop-ends-union-reforms-stalemate\/","url_meta":{"origin":1650,"position":3},"title":"Wisconsin GOP Ends Union Reforms Stalemate","author":"Jeff","date":"March 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Republican senators in Wisconsin broke the weeks long stalemate over Governor Scott Walker's collective bargaining reforms last night. In short, once it became clear that senate democrats, who had fled the state to delay action on the bill, were unwilling negotiate republicans amended the bill to remove appropriations and passed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1708,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/03\/19\/congressman-mccotter-slams-stimulus-yes-voters-for-protecting-aig-executive-bonuses\/","url_meta":{"origin":1650,"position":4},"title":"Congressman McCotter Slams Stimulus “Yes” Voters for Protecting AIG Executive Bonuses","author":"Jeff","date":"March 19, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm about ready to make Rep. Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan my adopted Congressman: \"Facts are hard things to disprove.\u00a0 Every single Democrat in this House that voted for that bill voted to approve and protect those AIG bonuses.\u00a0 Every single Democrat in the Senate that voted for that stimulus bill,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2858,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/10\/13\/senate-finance-committee-approves-health-care-reform-bill\/","url_meta":{"origin":1650,"position":5},"title":"Senate Finance Committee Approves Health Care Reform Bill","author":"Jeff","date":"October 13, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Senate Finance Committee voted largely along party lines to approve committee chairman Max Baucus's Health Care Reform Bill earlier today: A key U.S. Senate committee endorsed a sweeping healthcare overhaul on Tuesday, gaining the support of an influential Republican and delivering President Barack Obama a victory on his top\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health Care"","block_context":{"text":"Health Care","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/health-care\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1650\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}