Reply #2: (CT) State votes on (state) election financing (banning lobbyists)

[UpInArms]

http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=31060

Connecticut took a step towards establishing a system of publicly funded elections Wednesday as the state House and Senate voted on a bill that would outlaw campaign donations from lobbyists and state contractors, replacing that money with grants from the state.

With the bill having passed the Senate, Connecticut will be the first state in the country whose legislature voted to establish a system of publicly funded elections if the House approves the bill.

The bill, which the Yale College Democrats and Students for Clean Elections had lobbied for in Hartford, was approved in the state Senate with a 27-8 vote after an eight-hour debate. The House began debate at 9 p.m., and had not voted on the bill by midnight.

"The bill will be the most significant reform in the entire country," Connecticut Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, a Democrat, said.

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