On March 17, the Connecticut Joint Government & Elections Committee passed HB 5021, the bill to amend parts of the public funding law for campaigns for state office. HB 5021 deletes the parts of the law that require petitions from all independent candidates and most minor party candidates. Under HB 5021, the rules would be the same for all candidates, regardless of party affiliation or lack of party affiliation.

HB 5021 is the Governor’s bill, and the legislative sponsor is Representative Lawrence G. Miller (R-Stratford). See this story.

The committee did not advance HB 5022, an alternate bill which retains the discriminatory features but makes them less extreme.

Democracy Now, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, recently hosted Congresman Dennis Kucinich and Ralph Nader. The interchange of views of the four individuals on issues of public importance is a good read. This link has the transcript.

California is the only state in which every candidate may list his or her occupation on the ballot. John Eastman, a Republican running for California Attorney General, has chosen “Assistant Attorney General.” His opponents are crying foul, because even though he lives in California, he is not an Assistant Attorney General in California. The title is bestowed on him by the state of South Dakota, which has hired him to work on one particular case. See this story.

California law does not permit more than three words for an occupation on the ballot.