States Control: Connecticut

Blumenthal: Out-of-state civil unions to be recognized

Connecticut will recognize civil unions and possibly domestic partnerships from other states and foreign countries when a new law allowing civil unions takes effect here Oct. 1.
But Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Tuesday that Connecticut will not recognize same-sex marriages from neighboring Massachusetts because the Connecticut legislature has defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
Source: Newsday (online), September 20, 2005

Camera, database nab tax scofflaws

City marshals in New Haven, Conn., are hailing the success of a new mobile system allowing them to collect overdue car taxes by scanning a license plate with an infrared camera and matching it to a database on a laptop computer.
The BootFinder, designed originally for police to identify stolen cars, has some privacy advocates worried, however, especially when citizens suddenly find their cars towed away after an apparent match is made.
Source: WorldNetDaily, March 11, 2005

GPS keeps eye on workers Though staff grumbles, firms pleased

Ciro Viento [Danbury, CT] commands a platoon of 110 garbage trucks, so when a caller complained after seeing one of the blue and white trash tanks speeding down Route 22, Viento didn’t know which driver to blame. Until he checked his computer.
With a few taps on the keyboard, Viento zeroed in on the driver of one particular front-loader — which, the screen showed, had been on that very road at 7:22 a.m., doing 51 miles per hour in a zone restricted to 35. Gotcha.
Source: South Bend Tribune (online), January 3, 2005

New Haven uses new scanners to catch criminals

The city [New Haven] is using a new weapon to track down criminals and tax delinquents: an infrared scanner that reads license plates and connects to a database of police and tax records.
The city will use the scanner to determine if property taxes are owed on the car, or if the car is stolen, has a stolen license plate or is not registered or insured.

Source: Newsday (online), September 8, 2004