In one of the most historic rooms in the state Capitol, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy opened a new chapter in Connecticut Wednesday by signing the largest tax increase in state history.
The scene was the ornate Old Judiciary Room - the same room where New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced that he was bringing his team to Hartford and the same place where the impeachment committee gathered evidence against then-Gov. John G. Rowland.
Malloy and Democratic legislators gathered under the high ceiling of the ornate function room on the third floor at the Capitol as Malloy signed the thick document before handing it to his chief legal counsel, Andrew McDonald.
Democratic legislators were smiling as they gathered around the first Democratic governor in the past 20 years - and the first time that a Democrat had signed a budget since Bill O'Neill.