Michelle L. Cook

It has been another busy week. We have about nine weeks left in the 2024 session and the pace is rapidly increasing. If you're interested in any of the bills the committees are holding public hearings on, I encourage you to follow along, testify (either in-person or on Zoom), or submit testimony.

Please join Comptroller Scanlon & me for a discussion on the state's new Array Rx prescription discount program. We'll be at Sullivan Senior Center on Thursday, February 29, at 11:30 a.m.

On Tuesday, the Connecticut General Assembly's Early Childhood Caucus, along with the CT Early Childhood Alliance, an early childhood advocacy organization, will host a special briefing on the powerful role that parents and caregivers play in optimizing foundational brain development during the first five years of life, and the policies that can support them.

Dana Suskind, MD, Co-Director of the TMW Center for Early Learning and Public Health at the University of Chicago and the author of 2022's "Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child's Potential, Fulfilling Society's Promise," will be featured during this event, as well as Pamela Truelove-Walker, EdD. Dr. Pamela Truelove-Walker joined the TMC Center in 2023 and serves as Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE) Strategy. She leads the testing, development, and implementation of the Center's tools for supporting ECE practitioners.

Want to attend? Please RSVP to megan.villanova@cga.ct.gov.

I have a lot of information to share with you this week, including the upcoming early childhood forum on Tuesday, a trip to Sullivan Senior Center with Comptroller Scanlon next Thursday, a visit to the Capitol Complex by the students of Torrington Christian Academy as well as Prime Time House and Christina Emery of Brooker Memorial, and more.

We approved $17 million in additional funds for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Operation Fuel – two important programs that many residents and families rely on for cold weather heating assistance.

It's been a busy week, with committee meetings, public hearings, a session day, and a well-attended press conference on educational funding. In addition to judicial nominations we approved on Wednesday, we also approved $17 million in winter heating assistance for residents who need help paying their heating bills. No one should have to choose between paying their bills and staying warm.

On Thursday, I stood with leaders from across the educational world, to speak out against pitting early childhood education and K-12 against each other regarding funding. We call upon Governor Lamont to keep the promise made to Connecticut's students last year when we passed the biennial budget.

We are off and running! Session 2024 convened on February 7, and below you'll find some photos from the day. With less than 100 days in this short session, we have a lot to accomplish in a short period of time.