Dear Neighbor,

Thank you for providing me the privilege of representing you in the general assembly. Over the last year, I have worked with colleagues and advocates from all walks of life on a variety of issues impacting our towns, region, and state in an effort to protect our communities from devastating cuts, maintain vital social services, and invest in the growth of our economy. As a legislator who advocates for a wide variety of issues including, but not limited to, education funding, small business & manufacturing growth, LGBTQ+ protections, and crumbling foundation assistance, there is rarely a moment when I am not fighting for a better CT.

While this mailing includes a snapshot of several pieces of legislation, I encourage you to visit the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research’s website (www.cga.ct.gov/olr/MajorActs.asp) to read up on all the 2019 legislation passed, with an overwhelming majority supported by both Democrats and Republicans. It is only through the strengthening of our relationships with you and the many stakeholders throughout our great state that remains an integral part of the job and has afforded me the opportunity to advocate for our communities in the most effective way possible.

There is still much work to be done as we continue to strengthen Connecticut’s foundation and I ask that you remain engaged. I look forward to our continued conversations, emails, and chance encounters throughout the community. Your voices are valued and I hope that you take the time to reach out at any time at my home, 860-528-8822, or office, 860-240-8500. And should you decide to head across the river, my door at the State Capitol is always open!

Truly Yours,

Income Security and Tax Fairness

• Social Security Income Exemption: Exempts individuals earning less than $75,000 and couples earning less than $100,000 in annual income from paying income taxes on their Social Security benefits
• Teachers’ Pension: Dedicates $380.9 million of surplus dollars to a Teachers’ Retirement Special Capital Reserve Fund (TRF-SCRF) to strengthen our Teachers’ Pension Fund
• Business Entity Tax: Repeals, beginning in 2020, saving businesses the hassle of this biennial fee
• Capital Stock Tax: Phases out this tax, often an impediment to starting and growing a new business in CT

Protecting Our Health and Wellbeing

• Tobacco 21: Prohibits the sale of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and vape products for those under 21 years of age
• Women’s Health: Requires coverage and prohibits policies from charging co-payments and other out-of-pocket expenses for breast ultrasounds and mammograms
• Educating Medical Professionals: Modifies continuing education requirements concerning the diagnoses and treatment of cognitive conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and geriatric depression
• Background Checks: Expanded background checks of potential employees who require direct contact with our elderly neighbors and loved ones
• Pre-Existing Conditions: Expands existing state protections to those with certain short-term health insurance policies
• Mental Health Parity: Ensures all mental health and substance use issues are covered by insurance, making treatment more available, accessible, and affordable
• HUSKY A Eligibility: Restores coverage to 4000 working parents
• Paid Family & Medical Leave: Employee funded program to provide replacement wages in the event that workers must care for themselves or loved ones, with eligibility beginning in 2022

• Education Funding (ECS): Budgets in accordance with the bipartisan ECS agreement of 2017, providing predictability to local boards of education while securing an additional $6.5 million for our district
• Minority Teacher Recruitment & Retention: Sets a state-wide hiring goal of 250 new minority teachers and administrators to ensure our students have more teachers and support staff who not only look like them, but understand the challenges they may face in our society
• Workforce Opportunities: Expands our advanced manufacturing certificate programs through our state colleges and independent institutions of higher education, allowing for high school students to earn college credits towards their certificate
• Student Advocacy: Encourages educators and support staff to speak up on behalf of students during planning and placement team meetings without fear of retaliation
• Special Education Services: Requires parents/guardians to be notified when a student is identified as Gifted & Talented. The school district must also provide a list of any local associations that provide support for the student’s continued development
• Provider Transparency: Mandates that any private special education provider contracting with a local board of education inform the board about certain complaints against the provider
• Student Language Skills: Creates a working group to study language skills assessment for students identified as deaf or hard of hearing while also requiring new service and accommodations plans for students
• Student Loan Debt: Provides a business-friendly tax credit for employers who help to pay down an employee’s student loan through the CT Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority

Supporting our Uniformed Residents

• In-State Tuition: Grants in-state tuition to spouses and children of service members stationed in CT who may get orders to move elsewhere
• First Responders: Provides workers’ compensation coverage to uniformed police officers, firefighters, and parole officers suffering from PTSD due to witnessing the aftermath of violent and fatal crimes. Also requires a study to work towards including coverage for our EMS and Department of Correction employees

Defending our Planet

• Offshore Wind: Harnesses off shore wind power while minimizing environmental impacts, in an effort to achieve our renewable energy goal
• Green Jobs: Creates a Green Jobs Career Ladder website that will work to promote opportunities that will benefit our environment
• Plastic Bag Ban: Bans single-use plastic bags beginning on July 1, 2021 while allowing cities and towns to enact their own restrictions sooner

LGBTQ+ Protections, Health, and Safety

• Health & Human Services Network: Creates the country’s first statutorily mandated network that will work to build a healthier and safer environment for our LGBTQ community
• HIV Prevention: Increases access of HIV-prevention medication to minors, one of the subgroups that saw a recent uptick in new HIV cases here in CT
• Family Definition: Expands the definition of “family member,” due to many of our LGBTQ+ residents facing exponentially higher rates of family rejection, within the Paid Family Leave program
• Legal Protection: Bans the use of the gay/trans “panic” defense, a legal strategy that uses the victim’s gender identity of sexual orientation to blame for the defendant’s violent reactions

Capitol Update 2019 (pdf)