Jeff Currey

After months of negotiation and hearing input from residents in-district and across our state, the House of Representatives and Senate sent the state budget proposal to Governor Lamont, who signed it into law yesterday. This budget package provides $600 million in tax relief for so many residents in Connecticut and makes essential investments in our schools, municipalities, nonprofits, child care providers, and more.

We have long championed measures that promote a healthier environment and I am pleased to share that finally, SB 4 – a measure that now heads to the governor's desk for signing, is an important step forward in that direction.

On Wednesday, the House sent numerous proposals to the Senate for consideration, including HB 5001, the historic children's mental health bill. This is a transformative piece of legislation that responds directly to the youth mental health crisis, which has been aggravated by the impacts of the pandemic, presenting itself in the form of increased rates of depression, suicide, and self-harm among adolescents.

On Tuesday, I was proud to join my legislative colleagues and education advocates to highlight H.B. 5283, a comprehensive and thoughtful approach to funding for our public schools. This bill would simplify and disentangle Connecticut's education funding system, fully and equitably fund all public school students, and ensure all public school students are funded based on their individual learning needs. The bill would take effect in 2025, heading off a fiscal cliff when federal COVID-19 relief expires. 

Did you know that organ donation and bone marrow donation are qualifying health conditions for leave under Connecticut's Paid Leave Program? I was happy to join Caitlyn Bernabucci, Director of Community Affairs and Development at New England Donor Services, and Annie Landeen, the RN Living Donor Transplant Coordinator for Hartford Hospital, for this week's episode of the CT Paid Leave Authority's "Paid Leave Podcast."

With another busy day in the books - one full of highs and lows - the House took action on a number of proposed bills that will now be up for consideration in the Senate. We voted on legislation to protect access to mental health care for our state's uniformed officers, take steps to advance CT's renewable energy future, stabilize the cost of nursing labor at nursing homes, and more.

The House was in session yesterday. Tuesday’s agenda included legislation to support our arts and culture industries, make it easier for supermarkets to donate surplus food, and further strengthen access to reproductive healthcare.

The Town of East Hartford was recently awarded $2 million through the state's Communities Challenge Grant Program to build a public marina on Goodwin University's campus. This marina is just one step to a much larger development that will make East Hartford a destination and a town we can continue to be proud of.