Dear Neighbor,
The challenge this year is doing justice to all of the progress we made.
Our community has endured disruption and loss, and we worked to make sure our policies build a path to the future and do justice to you.
I’m proud of the structural change we were able to make this year, but other issues listed here are important as well. I was able to deliver because of my experience and with the support of our delegation, our top leaders, and our governor. Importantly, New Haven also benefited from solid majorities in the house and the state senate.
In addition to serving as Deputy Majority Leader, I also serve on the Environment, Judiciary, and Appropriations Committees, and co-chair the Appropriations Health subcommittee - so many items here reflect that work.
This year, I saw your participation matter. At first it seemed odd: I missed seeing you all in person at the Capitol, but your testimony on Zoom was compelling and your faces were right there. We learned from everyone.
I’m grateful for your input, and for grounding us as we deliberated in Hartford. If you have questions about areas we didn’t cover, let me know.
Thank you for your support and confidence and stay healthy and safe.
Best,
Clean & Safe Environment, Farmers Markets
- Strengthen farmers markets by increasing the value of the nutrition program vouchers for pregnant mothers on WIC and seniors; codified Governor’s order allowing use of a proxy if unsafe to go out.
- Expand Connecticut’s shellfish restoration program and oyster shell recycling program.
- Expand the list of beverages subject to the bottle bill’s requirements to reduce solid waste and clutter.
- Establish a five-cent surcharge on the sale of spirit or liquor beverage containers of 50mL or less (“nips”), to be distributed to towns based on sales, with use restricted to environmental cleanup because for now ‘nips’ can not be recycled through reverse vending machines. New Haven is estimated to get $194,465 based on the large number of nips bottles sold here.
- Expand farm viability matching grant program to “the development of urban and nontraditional farming practices.”
- Create CT GROWN FOR CT KIDS GRANT program.
- Ban use of class B firefighting foam with intentionally added perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) and ban offering for sale food packaging with PFAS intentionally introduced during manufacturing or distribution.
Your Health & Safety
- Prohibit insurers from denying coverage for benefits based on a pulse oximeter reading alone. Many insurers tie coverage to a fixed blood ox level rather than a range, which could deny needed care like home oxygen to people with darker skin.
- Covered Connecticut program will pay monthly premium and cost-sharing beyond the Affordable Care Act for those eligible.
- Coverage of maternal and child health services for prenatal and postpartum care, and healthcare for children ages eight and under, regardless of immigration status.
- Declared racism a public health crisis, created a Commission on Racial Equity.
- Continued coverage for telehealth.
- Directed DSS to make community violence prevention services eligible for Medicaid coverage.
- Access to virtual visits and monitoring by loved ones for nursing home residents.
Fairness And Justice
- Removal of racial covenants on real property and race designation on marriage licenses.
- State benefits for LGBTQ+ veterans released with an other than honorable (OTH) discharge.
- Legalization of cannabis and erasure of past marijuana convictions.
- End to charging inmates and families to use the phone.
- Parentage Act: rights of families who are not biologically related.
- Voters will decide in 2022 on early, in-person voting.
- Restored voting rights for those in community facilities or on parole.
- Legal representation if you’re facing eviction.
- Stronger foreclosure mediation, lien assistance and emergency mortgage assistance.
Structural Change
PILOT - Reform of the distribution formula for PILOT, or Payment in Lieu of Taxes, to include weighting for the wealth of the town based on its grand list. New Haven will gain $91,291,654, an increase of $49,600,018, as a result of this progressive change.
Changed formula for local health funding - The increase in the per capita formula for local health districts will build a more robust public health system. As a full-time health department, New Haven Health Department is anticipated to receive $251,707 in both FY 22 and FY 23 from DPH, an increase of approximately 81%.
Prison gerrymandering - We ended prison gerrymandering, or the practice of counting inmates in the census as if they were permanent residents of the town of incarceration, rather than their town of origin. I fought for this change for many years, as did other legislators and the NAACP.
Bonding
- R’Kids Family Center - $1,500,000
- New Haven Farnam Community Center - $1,500,000
- Statewide Health Disparities & Prevention Grant Program - $25 million
Budget 2022-23
PILOT Funds | $91,291,654 |
Education Aid | $165,735,873 |
Other State Funds | $54,756,906 |
TOTAL | $311,784,433 |