Dear Friends and Neighbors,
This year’s legislative session has concluded and with it, the passage of new legislation that will shape our state for years to come. The headline from the session is the passage of a bipartisan budget that funds transportation infrastructure, restores cuts to education, and restores funding for the Medicare Savings Program – all without raising taxes. I am particularly happy to report that the budget increases Education Cost Sharing funds to East Hartford by $1.1 million over what we received last year.
We worked on policies that support small businesses and workforce development, and make our state a place that we can proudly raise our families and retire. I am committed to fighting for you to build a bright future for Connecticut and our community.
In this newsletter, you can find some of the most important laws we discussed and passed this year. One bill I supported establishes the Healthy Homes Fund, which is funded by surcharges on homeowners’ insurance premiums. This will benefit homeowners who are dealing with the catastrophic disaster of their crumbling foundations.
As always, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, concerns, or suggestions as to how I can better serve you. Thank you, again, for entrusting me with the privilege to work on your behalf in Hartford.
Sincerely,
Making Connecticut Safer
Ban of Bump Stocks
The tragic mass shooting in Las Vegas last year demonstrated the ability of bump stocks to dramatically increase a gun’s destructive power, effectively turning semi-automatic firearms into a weapon that can shoot as fast as a machine gun. We responded by making it a crime to own or sell a bump stock, or similar device, unless you are a licensed military contractor.
School Security Funding
Schools must be safe places to learn, so we increased funding for school security measures by $15 million. Districts can use these resources for entrance upgrades, bullet-proof glass and security cameras.
Social-Emotional Learning
I supported legislation in the House that would have looked at how to incorporate more social-emotional learning into the school curriculum. Studies have shown that this helps students reach their full potential, as well as reduce the likelihood of classroom violence. Unfortunately, this bill did not pass the State Senate.
Reducing Prescription Drug Costs
Recognizing that prescription drug prices are the number one driver of rising healthcare costs, we passed legislation to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable by increasing transparency and requiring them to explain large price increases for drugs that have a substantial cost to the state. Additionally, insurance companies must now submit information about which drugs are most frequently prescribed and which are provided at the greatest cost. By collecting more data and holding drug companies accountable, we can get closer to lowering drug costs for Connecticut residents.
Protecting Women’s Health Care
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) contains ten essential health benefits including maternity and newborn care, prescription drug coverage, preventive and mental health services, and chronic disease management that all Americans are entitled to have covered in their health insurance plans. As Congress and the President attempt to dismantle the ACA, we passed legislation to safeguard these benefits to ensure that no matter what happens in Washington, Connecticut insurance policies must still cover these basic services. Additionally, we went a step further and required coverage for a twelve-month supply of contraceptives.
Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence
If you are a victim of domestic violence, you shouldn’t have to fear being arrested if you call the police. However, nearly 20% of the time when a victim of domestic violence calls the police they are arrested along with their abuser. This year we’ve updated the law to discourage this practice and will now direct police to arrest the person who they identify as the dominant aggressor.
Supporting Our Veterans And Military Families
Access to Services
Veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain injury, or are the victims of sexual trauma while serving, need support as they recover and reintegrate into civilian life. However, because these conditions pose unique challenges, some receive a less than honorable discharge from the military, making them ineligible for services. We successfully passed legislation this session to allow these veterans access to the state services they need and earned.
Teacher Permits
When members of the armed forces receive orders to come to Connecticut, and their spouse is a certified teacher in another state, it can be difficult for the spouse to start over as a teacher here in Connecticut. To address this issue, we created a “military spouse teacher permit” that allows the spouses to more easily work as a teacher in our state.
Protecting Our Environment
Climate change is here. As a means of protecting future generations, current law requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80% of its 2001 levels by the year 2050. In an effort to speed our progress, we doubled down with legislation to reduce GHG emissions by 45% of 2001 levels by the year 2030. Under this legislation, the Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection must work with electric companies to develop a long-term plan for lowering the cost of electricity while meeting this new goal.
In addition, we overhauled a number of our energy programs and here are a few highlights:
- Increased our state targets for use of renewable energy over the next ten years
- Expanded towns’ ability to use renewables
- Better protected energy efficiency funding
- Restored $10 million to help homeowners make energy efficiency upgrades
Promoting Careers in Manufacturing
Continuing our efforts to encourage students to consider careers in manufacturing, we are working to develop mobile manufacturing training labs that will visit middle and high schools to educate students about advanced manufacturing. This continues our work to invest in our community colleges and technical high schools, and our belief that technical education and career training can lead students to family-supporting jobs.
Supporting Our Small Businesses
Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. In an effort to provide some tax relief so small businesses can put more resources into job creation, I supported a bill that exempts equipment worth less than $250 that has been owned by the business for more than 10 years from property taxes.
In response to concerns that the state Department of Environmental and Energy Protection is taking too long to approve commercial permit applications, we passed legislation that requires DEEP to meet with businesses that request it for a “pre-application” meeting. Hopefully this process will help ensure the businesses are more successful in receiving the necessary permits in a more timely fashion.