The task force, which will be chaired by State Rep. James Albis (D-East Haven), will also look at the impact of climate changes on efforts to preserve shoreline communities.

“Last August’s Storm Irene caused tens of millions of dollars in property damage,” Speaker Donovan said. “Hundreds of homes received significant damage or were destroyed. Despite the severity of the damage, it would have been much worse had Irene hit the shore as a category 1 or 2 hurricane. We need to look at our policies to see if they are sufficient to meet the specific and unique needs of shoreline communities, residents and businesses.”

Rep. Albis said, “We know that sea levels are rising, and that many shoreline communities incurred significant damage during Tropical Storm Irene. Homeowners and businesses are still recovering. Any severe storm has the potential to cause mass flooding and damage to shoreline properties, and a hurricane of any magnitude could be extremely devastating.

“What we need to do, then, is address the specific and unique needs of shoreline homeowners, businesses and municipalities with regard to rising sea levels, shoreline erosion, storm preparation, response and restoration.”

The task force is charged with making recommendations to the General Assembly for legislation that will:

• Assist those still rebuilding and recovering from Irene
• Develop new policies that specifically address the unique needs of shoreline and waterfront residents and businesses with respect to shoreline erosion, rising sea levels, and future storm planning.
• Make sure new policies complement legislation that may be developed regarding emergency communications between towns and the state; utility company preparedness, response and accountability; and insurance issues.

Donovan and Albis said the Task Force will be made up of legislators from shoreline towns, and will include representatives and senators, Democrats and Republicans. It also likely will include others such as climate and land use experts. The group expects to meet with and hear from homeowners, business owners, shoreline municipal leaders, insurance company representatives, climate scientists, and others before making recommendations.

Membership is expected to be finalized this week, and the task force will begin meeting immediately. Its goal is to complete work and forward recommendations to the General Assembly in December 2012, but Albis said it is possible that the group could produce legislation for consideration during the 2012 session.

Speaker Donovan said, “We have utilized the task force model several times in the last three years, notably in areas like Domestic Violence and the impact of the recession on our children, and those task forces have accomplished much in resulting legislation and heightened awareness of important issues. I am sure that this task force will also shed light on the problem our shoreline towns face.”

State Representatives Richard Roy (D-Milford), Kim Rose (D-Milford) and Lonnie Reed (D-Branford) also spoke at the news conference, as did East Haven resident Andy Weinstein, who lost his home during Tropical Storm Irene.

The proposal calls for Connecticut’s current minimum wage of $8.25 per hour to be raised to $9.00 per hour this year, $9.75 per hour next year and then to be indexed in the years following. He was joined at a news conference today to discuss the proposals by Democratic State Representatives Zeke Zalaski, Ezequiel Santiago and Diana Urban, labor representative Lori Pelletier, business owner Barbara Stasiak and Elaine Peters of Mothers for Justice.

“More families than ever are relying on low-wage and minimum wage jobs to make ends meet,” Speaker Donovan said. “That leaves them struggling. While most job losses in the recession hit higher wage sectors like construction, manufacturing and finance hard, much of the new job growth has been concentrated disproportionately in low-wage industries.”

He added, “Raising the minimum wage now is good for Connecticut workers and good for our economy. Doing so can stimulate the economy by increasing consumer spending, which in turn helps to create jobs at local businesses needed to meet increased demand.”

“We must continue the push to establish a minimum wage that allows individuals an opportunity to provide for themselves and their families,” said Rep. Ezequiel Santiago (D-Bridgeport), vice-chair of the Labor Committee. “The minimum wage is an especially important issue for me as city residents – who disproportionately rely on service industry jobs – are the most affected by changes to the base level income.”

“Low wage earners in our state are struggling to survive in an economy that continues to be very difficult,” said Rep. Bruce “Zeke” Zalaski (D-Southington), House chair of the Labor Committee. “While we have made strides in improving the minimum wage in recent years, raising and indexing the minimum wage will help single mothers, families and all those who work at minimum wage paying jobs. Many of these wage earners work at part-time jobs and they deserve our support.”

“Currently a single mom of two working full-time—40 hours a week and 52 weeks a year—would still fall well below the federal poverty level and that is simply shameful,” said Rep. Diana Urban (D-North Stonington and Stonington), House chair of the Select Committee on Children. "This is also a great way to help boost our local economy since most minimum wage earners live paycheck-to-paycheck and will spend increased earnings—more than $71 million per year—at local businesses.”

“Increasing the minimum wage is vital to Connecticut workers and their families, and in particular woman and people of color,” said Lori Pelletier, secretary-treasurer of the CT AFL-CIO. “Increasing the minimum wage puts more money into families’ pockets and in turn those families spend it in the Connecticut economy. Low income families have been hit hard by the economic downturn of the past three years and now is the time to provide those families with an increase in their wages. By leading the way on this issue Speaker Donovan has once again shown his support for workers and their families.”

Barbara Stasiak, owner of Bridal Bells Boutique in Berlin, CT, said she pays employees at rates above minimum wage. “I challenge anyone, business owner or otherwise, who opposes a minimum wage increase to try to live on $8.25 an hour. A fair and living wage keeps employees loyal and productive. Paying a fair wage hasn’t hurt my business, it’s helped it. It’s time that lawmakers and business owners stand up for their workers. Raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do, and the right time is now.”

Speaker Donovan said that in 2010 the industries that experienced the highest job growth were retail sales persons, cashiers, and food preparation workers – all occupations with median wages below $10 per hour.

He cited a poll by the National Employment Law Project that found that 67% of Americans support gradually raising the minimum wage from the current federal rate of $7.25/hour to at least $10.00/hour.

Connecticut last raised its minimum wage from $8.00 per hour to $8.25 per hour in January 2010. The indexing proposal would automatically adjust the minimum wage annually to keep pace with the rising cost of living. States that currently index their minimum wages so that they are automatically adjusted each year are: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Vermont and Washington.

The federal minimum wage would be $10.40 per hour if it had been indexed since its inception based on cost of living.

The last time the federal government raised the minimum wage was July 2009 from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour.

Speaker Donovan asked the business owners and legislators of his Working Group on Small Business Health Care last fall to examine obstacles and opportunities for small business seeking to purchase health insurance coverage for their employees and families. The group was led by Representative Megna, the House chair of the legislature’s Insurance Committee.

“I heard from small businesses across Connecticut that health-care costs are too high,” Donovan said. “I launched this working group to recommend changes to existing law and new legislation to give small-business owners health-care coverage options.”

Donovan said that as health-care costs have grown, small businesses have had to drop and cut coverage or sacrifice job growth. “Some can’t attract and retain talented employees because quality health insurance is unaffordable. It is important that we listen to the proposals offered today and take steps to make health insurance for small businesses affordable, comparable, available, accessible and meaningful,” he said.

“I am pleased that we were able to bring employers together to examine the barriers to affordable health coverage and provide some solutions,” Megna said. “This set of recommendations will make the market work for small businesses as well as it does for large groups – providing a quality product at a lower premium.”

The group met Monday and approved the following recommendations:

• Permit small businesses, including businesses of one, to purchase employee health care coverage through the state employee health plan
• Stimulate greater competition within the individual and small group markets on and off  the exchange by promoting non-profit health insurance options that add value, such as a publicly administered health insurance plan and the Co-Op, an option available under health reform
• Improve transparency in health care costs by promoting initiatives that help employers and consumers compare coverage and costs and promote strategies that better manage health
• Implement “pure” community rating in the small group market so that a small business’ premiums can no longer be adjusted based on the age, gender or similar demographics of the group
• Require insurance carriers to rate and offer a policy to association groups
• Require carriers to report the actuarial value of plans to the purchaser of the plan
• Strongly consider merging the individual and small group markets inside and outside the exchange
• Consider offering a Basic Health Program for low income individuals in order to lower costs for small businesses in the exchange

“These recommendations will help small employers leverage buying power, stimulate competition and value, and remove a major hurdle to job growth at a time when we are looking to small businesses to lead our economic recovery,” Megna said.

“I want to thank the small business owners who contributed to this work. I also want to thank Chairman Bob Megna for leading the group to this important set of recommendations,” Donovan said.

The National Popular Vote (NPV) initiative has gained ground across the U.S. because it does something overwhelming majorities of Americans in every state support: It ensures that the person who gets the most votes for President wins. Rep. John Hetherington’s recent criticisms of the initiative published on this site are so flawed that it’s hard to know where to start.

Along with so many others, I hope 2012 is the year that Connecticut will join the growing number of states that have passed the National Popular Vote initiative. The beauty of the initiative lies in its simplicity: the Presidential candidate with the most votes in the U.S. wins the election.

Rep. Hetherington claims that the NPV plan “allows any candidate to win without gaining a majority or even a minimum percentage of the popular vote”. This describes our current system of electing the President, as well as NPV. There is no requirement that the winner of the Electoral College receive an absolute majority of the national popular vote to win the Presidency – as evidenced by the non-majority elections of Presidents Lincoln, Wilson, Truman, Kennedy, Nixon and Clinton.

Further, under the current system, an absolute majority of the statewide popular vote is not needed to win any state’s electoral votes. In 2008 for example, no candidate received an absolute majority of the votes in four states. And in some years that have seen multiple Presidential candidates, winners have not gotten an absolute majority in any state.

Rep. Hetherington argues that the NPV plan would somehow help extremist candidates outside the mainstream of politics. If this were true and the Electoral College system were needed to discourage these candidates, we would see extremist candidates in elections that do not use an Electoral College system - gubernatorial elections, for example. When’s the last time you saw a fringe candidate win the Governorship in Connecticut?

Indeed, it was actually the state-by-state winner-take-all rule in our current system that encouraged extremist candidates like segregationists Strom Thurmond and George Wallace, who tried to exert influence by gaming the system and winning key states.

Rep. Hetherington goes on to say “some official in each participating state would have the awesome charge of deciding who received the most votes in the entire United States”. This is plain nonsense. Under existing federal law, each state has to provide a certified popular vote count to Washington a week before the Electoral College meets (the “safe harbor” date). This count is considered “conclusive” – there’s no mystery at all about it.

The Presidential candidate who gets the most votes in the United States should win the Presidential election. I hope the Connecticut General Assembly will listen to the 74 percent of Connecticut voters who agree.

Forty-three Connecticut lawmakers joined a group of more than 500 legislators in various states who support federal health reform as it faces a legal challenge that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in March.

The sweeping law enacted in March 2010 includes an "individual mandate" that every American must have health insurance — forcing many to buy it — by 2014, or pay a penalty. A legal challenge brought by 26 states to the Supreme Court says the mandate is an overreach of federal authority, and the entire law should be tossed as a result.

Connecticut legislators gathered Thursday afternoon at the legislative office building in Hartford to say they were among the hundreds to sign an amicus brief supporting the Affordable Care Act. They said the Constitution gives broad power to the federal government to act in cases where a national solution is necessary. State legislators are working in conjunction with the Working Group of State Legislators for Health Reform and the Progressive States Network.

"We cannot afford to lose the progress already made by giving in to political pressures that in the end will only hurt working families, small businesses and seniors," said co-chair of the legislature's Public Health Committee, state Rep. Besty Ritter, D-Waterford.

House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden, added, "we back our Congress."

State Healthcare Advocate Victoria Veltri said her office has been given federal funds made available through health care reform's consumer-assistance grants. As a result, her office's case load has more than doubled, allowing the state agency to intervene on behalf of consumers when they have a dispute with their health insurer. In many cases, the advocate's office recoups money that consumers pay out of pocket for health expenses that consumers believe should have been covered by their insurers.

"It also doubled the savings that went back to consumers in one year," Veltri said. "Just that $400,000 from the federal grant brought in $5.7 million."

Connecticut's General Assembly alternates between a short session that runs from early February to early May in even-numbered years, and a long session that runs from early January to early June in odd-numbered years. The 2012 legislative session is a short session which means that individual legislators may only introduce proposed bills that relate to budgetary and revenue matters. However, the Judiciary Committee, like other committees has authority to introduce other proposals and we are again planning to tackle a number of difficult issues ranging from our court system to eyewitness identification and domestic violence.

One of the issues that the Judiciary Committee is likely to raise next session is the use of eyewitness identification by law enforcement. Last year the legislature established the Eyewitness Identification Task Force, which is charged with studying issues concerning eyewitness identification in criminal investigations and the use of sequential and simultaneous lineups. The Task Force is chaired by Justice David Borden and includes legislators, prosecutors, public defenders, legal scholars and members of the law enforcement community. Together, we have worked to determine the best practices in our state and around the country in areas of sequential vs. simultaneous lineup methods. We have also heard expert testimony regarding blind and double-blind administration of lineups, instructions to the eyewitnesses and procedures for show-ups, among the many important topics in the growing body of science in eyewitness identification. There has been a tremendous consensus on many of these issues among our task force members and I look forward to the group's recommendations. I anticipate that we will introduce legislation that will increase confidence in our criminal justice system, ensuring that more of those who are guilty are getting caught and, of course, doing what we can to ensure that no innocent people are sent to prison.

Another task force created during the last session deals with law enforcement's response to family violence. This group has been meeting since early fall and is the process of formulating their recommendations to the Judiciary Committee. The Task Force is considering statutory and policy changes in the areas of dual arrests, protective orders and bail bonds. One proposal would allow a victim to file a complaint reporting an alleged violation (through electronic, telephonic, or U.S. mail) of a protective or restraining order not only in the town in which such person resides, but also in the town where the contact is received by the protected party, or where such contact was initiated. The need for better victims' support services and a more effective law enforcement and legal system have only grown in recent years and I believe that our committee will again introduce legislation on domestic violence.

The Judiciary Committee is also likely to consider proposals from the Connecticut Sentencing Commission. The Sentencing Commission was established to review criminal justice and sentencing policies in the state and has been busy developing its recommendation for the 2012 legislative session. One of the proposals comes from the classification working group of the Commission and aims to classify over 750 statutory misdemeanors that are not currently classified under the state's criminal code.

Another issue that our committee may deal with has to do with a recent State Supreme Court decision, Commissioner of Public Safety et al. v. Freedom of Information Commission, which creates an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act for a certain protected class of state and municipal employees. It has been argued that without a legislative remedy to this decision, many public agencies may not be able to comply with the Supreme Court's decision.

One issue that I hope the legislature would address in the 2012 legislative session is the state police crime lab's ability to respond to the backlog of forensic DNA testing. The Crime Lab Working Group was established by Governor Malloy for that purpose and tasked OPM Under-Secretary Mike Lawlor to lead a team of key stakeholders and experts to develop a strategy to tackle the lab's backlog. The issues are complicated, but I am confident that the working group, which includes legislators, prosecutors, defense attorneys, scientists and members of law enforcement, can recommend short-term and long-term solutions to deal with an unprecedented increase in the crime lab's workload in recent years.

Of course, there are many other ideas that are coming to the Judiciary Committee for consideration from legislators, attorneys, advocates and other interested parties. We are only beginning to receive their proposals and even though it is a short session, there will be hundreds of bills to consider. I again look forward to a productive session.

We take great exception to the legislative Republican Congressional redistricting plan that moves the City of Bridgeport from the 4th to the 3rd Congressional District. The attempt – disguised as strengthening minority influence by increasing the number of minority residents in the 3rd District is nothing more than a political maneuver designed to create a Republican stronghold in the 4th.

One goal of redistricting is to strengthen minority influence in as many districts as possible. Currently, four of our five Congressional districts have significant minority influence. The Republican proposal runs counter to that philosophy, reducing minority influence in two districts.

Also, under their scheme, Republicans maintain that Bridgeport would join New Haven as a “community of interest.” In fact, for decades we have shared interests – economic, social, political – with the cities and towns of Fairfield County and the 4th Congressional District. Those ties are strong, and should remain so.

Finally, the 4th has been represented by Democrats and Republicans over the years. Until recently, it was dominated for decades by Republican representation. Republican efforts to configure this district as their own are transparent and unworthy of the process.

Bridgeport's own Robert DeForest represented Connecticut's 4th District in Southwest Connecticut over a hundred years ago. Bipartisan teams of redistricters have kept Bridgeport in the Fairfield County-based 4th District since the modern process began in 1965. We strongly urge the redistricting panel or judges, whoever may ultimately decide, to recognize Bridgeport’s central and historic role in Fairfield County and keep it in the 4th Congressional District. The issues facing Bridgeport and all of Fairfield County are too important to be lost in an unnecessary political shuffle.

PURA letter

“These were two incredible storms that caused an untold amount of damage,” said House Insurance Committee Chair Robert Megna (D-New Haven). “Hundreds of complaints have been filed over the way insurance companies have handled claims. As a result, we have many questions about how the companies responded to car, home and business property owners.”

Megna said he was also troubled by the “massive deductibles” some policyholders had to pay and the misleading way some policies were written, leading consumers to believe they had adequate coverage.

“Homeowners were misled by policies containing “windstorm” deductibles. They wrongly thought the deductibles only applied to hurricanes. Now they are subject to massive deductibles, possibly making their claims non-compensable, meaning they will receive nothing for their claims,” Megna said.

“At today's hearing we were determined to hear from insurers how they met clients’ needs after these recent storms and gauge the overall impact of resulting claims on the state's insurance industry,” Senate Committee Chair Joseph J. Crisco Jr. (D-Woodbridge) said. “Part of this committee’s responsibility, beyond assurance of adequate insurance coverage at reasonable prices, is ensuring proper follow-through on claims, if and as they become necessary,” he said.

“These storms were unprecedented and have clarified some weaknesses and inconsistencies in our insurance system, which have had a devastating impact on far too many home- and business owners in our state,” said House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden). “We have informally heard from many consumers who have expressed concern about the timeliness and fairness with which their claims are being resolved. For example, we heard from a restaurant owner who filed a claim for tens of thousands of dollars of spoiled food – his insurer refused to pay the claim and instead instructed him to sue CL&P.”

“We have heard from consumers who have paid their premiums on time and in-full year after year and taken precautions to keep their property safe – only to face delays and lack of communication when they were forced file a claim and use their insurance this fall,” Donovan said. “We have also heard of inconsistencies in the way large homeowners deductibles are applied and disclosed to consumers. That is why it is important to engage in a dialogue on these issues, seek answers to help resolve complaints and outstanding claims, improve communication with consumers and work together to put protections in place for the next storm.”

“We as a legislature need to make sure that our small businesses in Connecticut have the opportunity to be adequately protected through their insurance coverage,” said Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr. (D-Brooklyn). “For many of these small businesses, having adequate coverage – and knowing all of their insurance options – could mean the difference between the inconvenience of closing their doors for a week, or the tragedy of closing their doors forever.”

Megna said the upcoming legislative session should deal with the issues that have been raised. “We need to protect homeowners and business owners from misleading language about hurricane deductibles by defining in statute that nothing other than a hurricane will trigger a windstorm deductible from now on and the homeowner or business owner will be informed of the amount of any such elected deductible,” Megna said.

The Democratic leaders said initiatives would include requesting financial compensation for customers, directing the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) to expand the current storm docket to establish performance standards for utilities with fines for non-compliance, and in addition request an in-depth, independent audit of all utility companies’ storm performance.

They said they would direct the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee to hold hearings to begin to develop draft legislation for consideration by the General Assembly.

On Tuesday morning, Senator Williams met with a legislative liaison from CL&P and asked that CL&P create a “Family and Business Hardship Account” that would offer some form of rebate on future electric bills to any of the estimated 830,000 CL&P residential and business customers who went without power for more than 48 hours following October’s snowstorm.

Earlier today, CL&P offered $10 million for such a fund, a figure Senator Williams characterized as “inadequate.” He said a much fairer figure would be a $50 credit for each affected customer, which would cost CL&P $41.5 million, or about 10.7 percent of CL&P’s $388 million in earnings in 2010. CL&P serves a total of 1.2 million customers in 149 Connecticut cities and towns.

“I understand the storm was not CL&P’s fault, but CL&P has admitted that their response could have been better,” Sen. Williams said. “Homeowners and businesses lost an untold fortune in spoiled food and missed business, as well as covering the cost of hotel stays, take-out meals, flooded basements and a myriad of other, unnecessary daily expenses. CL&P needs to do right by its customers and work out a fair and just compensation plan that can be applied to future electric bills.”

“We must be prepared for the next storm emergency. It is clear that our utilities, and CL&P specifically, are not prepared at the present time,” Speaker Donovan said. “When health and safety are threatened, and when business is disrupted to the extent it has been, we need answers. There are actions we can take legislatively that can make our public utilities more accountable to their customers, and if they fail to do so, there should be consequences.”

To that end, over the next several weeks the Energy Committee will accept and review legislative proposals from Democrats, Republicans, the Malloy Administration, Attorney General George Jepsen and others which, in the near term, could ameliorate the impact of future storms, both in terms of personal expense and public safety.

Last week, Speaker Donovan and Rep. Nardello said they would introduce legislation that would direct PURA to create standards of acceptable performance for utility companies. Failure to meet those standards would result in significant penalties for the utilities, with fines paid by shareholders, not customers, and refunded to the customers.

Additional proposals have been offered that would:

• Require gasoline stations and housing complexes for the elderly have generators.
• Provide for a one-time personal income tax credit in the amount of state hotel occupancy taxes paid by Connecticut residents as a result of hotel stays during the snowstorm or Tropical Storm Irene power outages.
• Expand Connecticut’s price-gouging bill to cover the cost of lodging and the sale of power generators.
• Require utilities to train and maintain emergency “stand-by crews’’ made up of first responder personnel, retired utility workers as well as local responders such as firefighters.
• Require Mutual Aid agreements to specify strict timelines with other utilities and states.
• Increase the use of fuel cells in Connecticut to provide more electricity that is “off the grid.’’

The Energy and Technology Committee will also evaluate solutions generated by the Executive Branch forwarded by Governor Malloy and Attorney General Jepsen, as well as the results of an in-depth audit of CL&P.

“It is time to reassess Connecticut’s weather related predictive capability, storm preparation, and ability to expeditiously restore power and utility service,” said Rep. Nardello. “We need a detailed review and independent assessment to set reasonable standards of service and improve the communication between individual customers, state and local officials and utility company managers with the authority to influence crews on the ground in conducting and reporting on restoration efforts.”

“The storms over the last two months have taught us that our utilities and oversight agencies must be better prepared for major outages. In the near term, we should undertake initiatives such as a tree trimming blitz in key high load areas and critical customer locations, such as nursing homes, gas stations, town facilities and schools. We should also aim to replace bare electric wire in these areas with covered wire, which can reduce power outages by a third to a half. Other near term measures could include training of non-utility contractors to assess outages, freeing all utility linemen to begin repair work immediately,” said Sen. Fonfara. “Over the long term, we can promote distributed generation and energy survival packages though the PACE program, at no additional cost to ratepayers, to keep furnaces, water pumps, refrigerators and minimal lighting going during an outage.”

The Energy Committee co-chairs will recommend in a letter that PURA establish performance benchmarks and order an independent audit by a firm with experience in electric company management. PURA will then issue a findings report to the General Assembly, which at a minimum, include recommendations on:

• Setting minimum staffing levels for power restoration crews and reciprocal contracts with independent and out of state crews.
• Developing communication protocols with state and local officials and emergency operation center commanders and geographical mapping technology to provide restoration status to state and local officials and the public.
• Establishing procedures where PURA directly monitors the effectiveness of coordination and emergency related protocols.
• Assessing Connecticut’s tree trimming policy and require utilities to submit to towns a list of all trees impeding lines on public and private property.
• Holding utility companies and executives accountable by tying compensation, penalties, customer rebates and reimbursement for food losses after long outages to performance metrics.

First, however, he said the state's focus needs to be on the full restoration of power to hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses still left in the dark by last weekend's snowstorm.

"Thousands are still suffering," Speaker Donovan said. "The priority is to get the power back on 100 percent. When that has been accomplished, we need to develop legislation that makes sure our utilities are better prepared to serve the public."

Speaker Donovan and State Rep. Vickie Nardello (D-Prospect) earlier this week said they would propose legislation to require PURA to create standards of acceptable performance for utility companies. Failure to meet those standards would result in significant penalties for the utilities -- that will be paid by shareholders, not customers, and refunded to the customers. "That proposal and others that are being raised will be considered," Speaker Donovan said.

House Majority Leader Brendan Sharkey (D-Hamden) said, "These past few months have tried the patience of the people of Connecticut and called into question the ability of our utilities to adequately respond to severe weather and life-threatening conditions. I share that frustration and look forward to working with my colleagues to find meaningful solutions to the problem."

House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden) and State Rep. Vickie O. Nardello (D-Bethany, Cheshire, Prospect), House chair of the Energy and Technology Committee, said utility performance in response to Tropical Storm Irene and last weekend’s snowstorm – both of which left hundreds of thousands of state residents without power for days – made it clear that legislation is necessary.

“Our recent experiences strongly suggest that we need to have certain, reasonable expectations of power restoration,” Speaker Donovan said. “What is reasonable needs to be discussed and agreed upon, but clearly the public’s suffering and threats to their health and safety following these storms is not reasonable.”

“Certainly we understand that the two storms we have experienced are have been unusual in their destructiveness,” said Rep. Nardello. “However, the intensity and duration of our outages have been increasing over time. We must have certain expectations of our utility companies, and they have to have an accountability that is measurable. We think it is prudent to direct PURA to develop standards that can properly address those concerns.”

Speaker Donovan and Rep. Nardello said that Massachusetts enacted similar legislation in 2009 in the wake of utility response to an ice storm in central Massachusetts. They also pointed out that national standards and benchmarks exist. The legislators said the Massachusetts law would be studied as Connecticut’s legislation is drawn up, including how the issue of cost recovery is addressed, as would the recommendations of the House of Representatives following last month’s hearings on the response to Tropical Storm Irene. They said they expect legislation to be ready for consideration by the General Assembly in the 2012 session that begins in February.

In 2009, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law An Act Relative to Public Utility Companies, providing that utility companies file a report with the state Department of Public Utilities (DPU) annually comparing their performance with “service quality standards” of the Department of Public Utilities and “any applicable national standards as may be adopted by the department.” The bill authorizes the DPU to levy penalties against the utilities if they fail to meet the service quality standards. Penalties in Massachusetts can be as much as 2.5 percent of the utility’s transmission and distribution service revenues for the previous calendar year.

“Connecticut families want jobs and a strong economy,” said House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden). “We targeted small businesses and the unemployed. Because we worked together, people can go back to work. This bill gives them more than hope. It gives them a program that invests in their future. It fosters an environment that will create jobs, help small businesses grow, spur innovation, educate and train our workforce, and make Connecticut competitive again.”

“Creating a 'culture of innovation' can be a magnet for further job growth -- from bioscience leaders to small businesses," said House Majority Leader Brendan Sharkey (D-Hamden). "Today, we are building on the foundation for long-term economic growth we began last session. We continue working to cultivate technology-based and small business growth where entrepreneurs, talented people and great ideas can take root. As we turn the corner to recovery, we will continue to explore other initiatives in the 2012 legislative session."

The goal of the legislation is to jump-start job creation and foster long-term economic growth. Incentives for small business, cutting red tap, incentives for innovation, economic development tools and workforce development and training are all addressed in the bill.

One of the key components of the legislation is the Small Business Express Package which will make $50 million/year available to small businesses through incentives, grants and loans.

Another vital component is aligning programs at vo-tech schools, community colleges and universities with high demand job needs of employers, including the state’s manufacturing technology companies.

Other components of the jobs bill include:

• Consolidating and increasing the tax credit for new hires
• Incentivizing investments in emerging technology (Angel Investors)
• Building innovation centers in key cities and investing in innovative ventures
• A second “First Five” program
• Cutting the business entity tax
• Streamlining the business permitting process
• Remediating old industrial sites/brownfields
• Computer upgrades to make communication between business and the state more seamless
• Workforce development, education and training
• Allowing the  Airport Authority to designate new Development Zones
• Investments in roads and bridges
• Replenishing the Manufacturing Assistance Act (MAA)

In addition, the legislature signed off on Jackson Laboratory’s plan to build a $1.1 billion research facility at the UConn Health Center campus in Farmington. The State of Connecticut will invest $291 million and Jackson Laboratory will raise the balance of $860 million for the project.

“Connecticut’s investment in bioscience today will pay dividends for generations,” Speaker Donovan said.

According to the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), the project is expected to create over 660 positions at Jackson Laboratory in Farmington within 20 years. DECD estimates more than 4,600 bioscience jobs would be generated through spin-off companies, and another 2,000 would be added to local service and area retail stores. The project would yield more than 840 construction jobs as well.

All members of the General Assembly have been invited to participate in the hearings. Presentations and question and answer sessions will be held on the proposed Jackson Laboratory plan to build a $1.1 billion research facility at the UConn Health Center campus in Farmington and on the Special Legislative Session on jobs scheduled for October 26.

The Legislature's Finance Committee will conduct the hearing on Jackson Laboratory on Thursday from 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon in Room 2E at the LOB.

The hearing on the Jobs Special Session will be conducted by the Commerce Committee and will take place on Thursday from 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. in Room 2C at the LOB.

Public comment on both initiatives will take place Thursday from 2:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., also in Room 2C at the LOB.

“The FAA has funding available for residential noise mitigation and there are a lot of similarities with energy efficiency work such as insulation and sealing air leaks that make it a natural fit,” said Rep. Larson, who is also executive director of New Haven’s Tweed Airport. “So, we’re saying why don’t we also add funding from existing energy efficiency programs and leverage the opportunity to create jobs for our deserving veterans?”

National labor statistics currently show an 11.5% unemployment rate among veterans – over 2% higher than the national unemployment rate. Even more alarming is the 20% of young veterans under age 25 that are out of work.  The proposed Larson-Leone program looks to create an opportunity for the young men and women who served our nation to find employment improving American homes and building value for their local communities.

“Merging noise mitigation with energy efficiency improvements is a win-win for area residents,” said Sen. Leone, program manager at WorkPlace, Inc. in Bridgeport that provides education and job training programs in southwestern Connecticut. “It benefits the community, and it also makes a wise use of federal programs. That shows we can be creative in making the most of what is available for our residents. Due to their training, attitude and discipline, veterans are well suited to a wide variety of jobs, and are very desirable to employers.”

The state lawmakers have been in contact with the office of First District Connecticut Congressman John Larson (Tim’s brother) about using funding sources available under the authority of the U.S. Departments of Energy (DOE) and Environmental Protection (EPA) with current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funds. They have also contacted the office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy and met with Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Daniel Esty about their proposal.

A 2008 paper entitled A Synergistic Green Approach to Conducting FAA and DOE Residential Retrofit Programs by Jawad Rachami of Wyle in Arlington, Virginia outlined the merits of combining FAA funding from the Residential Sound Insulation Program (RISP) with the DOE/EPA joint Home Performance Energy Star Initiative project. The paper points out that “there are natural synergies between noise mitigation and energy efficiency due to the common techniques and materials used to prevent noise penetration and air leaks” and concludes that the proposed approach “can lead to a mutually certifiable Green end-state, which would contribute to key national goals on environmental sustainability and energy efficiency.” Combining energy efficiency and sound insulation can deliver multiple benefits to communities, including:

• Making homes quieter by achieving indoor levels lower than 45 decibels per FAA guidelines;
• Improving indoor air quality per EPA guidelines and reducing health risks ranging from allergies to serious respiratory illnesses and heart disease;
• Achieving significant cash flow savings for residents from reduced utility bills, which can range between 20 to 50% per DOE program results;
• Reducing the Greenhouse Gas footprint of residential neighborhoods; and
• Creating training and job opportunities for the local workforce.

Tim Larson is hoping Connecticut can host such a pilot program that would employ veterans to perform residential energy efficiency work as part of airport noise mitigation efforts. “It would be great for us to set the stage for a national jobs program where thousands of homes are made healthier and more energy efficient for their occupants and American materials and labor are used to help spark the economy,” he said.

“As health care costs have grown, small businesses have had to drop and cut coverage or sacrifice job growth,” Speaker Donovan said. “Some can’t attract and retain talented employees because quality health insurance is unaffordable. We need to determine how to make health insurance for small businesses affordable, but also easily comparable, available, accessible, and meaningful.”

Speaker Donovan has assembled the Working Group on Small Business Health Care, comprised of small businesses and legislators, to examine obstacles and opportunities for small business owners seeking to purchase health insurance coverage for their employees and their own families. The group will be led by State Rep. Robert Megna, chair of the Insurance Committee.

The Speaker has charged the working group with reviewing small group insurance regulations, the market’s current offerings, the barriers that small business owners face when attempting to secure quality affordable health coverage, the impact of health insurance access on job growth in this sector, and alternative health insurance models. The group will assemble a set of legislative recommendations on how best to address the health insurance needs of the small business workforce.

Rep. Megna said, “As a small business owner and longtime advocate for quality, affordable health care, I am excited to partner with other business leaders to identify solutions to ever-rising health insurance costs. Health care costs are a major hurdle to job growth, and I’m honored that Speaker Donovan has chosen me to chair this important working group at a time when we are looking to our small businesses to lead our economic recovery.”

Members of Speaker Donovan’s Small Business Health Care Working Group include:

Legislative Members:

Small Business Members:

Charles Beyer, Beyer Precision, LLC. Charles Beyer is the president of Beyer Precision, LLC., a screw-machine manufacturing company located in Wolcott, CT.

Michael V. Brown, New Standard Institute. Michael V. Brown is the President of New Standard Institute of Milford, a training and consulting firm specializing in industrial maintenance.

Richard Carbray, Apex Pharmacy. Richard Carbray is the co-owner of two independent pharmacies, Apex Pharmacy and Home Health Center and Annex Pharmacy, both in Hamden.

Brenda Cerezo, Cerezo New Image Salon. Brenda Cerezo has owned Cerezo New Image Salon in Stamford for sixteen years. She is also a co-founder and former president of the Connecticut Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Jennifer Clark, Realtor, First Choice Realty. Jennifer Clark became a REALTOR®  ten years ago after working in the technical branch of banking for 18 years. She has also been a stained glass artisan for 34 years and currently operates Willimantic Art Glass Studio.

Attorney Chris Donohue, Riefberg, Smart, Donohue and NeJame, PC. Christopher T. Donohue, is a partner in the Danbury, Connecticut law firm of Riefberg, Smart, Donohue & NeJame, PC.

Kevin Galvin, Connecticut Commercial Maintenance. Kevin Galvin has been a small business owner for thirty years. He owns Connecticut Commercial Maintenance, Inc., a Hartford-based service company with four employees.

Jerry Hardison, West End Eye Care. Dr. Jerry Hardison has been an owner/member of West End Eye Care, LLC in Hartford since 1978.

Carolyn Malon, Family Dental Care of Farmington. Dr. Carolyn Malon is a private practice dentist, in partnership with her husband, Stephen Moran at Family Dental Care of Farmington.

Séan Moore, Greater Meriden Chamber of Commerce. Séan W. Moore has served as president of the Greater Meriden Chamber of Commerce since 1998.

John Pakutka, Cresent Group Consulting. John Pakutka is Managing Director of The Crescent Group, an advisory services firm with expertise in health policy, politics, litigation, and management.

John Seiffer, Better CEO. John Seiffer has been an entrepreneur for over 30 years. He has coached business owners since 1994 and became president of the International Coach Federation in 1998 and began consulting with entrepreneurs in 1999.

Linda St. Peter, Realtor. Linda St. Peter is the Broker/Owner of IBIS Consortium - Commercial & Investment Real Estate in Rocky Hill, Connecticut and an international speaker, instructor, and facilitator with Dynamic Directions, Inc.

Angel Reyes, Check Cashing and More. Angel Reyes has owned and operated Check Cashing and More in Bridgeport for over 10 years.

Lesley Waldron, IPS Limited & IPS Physician Services. Lesley Waldron is the owner of IPS Physician Services and owner/president of IPS Limited, two Bethlehem, Connecticut-based businesses.

Cornell Wright, Parker Wright Group. Cornell N. Wright is the principal of the Parker Wright Group, Inc., a management consulting practice, located in Stratford, CT, that specializes in--customer service, SWOT analysis, organizational assessments, strategy development and non profit board development.

LamdaVision Inc. of Farmington was able to take advantage of the state’s “Pre-Seed” economic assistance program which provides start-up companies with critical resources to turn new technology into products. Haddad’s bill (SB 1173) expanded the program this year by permitting companies started from university research to count early expenses such as patent and prototype development provided by universities in the outside match required when seeking Pre-Seed funding from Connecticut Innovations (CI), a state economic development arm which runs the program.

“The idea of this legislation is to help develop and encourage new hi-tech start-up companies created from research conducted at UConn, and I’m glad to see it is already paying dividends,” said Haddad, who also announced plans this spring for the state to fund a multi-million dollar technology park on the University of Connecticut campus. “This is all about encouraging more working partnerships between business and the University which is important for sustaining future economic growth in the region.”

LambdaVision, created by the University of Connecticut Research and Development Corporation, is developing a protein-based retinal implant intended to restore sight to patients blinded by degeneration in the outer retina. The core technology was developed by Robert Birge, Ph.D., a University of Connecticut professor of biological and physical chemistry, who, along with students in his lab, founded LambdaVision in 2009.

“Without the successful legislation introduced by Representative Haddad amending the CI Preseed Program, the investment by CI would not have been possible,” said Rita Zangari, Director of the UConn Technology Incubation Program. “LambdaVision actually provides a great example of how University and State partnerships fuel new technology companies. The company was first formed by the UConn R&D Corp; its initial funding came from the University’s Prototype Fund which helps with product development; a student was tapped as the CEO of this faculty startup by R&D Corp; and the Business School’s Innovation Accelerator – which was developed with state funds just five years ago—provided a team of MBA students to flesh out the business plan for the company.”

“We are grateful to be awarded this pre-seed funding from Connecticut Innovations. These funds will allow LambdaVision to begin critical proof-of-concept studies in collaboration with the Center for Innovative Visual Rehabilitation at the Boston VA Medical Center,” stated Nicole Wagner, CEO of LambdaVision.

The Pre-Seed fund provides loans of up to $150,000 to Connecticut-based start-ups and early-stage technology companies. Funding may be used for a wide range of startup expenses such as accounting, legal, intellectual property development, technology and prototype development, business plan development, technology assessments, market analyses, market entry strategy development, and hiring of advisors and employees.

Municipal officials gave Connecticut's utility companies high marks for their communication efforts leading up to and during Tropical Storm Irene, though post-storm efforts drew mixed reviews, according to testimony submitted Monday to a legislative panel assessing the utilities' response.

And while the top executives for Connecticut Light & Power Co. and United Illuminating called for lawmakers to grant them expanded authority to trim and cut down trees outside of existing utility line buffer zones if they pose a threat to the system.

"Overall, true partnerships need to be strengthened now between local officials and their private utility counterparts so together--as a team--we are better prepared to protect the residents of Connecticut," Simsbury First Selectwoman Mary A. Glassman, president of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, wrote in testimony submitted Monday morning to the legislature's Energy & Technologies, Public Safety and Planning & Development committees.

Glassman was scheduled to testify in person before the panel Monday afternoon.

CCM, the chief lobbying arm for Connecticut's 169 cities and towns, conducted a survey after the Aug. 27-28 storm, which caused more than 1 million outages in the state during its height and in the first week afterward.

According to Glassman's testimony, about one-third of municipalities responded to the survey, with a majority describing their communication with utilities ranged from "good" to "very good" before and during the storm.

"Responses evaluation communication after the storm, however, were divided almost evenly between 'excellent,' 'very good,' 'good,' and 'needs improvement,'" Glassman wrote.

More than 90 percent of survey participants said they were assigned a liaison by their local electric utility and a majority of those respondents rated that performance as "excellent" to "very good."

"Communities were realistic," Glassman said during an interview Monday. "They knew this was a big storm."

But while the utilities drew mixed reviews for their response after the storm was over, Glassman said the criticisms, which focused heavily on poor communications, were valid and deserve attention. "Where there was frustration was from people not having the right information."

Much of the criticism in the survey, Glassman said, came from the eastern half of the state, which is dominated by rural communities that are large in size, small in population, and filled with trees. That pattern also held true at the hearing.

Though CL&P President and CEO Jeffrey Butler described his company's response as "appropriate, effective and strong," Lebanon First Selectwoman Joyce Okonuk told lawmakers that "clearly this gentleman has absolutely no idea of the real world."

Though it has only about 7,500 residents, Lebanon has over 100 miles of road. And local public works crews waiting for utility wires to be cleared so they could remove trees from roadways watched day after day as utility crews would waste hours at the start of each day. Utility crews would wait at the town emergency center 'for hours, waiting for someone (from CL&P) to tell them where to go," she said. "There was no communication. It was horrible."

Canterbury First Selectman Brian Sear said he still hasn't been told why CL&P crews arrived in his Windham County community on around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 31, but didn't begin work  until 10:45 a.m. the next day.

Killingworth officials reported a leaking transformer to a special skills unit at CL&P and were surprised days later when power restoration crews didn't make clearing the roads leading to that site a priority, First Selectwoman Catherine Iino charged. "Communication with CL&P was a real problem," she said.

CCM recommended several steps to improve communication:

• Strengthening links between utility recovery crews and local public works crews. The latter routinely must wait until dangerous, downed power lines are assessed and deactivated by utility staff before working to restore traffic on local streets.
•  Create a "strike team" model of communication provides town leaders with regular updates on power restoration plans and schedules.
•  Provide utility outage information in relation to local street and road mapping. 

William Quinlan, CL&P's vice president for customer solutions and chief municipal liaison for Tropical Storm Irene, said his company revised its outage tracking reports during the storm recovery to incorporate this last recommendation.

Outage reports typically identify problems in relation to system circuits and substations, not local roads and streets, Quinlan said. "We literally spent hours and hours every day ... translating this information into briefing sheets" for municipal use. "We need to automate this information going forward."

Quinlan also will be surveying all municipalities in CL&P's service area as part of a more comprehensive post-storm analysis to improve communications and other response issues.

Jim Torgerson, president and chief executive officer for United Illuminating, said his firm plans to spend between $10 million and $15 million over the next three years to revise its call center and outage management system to more promptly provide information regarding specific streets and addresses, both to customers and to municipal leaders.

Though most of the hearing focused on the response of the state's electric companies, Rep. Mae Flexer, D-Killingly, questioned telephone providers about huge gaps in coverage in her district.

Flexer, whose northeastern Connecticut district includes several small communities on the Rhode Island border, said one of those towns -- Sterling -- was without land line and cell phone service in nearly all sections for two days after the storm. "My concern is that anyone located in that town couldn't even call 9-1-1," she said.

John Emra, regional vice president for legislative affairs for AT&T, said the community likely is served by a remote cellular terminal, which routes land line calls over a cellular network. These typically are used in remote locations as a cost-saving measure.

And a growing number of households also receive land line phone service through their cable television line -- a service that also requires electricity to function.

But what happens, Flexer asked, if electricity and cellular phone services are interrupted, and a neighborhood also loses the use of land line phones in the process?

"I don't know necessarily that I have an answer for you," Emra said, adding that while AT&T systems are built to withstand most inclement weather, "you can't necessarily build into your system (protections against) a 30-year storm."

Monday's hearing, which will continue on Monday, Sept. 26, is expected to produce several legislative proposals regarding storm response in the regular 2012 General Assembly session, which starts in February.

"This (hearing) is not a show piece," Sen. John Fonfara, D-Hartford, co-chairman of the committee, said. "Our job here is to gather information that will result in changes."

"We can never guard against every aspect of an emergency, but we can certainly learn to be better prepared," Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, said to open the hearing.

House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, was a little more critical in his assessment of the problems tied to Irene and the response. "Many people suffered without power for a long time," he said. "It jeopardized their health, safety and livelihood... We thought we had a good response, but we can do better."

But utility leaders said one of the best steps legislators can take is to recognize that Connecticut is one of the two most vegetation-dense states in the nation in terms of trees near its power lines.

Utilities currently have the right to trim tree limbs that fall within 15 feet of power lines from above, eight feet from the side, or within 10 feet at a level below the lines.

Butler said the trim zone rules aren't sufficient, and lawmakers need to develop a policy that allows utilities to target hazardous trees outside of this range, but close enough to cause significant damage if a major limb -- or the entire tree -- should collapse.

"Trees created the vast majority of all outages in this storm," Butler said, adding that other states, including California, have hazardous tree policies. "We literally rebuilt entire sections of our distribution system."

CL&P has an annual tree-trimming budget of $21 million that allows it to trim most trees in the existing buffer zones once every five years. But it also spends $4 million to $5 million annually to trim trees outside of that zone -- provided financial compensation can be negotiated with affected property owners.

Some legislators immediately endorsed the call for a tree-trimming policy review.

"We all need to spend some time on that and do it in a thoughtful manner," said Rep. Steven Mikutel, D-Griswold.

Sen. Joan V. Hartley, D-Waterbury, said she believes extensive damage was caused in her district by trees outside of trim zones. And while a review is a good idea, Hartley also warned public opposition could be strong.

"People are very covetous of their trees," she said. "I am of mine."

Four committees of the General Assembly – Energy & Technology, Public Safety, Labor and Public Employees, and Planning & Development – will hear from representatives of utility companies, workers, communications firms and municipalities, as well as from members of the general public.

“There’s hardly a person or business across the state that didn’t feel the impact of Irene,” House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden) said. “We need to understand what worked and what didn’t in terms of how we prepared and how we responded. I expect these hearings will be productive and forward looking and will serve us well for the next, inevitable punch from Mother Nature.”

"Hurricane Irene put Connecticut to the test," said Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn). "Now it's time to evaluate our readiness and response. The informational hearings will help us get the answers that families expect and deserve. I'm also pleased that there will be time reserved for members of the public to share their experiences. And for those who cannot attend, we hope they'll contact us through Twitter or Facebook."

Senate and House Democrats have set up Facebook and Twitter accounts at www.facebook.com/pages/After-Irene-CT/262762473747233 and http://twitter.com/#!/AfterIreneCT to accept public comments and suggestions about experiences with the storm and the state’s readiness for and response to it.

“We have a responsibility to better understand what went right and what went wrong after Irene and why. We must examine what needs to be done to be better prepared for future events that undoubtedly will happen,” said Senator John Fonfara (D-Hartford), Senate Chair of the Energy & Technology Committee.

“People who had to wait for a week or more need some satisfaction in knowing why it took so long for their power to be restored. The delay went far beyond mere inconvenience; many people need electricity to pump well water to their homes and for other health requirements,” said House Chairwoman of the Energy & Technology Committee Vickie Nardello (D-Prospect, Bethany, Cheshire). “We need to determine what was done right and what we need to do better, whether it is communication or manpower. These hearings are not just for appearances. We will develop specific steps to improve how well we are prepared.”

On September 19th, the informational hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. with representatives of CL&P, UI and municipal utilities, followed by municipal representatives and officials from telephone, cable and wireless utility companies. The hearing will conclude at 4:30 p.m.

On September 26th, members of the public will have the opportunity to appear before the committees beginning at 9:00 a.m., followed by union representatives and the electric utility companies. Members of the public will have an additional chance for comment before the hearing closes in early afternoon.

The Energy & Technology, Public Safety, Labor and Public Employees, and Planning & Development committees will hold an informational hearing in the coming weeks to address the following issues:

• Preparation and response by the utility companies, including United Illuminating and Connecticut Light & Power
• Performance of telephone and telecommunications companies
• Communication between utilities and municipal leaders
• Effectiveness of municipal reverse 9-1-1 systems and other communication methods

“Irene was one of the most powerful storms to ever hit Connecticut,” said Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr., “and many Connecticut residents, public workers, and companies stepped up to make a real difference. We also know that tens of thousands of families and businesses were left in the dark for many days – and now they’re looking for answers. It’s time to understand what happened and how Connecticut can be better positioned to deal with the next emergency.”

“Connecticut has an opportunity to learn from this storm, identify what was done effectively and what needs to be improved,” said Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney (D-New Haven / Hamden). “My constituents want to know why it took so long to get the power back on in certain areas. Probing questions need to be asked and I’m confident the legislative hearing is the appropriate venue to get answers.” 

“I am pleased that almost all Connecticut residents now have their power restored,” said House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden). “Too many, however, suffered without power for too long. That posed more than just inconvenience for them – it jeopardized their health, safety and livelihoods. We are hearing from folks across the state that we can do better than this, and we’re looking to explore ways that we can be better prepared next time. That’s why it is appropriate at this time to convene legislative hearings.”

House Majority Leader Brendan Sharkey (D-Hamden) said, “In meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano yesterday, she confirmed to me that Connecticut had the highest percentage of homes without power of all states affected by Hurricane Irene.  With such a heavy burden, to me the question remains whether our local utilities are working together to bring the necessary resources to bear throughout the state, not just within their own coverage areas.”

Comments from committee chairs are included below:

House Chairwoman of the Energy and Technology Committee Rep. Vicki Nardello (D-Prospect) said, “If you got your power back within a couple days you probably were very happy with the restoration effort, but for those who had to wait close to a week or more we need to understand what happened and why. Many people who had to wait the longest also depend on electricity to run their well water pumps and that can become a health issue very quickly. We are fortunate these record outages weren’t the result of a winter storm and the time is now to figure out what can be done better.”

“This hearing will help us to determine what went well and what went wrong in the aftermath of Irene. We will examine how to avoid or address outages more quickly after future disasters, and how to provide better information to electric customers left waiting in the dark," said Senator John Fonfara (D-Hartford), Senate Chair of the Energy & Technology Committee.

“We should consider the hearing an opportunity to examine what was done right by our state during Hurricane Irene  and what we can do better,” Rep. Stephen Dargan (D-West Haven), House Chair, Public Safety and Security Committee,  said. “Testimony from local officials and local emergency responders will be very helpful for future planning.”

“First responders were called upon to mobilize and deliver public safety services without interruption hour after hour for days at a time, and this hearing will provide a welcome opportunity to assess that response," Senator Joan V. Hartley (D-Waterbury), Senate Chair of the legislature's Public Safety and Security Committee, said. "In terms of law enforcement, fire and rescue operations, and emergency medical response Irene presented an extraordinary sequence of events and now offers the chance to prepare for the future.”

“It is important that we assess what went right and what went wrong with the restoration efforts by the utility companies so everyone is better prepared when the next storm strikes,” said Rep. Linda Gentile (D-Ansonia and Derby), House Chair of the Legislature’s Planning & Development Committee.

“Obviously the utility issue commanded most of the attention, since people were going without power for days on end," said Senator Cassano, who is Senate Chairman of the Planning and Development Committee. "But there were clearly other issues, such as caring for people with disabilities or who are on oxygen or bedridden. That was extremely taxing to municipalities, and a better way has to be found to identify and care for these people during a natural disaster.”

“All aspects of our state’s response to the storm need to be examined,” Rep. Zeke Zalaski (D-Southington), House Chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee, said. “Our citizens need to know more about CL&P’s less than stellar response since they have already warned us about raising our rates.”

"In every facet of the response to Irene in every corner of Connecticut manpower issues came into play," Senator Edith G. Prague (D-Columbia), Senate Chair of the legislature's Labor and Public Employees Committee, said. "Going forward we have to ensure there will be adequate response capabilities in public safety personnel and for utilities restoration and infrastructure repair, just to name a few.”

“We are grateful to union leadership, the state employees and the Malloy Administration for getting the job done, and we appreciate the shared sacrifice of our state employees during this challenging time for our state.”

New federal rules under national healthcare reform championed by President Obama eliminate insurance co-payments and deductibles effective August 1, 2012 for certain coverage including birth control, STD screening, and domestic violence counseling. Speaker Donovan sees the change as a victory for women’s health and said more must be done to combat higher costs of health insurance for women.

“This is a major positive change in healthcare policy that greatly improves women’s health coverage and will reduce costs in the long run because it is an important step forward in preventative care,” said Donovan. “We must aggressively continue to work in the 2012 legislative session to further reduce cost inequities of healthcare coverage between women and men.”

Connecticut first mandated health insurance coverage for birth control in 1999. This year the legislature required coverage for a full breast MRI for women with dense breast tissue. The legislature has also banned “drive by” deliveries and mastectomies and ensured direct access to OB-GYN care.

“Requiring insurers to provide birth control coverage for women free of charge is a welcomed development,” Rep. Willis said. “Reproductive health care should be available for all women. The enhanced health program also includes coverage for education and counseling which is an important provision of the plan.”

“We commend HHS on these regulations. The elimination of co-pays for these preventive services is a huge step in removing a financial obstacle that millions of American women face in getting the quality healthcare they need and deserve. We want the women of Connecticut to know that we’re here, we’ve been here, and we will continue to provide the preventive care they need,” said Judy Tabar, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England.

According to NARAL, 98% of all women in the U.S. have used birth control at some point in their lives.

“This new policy is a significant victory for women’s healthcare,” said NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut Executive Director Christian Miron. “Ending co-pays for basic family planning services will put birth control within women’s financial reach and will allow a woman to choose the birth control method that she and a medical professional agree works best for her.”

“The new federal rules implement an evidence-based approach to women’s health. Co-pays create barriers that put routine and preventive care, including reproductive services and screenings, out of the reach for too many women in our community. Eliminating these hurdles will enable women to meet their unique health needs and stay healthy,” said State Representative Michelle Cook (D-65th District)

Speaker Donovan also said recent insulting comments by news commentators comparing birth control and domestic violence counseling to pedicures and manicures as well as a public statement by Republican Congressman Steve King of Iowa that free birth control coverage will “wipe out generations” showed that a gender-biased culture still exists regarding women and healthcare.

I look forward to working closely with Governor Malloy, Senate President Don Williams, many of our colleagues, the CAA and DECD in developing appropriate economic tools for job creation surrounding our airports.”

Speaker Donovan joined Governor Malloy at Bradley Airport for the
signing of the Connecticut Airport Authority legislation.

It’s been a difficult few months for our community as four local families have had to deal with domestic violence related homicides of Wallingford and Southington residents just this spring and summer. What’s more frightening is the potential for more tragedy as most domestic violence victims do not often reach out until they are battered, emotionally scarred, and have worked up the courage to ask for help. The good news is that legislators and advocates across the state are working to improve laws and services for families, so we do a better job preventing domestic violence, protecting victims and prosecuting offenders.

Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior between partners or family members where one person uses physical, sexual, psychological, financial or verbal abuse to try to control the other. The victim feels powerless, intimidated and dependent on the abuser, making it hard for him or her to leave the relationship. Domestic violence is sometimes seen as a private problem with family members and friends often not recognizing or acknowledging it. In many ways, we accept domestic violence as a sad but natural part of our society.

It is all of our responsibility to be vigilant, to help victims to seek assistance, to promote prevention, to teach our kids at an early age about healthy relationships and to advocate for changes that make domestic violence socially unacceptable.

Fortunately, Connecticut is moving in the right direction. In 2009, the Speaker’s Task Force on Domestic Violence began a comprehensive review of how Connecticut’s laws deal with domestic violence. The task force solicited input from dozens of advocates, survivors, law enforcement officers, service providers, judges, prosecutors, teachers, and state agency staff working on the front lines of these issues. The result was some sweeping reforms to our domestic violence laws — the biggest changes in almost 25 years.

In 2010, for the first time, funding was allocated to staff emergency domestic violence shelters across the state 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide support to victims fleeing abuse. In addition, last year the legislature put new laws on the books to allow victims to take time off from work to go to court and receive counseling; to protect victims who need to break their leases to protect their safety; and to provide police with new tools for enforcing restraining and protective orders. The Judicial Branch is in the process of developing three new dedicated domestic violence court dockets and piloting a program that uses GPS to monitor high risk offenders.

Just this week, Governor Malloy acknowledged the work of the task force by signing into law a second set of commonsense reforms aimed at protecting victims. Among these reforms is a new requirement that offenders surrender their firearms to police or sell them to authorized agents if they are prohibited from possessing them under the conditions of a restraining or protective order. A report issued in July by the Connecticut Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee found that gunshot wounds were the number one cause of domestic violence fatalities. Previously, offenders could surrender their firearms to a friend or relative, even someone in the same household. The new law protects victims by keeping guns out of the hands of known abusers.

A separate bill that passed into law this session prohibits bail bond agents from “undercutting,” competing for business by discounting the premium due on a bond. Previously, domestic violence defendants could post bond more easily by paying as little as no premium, were released back into the community and were free to return to their victim without any “cooling off” period. Undercutting has played a role in a number of serious and fatal domestic violence incidents.

Connecticut is served by 18 regional domestic violence programs that provide services for families in crisis 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Available services include emergency shelters, hotline support, safety planning, counseling, legal advocacy, housing advocacy, support for children and teens, and translation services.

Anyone seeking help or information can call the statewide domestic violence hotline at 1-888-774-2900. By advocating for support services, education, and strong laws that protect families, we are making progress on eliminating domestic violence in Connecticut. But the most challenging step requires us all to work together to create a society that simply will not tolerate abuse.

Chris Donovan represents the 84th Assembly District, which includes part of Meriden. He is the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives. Sharlene Kerelejeza is executive director of the Meriden-Wallingford Chrysalis Center, the region’s domestic violence program.

Senate Bill 11 called for a number of requirements for individual and small group health insurance companies. Changes included: increasing the amount of time required before a new rate can take effect, requiring a symposium on a rate filing if certain criteria are met, and mandating the Insurance Department post rate filings on its website and provide a 30-day public comment period.

Under an agreement reached between the executive and legislative branches, the Office of Health Advocate (OHA) can request that the Commissioner hold a hearing for rate increases of at least 15 percent or more on individual and small group HMO plans. The collaboration allows for up to four hearings a year while the Commissioner can exercise his current broad statutory authority to hold hearings on other health products, including long term health care policies, if necessary. Additional changes could be discussed next year.

“The General Assembly overwhelming approved Senate Bill 11 because its members believe in the importance of changing the way rate hikes are approved,” said Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn). “The Governor shares our concerns and is working with us to immediately improve the process.”

House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden) said, “We passed this bill after hearing from thousands of residents facing unconscionable increases in their insurance premiums—small businesses, self-employed individuals and those looking for work—folks who have no leverage to negotiate with the big insurance companies. That is why I am pleased that Governor Malloy and Commissioner Leonardi have agreed to a compromise that will allow public hearings and the participation of the Healthcare Advocate in the rate approval process.”

“Disagreement over the specifics of certain legislation is inevitable, but fortunately we all agree that there must be greater transparency in the rate approval process,” said Senator Majority Leader Martin Looney (D-New Haven / Hamden). “I’m pleased that we’ve been able to work with the Malloy Administration and begin work on a compromise that will benefit consumers and enhance close scrutiny of proposed health insurance increases.”

“This compromise will ensure that consumers have a voice in proposed insurance rate increases without compromising the health and competitiveness of the state’s insurance industry,” said Governor Dannel P. Malloy. “Particularly as the state works to implement federal healthcare reform, it’s important that we strike that delicate balance.”

State Senator Joseph J. Crisco (D-Woodbridge), Senate chair of the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee, said “To me it just seems like common sense that approval for any rate increase should be granted in conjunction with a requirement that insurance companies or the Insurance Department maintain and make available better records and subject the applicant to some measure of public scrutiny,” Senator Crisco said. “The agreement we've negotiated represents a first step toward greater transparency and better access to application materials in Connecticut's insurance rate approval process."

State Rep. Robert W. Megna (D-New Haven), House chair of the Insurance Committee, said, “We have heard from many concerned consumers and advocates about this veto. People get sticker shock when they see their annual premium increases. It is crucial that people get notice of excessive increases and an opportunity to have a say in the state’s consideration of these rates. I am glad to see the Insurance Department will be connected to the public in making these decisions.”

“Unfortunately, the Governor had to put this plan together due to the failure of the unions to ratify the agreement. This plan would harm our state in significant ways. That is why I am urging the Governor and SEBAC to reach an agreement – that is the most responsible action available.

“In the meantime, we anticipate receiving the final, detailed plan from the Administration, sharing that plan with Appropriations Committee leadership and caucus members for analysis, and beginning to identify the most onerous aspects of it. We have tentative plans to conduct a public hearing on specific items in the proposal on or before August 15.”

Rep. Jeff Berger, Commerce Committee chair who also spoke at the event, said, “This legislation should signal that Connecticut is eager to create and maintain jobs. With current economic issues and problems looming ahead, it is imperative we do all we can to encourage job growth in the state.”

Governor Malloy signs the "First Five" legislation. On hand for the ceremony were, left to right, Rep. Berger, State Rep. Matt Ritter, Speaker Donovan, State Rep. David Baram, Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams, DECD Commissioner Catherine Smith, Cigna CEO David Cordani, Insurance Commissioner Thomas Leonardi and State Sen. Gary LeBeau.

“Today we begin re-making the heart of our community into a vibrant, pedestrian friendly town center that will be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike,” Haddad said. “This vision is a culmination of a decade long cooperative effort between the town of Mansfield, residents, the university and our business community.”

Haddad was joined at the event by Governor Dannel Malloy, Congressman Joe Courtney, state Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr. (D-Brooklyn) and other state, local and university officials as well as members of the Mansfield Downtown Partnership and project developers.

“The creation of Storrs Center will grow jobs and improve the quality of life for people in Mansfield – and it’s the result of years of hard work and teamwork,” Williams said. “Together we built the first parking garage, worked with local leaders, and listened to community members. I’m proud to stand here with my colleagues as we strengthen Mansfield’s economy and add to its charm.”

About 70,000 square feet of street level retail space with 290 rental apartment units above are planned for the project’s first phases which are scheduled to be completed in 2013. Storrs Center will run along Route 195 across from UConn’s School of Fine Arts building and E.O. Smith High School as well as down Dog Lane.

“Over the next two years a wonderful and carefully planned mix of restaurants, shops, housing and town square will take shape,” Haddad said. “With the close access to all the great cultural and athletic events at UConn, Storrs Center will be a very popular gathering place.”

Upon completion of Storrs Center, almost 800 jobs are expected to be created. Last month, Haddad announced plans by the state to build a world-class research and technology business park on the UConn campus in Storrs that is expected to create thousands of high-quality jobs and generate tens of millions of dollars in federal and private investment.

Democrats in the House and Senate, working cooperatively with a Democratic governor, accomplished a great deal during this session. Legislation was passed that will stabilize the state's finances, remake state government, and create jobs.

A balanced budget was passed in early May to move our state forward. Our most vulnerable citizens were protected, sacrifice was shared but fair, and government was made smaller and more efficient.

This is just a beginning. More needs to happen to get Connecticut on the right track to full recovery – creating jobs, putting the unemployed back to work, and stimulating economic growth. After this session, the fundamentals are in place:

• Invested in the University of Connecticut Health Center to develop Connecticut's bioscience industry (SB 1152: AAC the University of Connecticut Health Center)

• Established the Technology Park at the University of Connecticut to spur the growth of new, high-tech industries
  (SB 1242: AA Authorizing Bonds of the State for Capital Improvements Authorizing Special Tax Obligation Bonds of the State for Transportation Purposes and Authorizing State Grant Commitments for  School Building Projects)

• Created the First Five Program to jumpstart job creation
  (SB 1001: AA Creating the First Five Program)

• Provided funding for tourism promotion
  (SB 1239/PA 11-6: AAC the Budget for the Biennium Ending June 30, 2013, and Other Provisions Relating to Revenue)

• Developed a comprehensive energy plan to reduce costs and spur green job creation
  (SB 1243: AAC the Establishment of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and Planning for Connecticut's Energy Future)

• Provided additional flexibility for businesses by streamlining corporate and securities laws
  (HB 6497: AA Creating Jobs by Enhancing Connecticut's Corporate and Securities Laws)

• Invested in capital improvement projects that will provide immediate construction jobs and improve infrastructure
  (SB 1242: AA Authorizing Bonds of the State for Capital Improvements Authorizing Special Tax Obligation Bonds of the State for Transportation Purposes and Authorizing State Grant Commitments for  School Building Projects)

• Improved economic development programs designed to assist small businesses and start-ups
  (HB 6525: AAC the Continuance of the Majority Leaders' Job Growth Roundtable)

• Created closer links between our research institutions and private businesses
  (SB 1173: AAC Qualified Private Investments for Connecticut Innovations, Inc.' Pre-seed Program)

• Developed a responsible, balanced budget that protects the middle-class
  (SB 1239/PA 11-6: AAC the Budget for the Biennium Ending June 30, 2013, and Other Provisions Relating to Revenue)

• Increased access to quality, affordable healthcare through comprehensive healthcare reform and pooling for municipalities
  (HB 6308: AAC Healthcare Reform)

• Gave all students of our state equal access to post-secondary education, regardless of immigration status
  (HB 6390/PA 11-43: AAC Access to Postsecondary Education)

• Addressed the educational achievement gap by providing schools the flexibility they need to ensure our kids get a good education
  (SB 929: AAC the Achievement Gap)

• Ensured workers have access to paid sick days to protect the health of employees, their families, and the public
  (SB 913: AA Mandating Employers Provide Paid Sick Leave to Employees)

• Extended the foreclosure mediation program to keep families in their homes and neighborhoods whole
  (HB 6351: AAC Foreclosure Mediation and Assistance Programs, the Highly Compensated Employee Exemption for Mortgage Loan Originators, General-Use Prepaid Cards and Neighborhood Protection)

• Increased the legal protections available to victims of domestic violence by closing the loopholes that allow offenders continued access to victims
  (HB 6629: AAC Domestic Violence)

• Gave municipalities more tools to work together to save taxpayers' money
  (HB 5780: AAC Interlocal Agreements)

• Protected transgender individuals facing discrimination in the workplace, education, housing and public accommodations
  (HB 6599: AAC Discrimination)

• Reduced the burden on our criminal justice system by decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana
  (SB 1014: AAC the Penalty for Certain Nonviolent Drug Offenses)

The organization selected Speaker Donovan for this recognition because of his support of legislation during the 2011 session of the General Assembly aimed at improving the educational, health and emotional well-being of young children in Connecticut.

Among his initiatives, the Speaker’s Task Force on Children and the Recession and his Domestic Violence Task Force helped craft important legislation for children and their families.

“There is nothing more important than taking care of our children,” Speaker Donovan said. “They are our future. I am honored by this recognition from the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance, but honestly, this work is a labor of love and passion and necessity.”

The Early Childhood Alliance is a group of organizations and individuals, such as the Alliance for Bloomfield's Children and Hartford Area Childhood Collaborative, committed to improving the lives of children from birth through age eight. Member organizations employ over 3,000 Connecticut residents and provide care and education for nearly 20,000 children.

“We preach safety on the roads – we say, ‘If you’re tired, pull over, rest, take a break.’  Closing the rest areas send the opposite message.” Rep. Guerrera said.

Rep. Guerrera noted that truckers have mandated rest periods and even non-commercial drivers need to stop on long trips.

“The summer vacation driving season is just about here. People will need these rest areas and I am happy Governor Malloy was so receptive to keeping them open,” Rep. Guerrera said.

The state Department of Transportation was scheduled to close the two rest stops on I-84 in Willington on July 1 and the other five non-commercial rest areas in 2012.

“We are taking responsibility for Connecticut’s energy future with this legislation,” said Representative Nardello, House chair of the legislature’s Energy & Technology Committee. “We are clearly moving to cleaner energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy, and have successfully balanced our energy needs in a way that recognizes the impact on rate payers. We have included goals for lowering rates in all aspects of our planning process.”

In its major components, the legislation:

• Creates the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)
• Creates the Clean Energy Finance & Investment Authority to leverage private capital for clean energy projects
• Improves electricity contracting and procurement procedures to lower rates
• Orders a study of electric market rules and their effect on higher rates
• Supports zero-emission and low-emission technologies
• Establishes a one-stop-shop to proactively reach out to businesses and consult with them on available programs and reducing their energy costs

“This marks a major step toward a cleaner, more efficient, and more affordable energy future for Connecticut’s families and businesses. It will help to create jobs and businesses in clean energy and energy efficiency industries, putting Connecticut at the forefront of innovation and development,” said House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan.

“This legislation will build Connecticut’s energy future by lowering energy costs and opening up job and business opportunities across a wide spectrum of energy industries. With this bill, Connecticut becomes a national leader in energy policy, embracing clean energy as the path to success in the 21st century economy,” said Senator Williams.

“This bill will create a full-time, dedicated energy department led by a nationally recognized expert on energy and environmental matters. It will enable us to fulfill our commitment to reduce energy costs and deliver on the promise of clean, safe and reliable energy,” said Senator John Fonfara (D-Hartford), Co-chair, Energy & Technology Committee.

"Passing this bill allows Connecticut to lead the nation by growing a truly green economy and by achieving a cleaner, greener, more affordable energy future for the people and businesses of our state," said Rep. Lonnie Reed, Vice-chair of the Energy and Technology Committee. "It is a bold, thoughtful and collaborative accomplishment that includes innovative ideas from the Malloy administration and from knowledgeable legislators on both sides of the aisle."

“The process of creating this bill was long, arduous and complicated," said Rep. Laura Hoydick (R-Stratford), Energy & Technology Committee ranking member. “That's what happens when so many people representing so many points of view and constituents and areas of expertise work to create legislation that affects our entire state. I applaud the administration, legislative leaders and staff who worked tenaciously and tirelessly resulting in a very good outcome for the residents and businesses of our state. The focus is on the lowering of electric rates, making renewable energy and conservation programs accessible to all. I'm happy we have a department that will manage the environment and energy needs of the state because though the legislature can set direction, we need the administration to effect those changes.”

The broad aim of Senate Bill 1243 is to lower Connecticut’s energy costs and electric rates (amongst the highest in the nation), while moving the state toward clean and efficient energy. The bill seeks to help create the industries, jobs and businesses necessary to facilitate this kind of transformation in Connecticut, and then export those products, technologies and services elsewhere in the world.

The bill, having passed both the House and Senate now goes to the Governor who is expected to sign the bill.

Read a fact sheet on Senate Bill 1243.

“People who don’t stop for school buses put our children at risk,” Rep. Guerrera said. “By videotaping cars that fly by school buses, we can make sure they think twice before doing it again.”

Under current law, drivers must stop at least 10 feet from a school bus displaying flashing red signal lights. This bill allows towns and school boards to install cameras on school buses to record motor vehicles that violate this law. Violators would receive a ticket in the mail.

The legislation increases the minimum fine for failure to stop for a school bus from $100 to $450. It also provides that 80% of all revenue collected for this offense be sent back to cities and towns.

The bill awaits action by the Senate.

Rep. Gregory Haddad of Mansfield announces plans for a research and technology park at UConn.

“The long talked about research park at UConn is now set to become a reality,” said Rep. Haddad. “This bill provides resources required to build an Innovation Partnership Building to anchor the effort. On top of the important mission of encouraging collaborative efforts between the university and hi-tech businesses, there will be the potential for hundreds of new jobs for eastern Connecticut residents. Concerns over Mansfield’s long-term water needs may also be met with resources that will allow for the development of safe new water sources.”

The landmark project, first discussed in Connecticut more than 20 years ago, calls for construction of a 125,000 square-foot multi-story building comprised primarily of large, flexible-use laboratories containing specialized equipment, not readily available to industry, for collaborative industry-university research. The building will also provide high tech “clean rooms” and a bio-nanofabrication facility, business incubators, private space for use by individual companies, and office space.

“This is the job-generating plan that Eastern Connecticut has been waiting for,” said Senator Williams. “This research and technology park will create thousands of high-quality jobs and ensure that Eastern Connecticut is an integral part of Connecticut’s emerging research triangle—spanning Farmington, New Haven, and Storrs. We couldn’t move this project forward without the support of the Malloy Administration and local community leaders—all of whom understand the incredible potential for Connecticut’s families and businesses.

The UConn tech-park will eventually include multiple buildings—many of which could be privately funded—that will house large, flexible-use laboratories containing specialized equipment for collaborative research. The complex, to be located in the North Campus and completed within four years, will provide space for business incubators and individual companies.

Completion of the North Campus Road will allow the development of up to 1.4 million square feet of research, technology and academic space, consistent with the University’s long-range Master Plan. The roadway project is to be funded primarily by federal and UConn 2000 resources and will include a 4,000 linear foot-long, two-lane road that will need to accommodate all utilities underground. Also connected to the project is the new ‘Innovation Partners Eminent Faculty Program,’ which seeks to attract some the nation’s top scholars and scientists and to leverage millions of dollars in federal and private investment.

Anticipating a deficit in the 2011 budget, the General Assembly last year approved legislation authorizing the issuance of Economic Recovery Revenue Bonds. The bonds were to be paid off from revenues generated by surcharges on electricity bills, which would have been extended past their expiration date this year.

But because of an improving economy and increased revenues, it is now projected that the state has a $680 million operating surplus. Consequently, the borrowing and extension of the surcharge are no longer necessary.

“The provisions of this legislation (HB 6652) close the door on using energy efficiency or Competitive Transmission Assessment funds to balance the state’s budget,” said Rep. Patricia Widlitz (D-Guilford, Branford), House chair of the legislature’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee. Connecticut’s energy efficiency programs are among the best in the nation and should be strengthened – not compromised, she added.

“This really is a win-win situation,” said House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan. “Ratepayers win by having the surcharge removed from their bills, and the state wins because we don't need to borrow additional funds.”

The bill now heads to Governor Malloy who has promised to sign the bill into law.

The bill provides paid sick leave to service workers and excludes manufacturers and certain non-profit organizations. The bill does not require covered employers to provide paid sick leave to day or temporary workers or non-hourly employees such as salaried employees.

“This is an historic achievement because Connecticut is the first state in the nation to pass such legislation,” Rep. Zalaski said. “We have sent a message that Connecticut values its workers and people should not be forced to work when they are sick.”

Rep. Zalaski, who is House Chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee and a chief proponent of the bill, led the floor debate over the bill for more than 11 hours fighting off several amendments proposed by opponents.

Under the bill, service employees would earn one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked. The number of permitted sick days is capped at five per year.

The earliest service workers can begin accruing sick leave is January 1, 2012. The workers must have worked for the employer for at least 680 hours and worked an average of at least 10 hours a week for the employer in the most recently completed calendar quarter.

“It’s an historic moment,” House Speaker Christopher Donovan (D-Meriden) said. “This is the right thing to do. People who work get sick and they deserve to be protected.”

“Paid sick days are good for both workers and businesses because we have created a better, healthier and safer environment for people who work and live in Connecticut,” Rep. Zalaski said. “Now, I look forward to Governor Malloy’s signature on the bill.”

The bill now heads to Governor Malloy who has promised to sign the bill into law.

The bill provides paid sick leave to service workers and excludes manufacturers and certain non-profit organizations. The bill does not require covered employers to provide paid sick leave to day or temporary workers or non-hourly employees such as salaried employees.

“This is an historic achievement because Connecticut is the first state in the nation to pass such legislation,” Rep. Zalaski said. “We have sent a message that Connecticut values its workers and people should not be forced to work when they are sick.”

Rep. Zalaski, who is House Chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee and a chief proponent of the bill, led the floor debate over the bill for more than 11 hours fighting off several amendments proposed by opponents.

Under the bill, service employees would earn one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked. The number of permitted sick days is capped at five per year.

The earliest service workers can begin accruing sick leave is January 1, 2012. The workers must have worked for the employer for at least 680 hours and worked an average of at least 10 hours a week for the employer in the most recently completed calendar quarter.

“It’s an historic moment,” House Speaker Christopher Donovan (D-Meriden) said. “This is the right thing to do. People who work get sick and they deserve to be protected.”

“Paid sick days are good for both workers and businesses because we have created a better, healthier and safer environment for people who work and live in Connecticut,” Rep. Zalaski said. “Now, I look forward to Governor Malloy’s signature on the bill.”

In essence, the bill (HB 6351) gives homeowners an opportunity to participate in the foreclosure mediation program without simultaneously engaging in litigation for up to eight months.

“Connecticut’s foreclosure mediation is a national model and this enhances an already successful law,” Rep. Godfrey said. “We have held public forums in Danbury with House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan that were very well attended and the need for mediation services in the community is great. I am pleased the program will now continue to help keep families in their homes during these tough economic times.”

In response to the national foreclosure crisis, the General Assembly took action in 2008 to protect and assist homeowners by establishing a Foreclosure Mediation Program. The new legislation extends the program to June 30, 2014.

The program assists lenders and homeowners in negotiating a mutually agreeable resolution of a mortgage foreclosure action through the mediation process. Since the program’s inception, over 9,000 cases have completed mediation and the program has achieved a 79 percent settlement rate.

“This is one of the most important pieces of legislation this year. The fact that it received unanimous bipartisan support shows that we can work together and achieve concrete results that will help create and retain manufacturing and technology-based jobs for the long-term,” Sharkey said. “Incentives and a strong network between investors, academics and the state can transform Connecticut into a center of innovation that can be a magnet for entrepreneurs, talented people and great ideas to take root.”

The goal of the legislation is to jump-start job creation in the state and lays a foundation for long-term economic growth. Incentives for entrepreneurship and innovation, investments in manufacturing and education are all contained in the bill.

The legislation is an outgrowth of the Majority Leaders’ Job Growth Roundtable initiative that was led by Sharkey and Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney (D-New Haven). In addition to lawmakers, the roundtable was made up of academics, economists, labor and business leaders, and venture capitalists.

“We need to attract more high-tech jobs to the state for the long-term and this bill has the potential to do just that,” said Representative Jeff Berger, Chair of the legislature’s Commerce Committee. “This bill represents the kind of strategic vision and systematic approach to economic development that we have to take. We have to take full advantage of our state’s many assets. And we must refocus our attention on technology and small manufacturing businesses where many of the new jobs will be created to make Connecticut competitive once again.”

Specifically, the Job Growth Roundtable’s recommendations reflected in HB 6525 include:

• Investing in business growth – Positions Connecticut to be an innovation leader by driving technology-based economic development and manufacturing reinvestment.

• Student loan reimbursement for green tech degrees - Students can qualify for up to $2,500 or 5 percent of annual tuition for 4 years.

• A manufacturing reinvestment fund - Expands and protects manufacturing base through new tax-preferred account where machinery, equipment or facilities can be purchased. Up to $50,000 can be used by 50 manufacturers with 50 or less employees for up to 5 years to reinvest and grow their businesses. Account disbursements are taxed at only 3.5 percent.

• An innovation network created in government – DECD will organize technology leaders and entrepreneurs, to increase the state’s innovation competitiveness using incentives and financial support to strengthen the bond between universities and industry. In partnership with federal research funds, increases corporate-sponsored research and establishes an innovation accelerator linking universities, corporations to start-up technology companies. Strengthens technology transfers and entrepreneurship activities at UConn and links angel networks and incubators.

“As we have argued for the past several years, this legislation will move Connecticut further on the path to quality, affordable healthcare for all,” said House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, who has been a chief proponent of health care reform in Connecticut.

He added, “The Healthcare Partnership and Sustinet have been designed to work together as coordinated steps in health care reform. By allowing towns and non-profits to join the state health care system the Partnership provides an important foundation for the broader reforms that Sustinet will create in the future.”

Under the bill, municipalities and non-profits will be able to take advantage of the increased bargaining power and reduced administrative costs associated with the state plan. The state comptroller will offer the option to municipalities for enrollment beginning July 1, 2012 and non-profits for enrollment starting January 1, 2013.

At least 24 states allow local government employees to participate in the state employee plan.

"Hard work and persistent effort has ultimately resulted in a comprehensive bill that moves Connecticut closer to accessible healthcare for all," said State Rep. Betsy Ritter (D-Waterford, Montville), chair of the Public Health Committee. "This process has been extremely challenging, but I am pleased to see we are making progress in our commitment to provide viable options for those in need. I thank my colleagues and Speaker Donovan for his leadership on this bill and also all the people that helped make this happen."

“Similar to shopping at a wholesale store, buying health care in bulk saves consumers money—it’s the power of numbers,” Speaker Donovan said. The Partnership expands on the successful prescription drug pooling initiative from last year, which is already saving money for some municipalities by allowing them to take advantage of the state’s bulk purchasing power. The City of Harford will save $1.8 million per year by joining the state prescription plan. In turn, the state will save $6 million through Hartford’s participation.

Speaker Donovan said the state employee health plan has been providing good benefits to employees while keeping cost increases to a minimum, in large part due to the efforts of the state’s health care cost containment committee, which would continue to oversee the plan under this proposal.

The legislation, he said, will also stimulate our economy. “Employee benefits are one of the largest expenses faced by our cities, towns and non-profits. This plan would allow these entities to take advantage of good healthcare while providing financial relief to balance their budgets,” he said.

The provisions in the bill move the state toward Connecticut-specific health care reform that improves health care delivery, controls costs and results in savings and better health outcomes by:

• planning for a multi-payer database
• improving data collection at DPH
• establishing the Office of Health Reform and Innovation
• developing mechanisms for expanding access to insurance when the individual responsibility requirement takes effect in 2014
• identifying non-state funding sources to facilitate implementation of the federal healthcare reform
• coordinating Medicaid enrollment planning with the Exchange
• convening a consumer advisory board
• establishing the SustiNet Healthcare Cabinet to advise the Governor on development of an integrated health care system and a business plan for expanding coverage through private or public mechanisms; implementing a Basic Health Program for people 133-200% FPL; and convening working groups on health care system reforms, such as multi-payer initiatives, medical homes and electronic health records.

With this legislation, Speaker Donovan said, Connecticut will be able to attract new federal health care dollars; put in place more effective and sustainable ways to deliver health care, improve quality and expand coverage; provide affordable state options for residents; and implement delivery system and payment reforms to move toward a more coordinated, patient-centered, evidenced-based approach to health care that improves quality and slows cost growth.

“Unfortunately there are people who peddle animals for adoption or sale that they brought here under abusive conditions with little or no care,” Hurlburt said. “Many of these animals are being sold right out of shipping crates in parking lots with disease or injury without ever seeing a veterinarian.”

Animal importers would have pay an annual $100 registration fee before bringing any dog or cat into the state. Before offering an animal for sale to the public, the importer must have each animal examined by a veterinarian. The bill also prohibits importing of a dog or cat under eight weeks old with its mother and the sale of a dog or cat less than eight weeks old. Violators are subject to fines of up to $500 per animal. The provisions do not apply to sales to a licensed pet shop.

Tolland resident and veterinarian Gayle Block submitted testimony in support of the legislation to the Environment Committee noting she has seen a high volume of disease in imported animals that eventually end up in shelters or are euthanized.

Agriculture Commissioner Steven Reviczky of Coventry noted the lack of control of the influx of imported animals and wants to foster a close relationship with legitimate animal rescue organizations under Hurlburt’s legislation.

The bill, which passed the House of Representatives and now moves to the Senate, specifies qualifying criteria for attorney general by simply requiring someone to be admitted to the Connecticut Bar Association as an attorney for a continuous period of at least 10 years.

“Voters should ultimately decide if someone is qualified to hold office, not the courts,” said Fox, who led debate on the House floor. “By clarifying and simplifying requirements for attorney general, we should be able to avoid litigation in future elections.”

Since 1897, Connecticut law has required a person to be an attorney with at least 10 years of “active practice at the bar of this state” to be sworn in as attorney general. Under appeal of a Superior court ruling that deemed then-Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz an eligible candidate, the state Supreme Court disqualified her 2010 candidacy by interpreting “active practice” to include some experience litigating cases in court.

“Though court litigation is an important and high profile aspect of practicing law, the elected office of attorney general should not be limited as such,” said Fox. “There are plenty of excellent corporate and other types of lawyers that could make great attorney generals and they should have the right to seek office.”

During a public hearing before the Judiciary Committee last month, the Connecticut Bar Association testified in support of the bill, noting that current statute would disqualify many if not most lawyers from serving as attorney general.

“I commend and thank the Governor and union leadership for their hard work in making the tough choices. To move Connecticut forward, we knew that everyone in the state would have to contribute. In avoiding massive layoffs that would hurt our state, and by working together, we are stronger and Connecticut can prosper.”

Earlier this week as the State Senate was preparing to vote on the biennial budget Senator Len Suzio (R-Meriden) filed an amendment which would eliminate $1 million of state funding for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, which provides critical health care services for 65,000 men and women each year. Services include cancer screenings, HIV tests, breast exams, contraceptive care, and pregnancy tests.

“The Senate amendment was extreme and dangerous and targeted one of Connecticut largest and most trusted health care providers,” said Judy Tabar. “The amendment would remove Public Health funding to Planned Parenthood which provides basic primary and lifesaving health care to women and families. To be targeted by this outrageous legislation and lobbying efforts is radically out of step with mainstream American values, and it’s out of line with the issues.”

“To propose cutting these funds is a contradiction for those who often complain about social issues like out of wedlock pregnancies and single parenthood as economic burdens on our society," Speaker Donovan said. "Women must continue to have access to services that help them make decisions concerning their family planning.”

Also this week, Senator Suzio and other Republican lawmakers participated in a conservative group’s lobbying day at the State Capitol. The Family Institute of Connecticut vowed to continue its efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and in a newsletter to members even touted the historic nature of its initiative, “So far as we know, there has never before been a proposal to cut Planned Parenthood in the midst of a Connecticut budget battle.”

“It is disturbing - but not surprising - that the right-wing agenda of the national Republican Party appears to be infiltrating Connecticut,” said Senator Williams. “There is no doubt that the amendment and subsequent lobbying is part of a coordinated effort to undermine women’s reproductive rights and health care in this state. I hope Republican leaders will denounce this kind of brand of politics.”

The attack on Planned Parenthood and the amendment offered by Senator Suzio mirror efforts by national conservative Republicans in Congress to defund Planned Parenthood, Two amendments introduced by the Republican majority in Congress seek to eliminate all federal funding for family planning and exclude Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal funds including Medicaid reimbursements as a budget-cutting measure.

“We have made significant spending reductions, consolidated 30 percent of our state agencies and maintained important investments that will help grow businesses and protect families. After 3 years of economic hardship, our state’s finances are stabilized and Connecticut is moving forward on the road to economic recovery.”

House Majority Leader Brendan Sharkey (D-Hamden): “We are turning a corner, putting our fiscal deficits behind us and moving forward with the business of creating jobs and growing our state’s economy. There is no borrowing, no one-time revenues, and no gimmicks.

"Unlike the budgets in New York and New Jersey, we are protecting funding to cities and towns. Schools, town services and local property taxes will not be impacted. We’ve made real deep cuts, reduced the debt, fully funded our pension obligations and restored the rainy day fund. Making tough decisions is what the people of Connecticut expect us to do.”

STORRS—State Representative Gregory Haddad (D-Mansfield, Chaplin) and Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) were joined by university and business officials as they announced plans to build a multi-million dollar technology park on the University of Connecticut campus.

The landmark proposal includes $18 million in funding for the design, site development and infrastructure improvements necessary to create the tech park. Also included, is $2.5 million to create an ‘Innovation Partners Eminent Faculty Program’ which seeks to attract some the nation’s top scholars and scientists and to leverage millions of dollars in federal and private investment.

“People who live in Eastern Connecticut have long understood the importance of UConn to our local economy,” said Rep. Haddad, vice-chair of the legislature’s Commerce Committee and a member of the Higher Education Committee. “I thank Sen. Williams for his vision and critical support of this initiative that has the potential to fuel an economic renaissance across the region. Seen to its completion, a technology park, anchored by an Innovation Partnership building has the potential to add hundreds of jobs for eastern Connecticut residents and to attract research divisions from some of the largest and most innovative companies in the world.”

The UConn tech-park will eventually include multiple buildings—many of which could be privately funded—that will house large, flexible-use laboratories containing specialized equipment for collaborative research. The complex, to be located in the North Campus, will provide space for business incubators and individual companies.

“The potential for Connecticut is outstanding. The state’s location between Boston and New York is a significant asset,” Sen. Williams said. “A research and technology center in Storrs will provide companies with easy access to world-class metropolitan areas, specialized R&D equipment, and a highly skilled workforce. The net outcome will be more private sector jobs for Connecticut, increased research and development, and greater opportunities for students and faculty.”

Rep. Haddad and Sen. Williams were joined by UConn President Philip Austin, UTC Vice President of Government Affairs Mike Brown, KTI President Howard Orr, and UConn Dean Of Engineering Mun Y. Choi.

“Connecticut is a state whose economic progress, indeed whose economic survival, depends on knowledge and innovation and very advanced technology,” President Austin said. “When the state succeeds in those realms it yields benefits almost beyond measure and keeps us at or near the top of the nation in terms of economic well-being. When we lag behind, we face problems that virtually defy solution.”

Research and technology parks are facilities or clusters of facilities that drive technology-led economic development by creating partnerships between research universities and industry. The parks are typically located adjacent to research universities and support the growth of existing companies by offering proximity and access to advanced technology, faculty expertise and engaged students.

“The natural affinity between universities and industry is perhaps most profound for engineering programs, the training ground of the nation’s producers and knowledge workers,” said Mike Brown. “UTC has enjoyed a long and rewarding relationship with the UConn School of Engineering. For decades, we have hired engineering graduates to work within our business units. It’s safe to say they have been instrumental in helping our company design and build some of the world’s most innovative products.”

The collaborations that result from these partnerships often lead to innovations and discoveries with commercial applications, create new jobs, and generate federal and industry research grants. A 2007 study of technology parks in the United States and Canada by the Battelle Memorial Institute estimated that the typical tech park generates 750 jobs. Many states, such as North Carolina, Illinois, and Indiana have built tech-parks that attracted hundreds of companies and thousands of jobs.

• There will be no 3-cent increase to the state’s excise tax on gas as was proposed.

• Additional language will be included in the budget regarding the $2 billion placeholder for concessions and savings. Any gap between the savings and concessions total and the $2 billion would require future legislative action.

Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn): “Connecticut’s economic crisis – like nearly every state – has been long and severe. Monday we will take the first step in turning the page and setting the foundation for economic growth. The budget has no gimmicks, no borrowing, and no cuts to municipal aid. With the recent increases of gas prices it was also important to avoid any increase to the gas tax – and that’s exactly what we did. By consolidating agencies and departments and cutting bureaucracy we also begin to reshape Connecticut state government. There is more work to be done but this week marks an important first step.”

Speaker Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden): "With Democrats working together, we've been able to complete a budget agreement earlier than in recent memory, one that is honest and shares sacrifice in a fair way in resolving the deficit. We were able to stay within Governor Malloy's framework while ironing out final details. In eliminating the gas tax increase, we were able to help ease the burden on Connecticut residents at a time when prices at the pump are already putting a strain on them."

Governor Dannel P. Malloy: "The legislature should be commended for moving forward with an up-or-down vote on the budget. In doing so, they are taking an important step to stabilize our state's finances and get our fiscal house in order. With an agreement on the final few details, this budget remains within my framework and relies on neither gimmicks nor tricks. This budget is the real deal, and I'm pleased we'll have an up-or-down vote early this week."

There is currently about $400 million in state tax delinquencies eligible for collection and Fox said the legislation will serve as an avenue to garner revenue that is past due.

“It makes sense that someone who owes back taxes to the state should pay those taxes if they are lucky enough to win a lottery,” said Fox, who serves as House Chair of the Judiciary Committee. “This will not only raise needed revenue for the state, but will also help ensure greater confidence and fairness in our tax system.”

Current state statute already requires the Connecticut Lottery Corp. to check winning tickets valued at $5,000 or more against a list of individuals delinquent on child support payments. The lottery child support collection program, begun in 2004, has brought in about $1.5 million in delinquent payments.

“Connecticut is facing an unprecedented fiscal challenge and this bill will bring in needed revenue that is already owed to the state," said Rep. William Tong (D-Stamford), a co-sponsor of the bill. "If this bill results in the collection of even a relatively small percentage of what is due, it will help in our efforts to hold the line on taxes.”

Fox said Stamford resident Anthony Martino, who works as a Support Enforecemnt Officer with the Judicial Department at the Stamford Courthouse, suggested the idea and testified at a public hearing on the bill before the legislature’s Public Safety Committee.

“Winners are checked against a database of obligors owing child support, so I suggested the state could apply the same process to those owing delinquent taxes,” Martino testified in February. “The concept could be further extended to casino winnings.”

The legislation now goes to the Senate where Senator Carlo Leone (D-Stamford) is a sponsor and approval is expected.

The deal had been in the works since last week, and details were finalized last night.

“These conversations had been ongoing and I’m pleased that we were able to tie up loose ends and formalize this proposal on behalf of our state’s students who choose to attend our community colleges, regional universities and Charter Oak,” said Ojakian. “In the end, it’s the students who win – by flattening out administration costs and overhead, we can direct more money to our students and classroom instruction. In addition, this proposal will help make these schools more functional to those who attend them.”

“In addition to Chairman Willis, Senate Higher Education Chairman Beth Bye deserves to be commended for her steadfast support of this proposal,” Ojakian said. “Senator Bye has been a leader in this area, and I appreciate her willingness and enthusiasm to be a part of such a fundamental change to the way in which we operate our higher education system.”

“My concerns from the beginning have been the need to maintain the distinctiveness and uniqueness of mission of the colleges, particularly the community colleges,” Rep. Willis said. “They serve a critical and defined need in our communities, one that must be maintained even as we seek efficiencies and savings. I have been assured that these concerns will be met through this plan. The commitment to a strategic plan is important. The Advisory Commission will have an ongoing and permanent role, needed for us to be able to adjust to changing needs in Connecticut and responsive to student needs and workforce development needs in the state that our higher education system can address.

“We all agree on the need for change and improvement. Additional items still need to be worked out – more specifics on structure, for example. For me, though, this is a leap of faith worth taking. In the end, we can improve student learning, help close the achievement gap, prepare students for 21st Century jobs our state will need to move us forward, and make higher education more efficient and effective.”

The agreement’s main points include the following:

• The creation of a Board of Regents for the four CSU colleges, the community-technical colleges and Charter Oak effective July 1, 2011.
• The creation of an Advisory Commission to the Board of Regents which will be charged with, among other things, working with the Board to create and implement a strategic plan for higher education that will include the University of Connecticut.
• The Constituent Units – the community colleges, regional universities and Charter Oak – will remain separate with distinct missions. Each unit will have a lead individual designated by the Board of Regents.

Rep. Nardello and Sen. Fonfara offer new electric generation tax proposal.

The Energy Co-Chairs were joined at the press conference by Rep. Cathy Abercrombie (D-Merdien), Rep. Brian Becker (D-West Hartford), Rep. Jim Crawford (D-Westbrook), Rep. Matt Lesser (D-Durham), Rep. Jonathan Steinberg (D-Westport), Rep. Bruce "Zeke” Zalaski (D-Southington), and representatives from the state Office of Consumer Council, the Connecticut AARP, Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG), Better Choices Connecticut, Fight the Hike and SEIU.

“Our primary goal in offering a generation tax proposal was to insure that the tax would be constructed in a manner that does not allow it to be passed on to ratepayers. By taxing generators who have low costs, and minimizing taxes on the natural gas generators who set the price of electricity, we enable ratepayers to be held harmless,” said Rep. Nardello.

“The goal of our proposed generation tax is that it be borne by generators, not electric ratepayers, who have already suffered enough. This new approach accomplishes that objective,” said Senator Fonfara.

The Energy Co-Chairs offer their new proposal as an alternative to a tax they first proposed in Senate Bill 1176, An Act Concerning Electric Rate Relief. They also offer it as an alternative to a flat generation tax of $0.0025 per kilowatt hour (kWh) across all fuel sources of electric generation.

“The flat generation tax as now included in the budget would result in less revenue than projected and less income tax revenue, cause dirtier plants to be running, and produce higher electric prices for Connecticut and all of New England,” said Senator Fonfara.

In a statement, Consumer Counsel Mary Healey said, “I am grateful that Legislative leaders are continuing to actively pursue electric rate relief while also seeking to solve the budget crisis. I remain confident that a well-calibrated tax on power plants, which takes into account unique aspects of the regional electric market design, can yield revenues for rate relief and the budget while avoiding a pass-through to ratepayers. Such a tax on power plants might also help to reduce or eliminate the direct tax on electric ratepayers that was passed as a last resort in the 2010 budget negotiations.” The Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC) is the State of Connecticut’s advocate for all utility ratepayers.

The legislator’s proposal would tax electric generation according to each generator’s ability to pay, a reflection of the different costs incurred by generators using different fuels. Under electric market rules (which can only be changed through federal, not state law), all generators are compensated at an equal rate for their electricity, regardless of their different operating costs.

The legislator’s proposal consists of three possible levels of taxation, of which only one would be implemented, and which would raise approximately $72 million, $100 million or $150 million in revenue respectively.

The $72 million level matches and replaces the amount of revenue raised in the flat generation tax included in recent budget proposals. The $100 million and $150 million levels would raise additional revenue to support Connecticut based clean energy, and to further lower electric bills by eliminating the CTA electric bill surcharge, at a savings of $30 per year for the average household.

“Conversations on our proposal are ongoing with the governor’s office and legislative leaders. We are hopeful that our proposal will be adopted in future budget drafts to provide consumers with lower electric bills,” said Rep. Nardello.

All three levels of the proposal are graduated with respect to different fuel sources of electricity generation, including nuclear, coal, oil, and natural gas generation. This measure avoids the tax being passed through to ratepayers.

Level A ($72 million in revenue, approx.)
·Tax of $0.0040 per kWh on nuclear generation, raising $67 million
·Tax of $0.0020 per kWh on coal generation, raising $5.2 million
·Tax of $0.0010 per kWh on oil generation, raising $400,000
·Tax of $0.0005 per kWh on natural gas, raising $5.8 million

Level B ($100 million in revenue, approx.)
·Tax of $0.0052 per kWh on nuclear generation, raising $87.1 million
·Tax of $0.0026 per kWh on coal generation, raising $6.8 million
·Tax of $0.0013 per kWh on oil generation, raising $500,000
·Tax of $0.0006 per kWh on natural gas, raising $7 million

Level C ($150 million in revenue, approx.)
·Tax of $0.0080 per kWh on nuclear generation, raising $134 million
·Tax of $0.0040 per kWh on coal generation, raising $10.4 million
·Tax of $0.0020 per kWh on oil generation, raising $800,000
·Tax of $0.0006 per kWh on natural gas, raising $7 million

Electricity is seen by most of us as a practical necessity. It keeps the lights on in our homes and on our streets. It connects us to the world through television, cellphones and the Internet. It powers our businesses, our hospitals and our children's schools. In short, electricity is a vital part of our economy and our daily lives.

Like other necessities, one might expect that producers of electricity are compensated for their costs, along with a reasonable profit. But this is not how our electric system works.

Instead, electric market rules require that all generators — no matter how efficient and cost-effective — be paid the same as the most inefficient and costly plants. These rules, imposed on our state at the federal level, are a major factor in why Connecticut's electric rates are some of the highest in the country.

As co-chairmen of the General Assembly's Energy and Technology Committee, we have proposed to address this problem with Senate Bill 1176, An Act Concerning Electric Rate Relief.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed an across-the-board tax on all electric generators as part of his shared-sacrifice budget plan for Connecticut. If imposed, certain generators, in particular natural gas facilities, will be able to pass this tax on to consumers, resulting in increased electric rates.

Our proposal is structured differently. It limits the tax to oil, coal and nuclear generation facilities, which —because of the existing market rules — cannot pass the tax on to consumers. It is aimed at those generators who have, and continue to, benefit most from the distorted electric markets.

The revenue would be used to lower electric bills ($30 per year for the average household), support Connecticut-based clean energy and raise funds needed to balance the state budget — avoiding painful cuts in essential services.

Some have criticized the higher tax that we propose for nuclear generation. The Millstone nuclear plant, owned by Virginia-based Dominion Resources, generates some of the lowest-cost electricity in New England. For this, the owners of Millstone should be rewarded. Yet because of the existing electric market rules, Dominion has benefitted from Millstone in excess of all reasonable levels of compensation, contributing to Connecticut's high electric rates.

Despite this, Dominion claims our proposal would make Millstone insolvent, requiring it to close the plant. The company simultaneously threatens to continue operating the facility but with reduced safety standards. These fear tactics are not only inconsistent, but deeply disingenuous and needlessly traumatizing to their workforce and residents of the surrounding community.

Dominion, which purchased Millstone 10 years ago, has since paid off the plant many times over and received profits in the hundreds of millions of dollars per year. It is projected that if the full extent of our proposed tax were imposed, Dominion would still realize a very generous $200 million in annual profits from Millstone.

This finding is supported by multiple independent consultants as well as the state Office of Consumer Council. We have asked Dominion repeatedly to open its books or offer any figures in support of its threats. They have yet to do so.

Given what is at stake for Dominion's shareholders, they have mounted an effective campaign of misinformation. But lost among all their commercials and press conferences is the fact that their hundreds of millions in profit over the years have come at an unjustifiable expense to Connecticut ratepayers. This has caused all of our state's businesses to be less competitive and left many households on limited incomes to make choices between their electric bill, food or heat.

Dominion does not earn its incredible profits in a free market like other companies. Instead, it benefits from an artificial system of electric market rules unconcerned with consumer interests. The health of Connecticut's economy demands a greater parity between the costs of electricity producers and their level of compensation. Our proposal would help establish that.

Connecticut's residents and businesses deserve lower electric rates. Electric generators deserve to be compensated fairly. But amid calls for shared sacrifice, we should not tolerate a system that rewards one company excessively at the cost of higher electric rates for everyone.

“In a matter of days, the Finance and Appropriations committees are scheduled to vote on the legislative budget recommendations. Our budget will be responsible, not political.

“We appreciate the efforts of legislative Republicans to address the state’s budget issues, but are troubled by many aspects of their proposal. Here are just a few:

• Unrealistic expectation of savings: Assumptions on savings from items such as Medicaid Fraud Recovery seem wildly inflated. Further, we expect benefit reductions to low-income seniors and the disabled from the Medicaid waiver.
• Despite assertions to the contrary, their budget cuts do harm to the state’s safety net for low income elderly citizens, vocational-technical and neighborhood schools.
• The proposed selling off of parks, airports, and DMV functions would likely cost residents and change how Connecticut government functions and works for its residents.
• The elimination of the Clean Elections Program and cuts to the Connecticut Human Rights and Opportunities Commission are just two examples of actions that would harm efforts we have made toward good and clean government.

“We are working diligently to reach a budget agreement with Governor Malloy, and expect that the Appropriations and Finance Committees will soon present a realistic and workable budget for Connecticut.”

“We need to put more bite in our present stalking law and that not only means more severe penalties, but recognition and inclusion of online cyber stalking,” said Fox. “Technology has given stalkers a cloak to hide behind and made their victims much more vulnerable.”

The legislation came out of the Speaker’s Task Force on Domestic Violence, of which Fox is a member, and was the subject of a recent public hearing before the Judiciary Committee.

Fox pointed to compelling testimony at the hearing by both law enforcement officials and victims citing examples of stalkers using communications tools such as email to contact their targets’ family and employers resulting in devastating consequences.

“Jane Doe” testified that her stalker had progressed from harassing phone calls and following to an all out cyber attack.

“My ex boyfriend had changed my webpage and placed a webpage on my computer alerting me to a website that explained how cell phones are tapped,” she testified. “He uses social networking websites to spread rumors, gossip and emails to friends and strangers.”

Fox expects the bill to be approved by his committee within the next two weeks.