“With this legislation, we begin to change the status quo,” said Morris, who is vice chairman of the legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, which recommended much of the legislation.

“All stakeholders have acknowledged our present condition is no longer sustainable,” Morris said. “We must educate all children for our mutual good. This was a collaborative effort. We must continue in like manner. In doing, so we will eradicate the largest achievement gap in the nation.

The bill now goes to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who is expected to sign it.

Morris said the legislation recognizes the value of early childhood education. The legislation (SB 458) creates 1,000 new pre-K School Readiness seats, focused in high need, low-performing communities. It also creates a pilot program to enhance literacy for students in kindergarten through third grade.

“We can no longer allow students to struggle through middle and high school because we failed to teach them to read – particularly when we know how to teach reading. This legislation marks a major policy shift in the state that acknowledges and begins to implement best practices that will reap lasting rewards. The old slogan, reading is fundamental, still rings true,” Morris said.

The bill establishes the Commissioner’s Network, which provides the intensive supports and interventions needed to turn around 25 of the most chronically low-performing schools in Connecticut. It grants the state commissioner of education the needed authority to develop or modify plans with teachers and parents at “turnaround” schools, while respecting collective bargaining rights.

The legislation requires at least 10 Family Resource Centers and at least 20 new or expanded School Based Health Centers to be located in education reform districts. It also increases funding for existing Family Resource Centers.

The bill reforms the teacher tenure system by streamlining the hearing process. It also increases the frequency of teacher and administrator evaluations. In addition, it requires the education commissioner to administer an evaluation pilot program in 8 to 10 districts for the 2012-2013 school year.

“Teachers appreciate and deserve a fair evaluation that values their strengths and accomplishments, while providing meaningful input or interventions, if necessary, to improve their craft. This legislation provides the proper balance to tenure and due process protections while enabling a district to remove an ineffective teacher,” Morris said.

The bill also has:

• Funding increases for vocational/technical and vocational/agricultural schools, charter and magnet schools, and a new kindergarten through 8th grade science initiative. Increase funding to state charters from $9,400 to $10,500 per pupil, with an increase of $500 in both FY14 and FY15.
• Requires 2 of next 4 state charter schools to have dual language theme and requires public schools to include a total of 20 minutes of physical exercise in each regular school day for students in grades K thru 5.
• No changes to the ECS formula. Allows ECS Task Force to complete its work. Requires charter school grants to be added to ECS grants and paid through towns where charter schools are located (as per budget bill).

The legislation also deals with teacher preparation and evaluations:

• Requires teacher prep programs to provide classroom experience in 4 semesters.
• Creates a "distinguished educator designation" which requires additional education past master's degree, certain performance standards, may serve as mentor to other teachers. Permits local districts to tie salary and responsibilities to this new designation. Requires 5 years' experience to qualify.
• Requires commissioner to establish a teacher professional development program in reading instruction.
• Requires an applicant for a professional certificate to have a relevant master’s degree.
• Annual teacher evaluations.
• Requires commissioner to administer an evaluation pilot program in 8 - 10 districts for the 2012-2013 school year.
• Teachers who receive low evaluations to work with evaluators to develop improvement plan.
• UCONN will analyze, evaluate, and validate the pilot program and submit their results and recommendations to the State Board of Education.
• Adds the term “ineffectiveness” as grounds for dismissal.
• Length of time to attain tenure is 4 years and there is no automatic granting of tenure. Evaluations to inform tenure decisions and tenure decisions will be based on effective practice.
• Requires training of those being evaluated and those conducting evaluations before evaluations begin.

“For people of color, getting pulled over because of where you are driving and how you look sometime is a sad reality,” Morris said. “This legislation will help prevent the unlawful behavior by some officials.”

The bill modifies the 1999 Racial Profiling Prohibition Act championed by the late Sen. Alvin Penn of Bridgeport, which requires police departments to forward data on traffic stops to the African-American Affairs Commission (AAAC) to assess for evidence of racial profiling. The new law sets standards for reporting the information and shifts responsibility for its analysis to the governor’s budget office, which has more staff and resources available than AAAC.

In addition, the legislation also allows the state to withhold public safety-related funds from communities that don't comply. A 2011 analysis of more than 100,000 traffic stops by dozens of local police departments found that black and Hispanic drivers are significantly more likely to receive a ticket or a court date than white drivers stopped for the same offense.

Previously passed by the Senate, the bill now goes to Governor Dannel P. Malloy who indicated he would sign it into law. “This is a real problem that deserves a real solution, and my administration is committed to carrying out the spirit and letter of this law,” Gov. Malloy said.

Morris said caucus members would not support using new teacher evaluations for making decisions on certification, pay and tenure.

“In addition, any changes in the operation of the state’s 25 lowest performing schools would have to be negotiated the teachers’ unions,” he said.

The caucus also recommends allowing charter schools to be one of the models used to turn around the lowest performing schools.

“The option for turn-around models should be broader and not exclusionary,” Morris said. “With support from the state Department of Education and the districts, direction should be provided that all models should be proven, evidence-based models. Charter schools are clearly one of those models.”

The group outlined its stance on other reform issues:

• The proposed turn-around committee’s function should be reconciled with the school governance council legislation that the caucus approved in last year’s legislative session.
• The authority of the state education commissioner should be restored in order to reconstitute a low-achieving school with a state or local charter school. Low-performing schools should not be placed under the control of a private entity.
• The caucus does not support charter schools over public schools; charter schools should not be excluded as an option.
• Commissioner network schools should engage in “impact bargaining,” which would allow teachers to bargain over working conditions such as longer school days.
• A performance evaluation (PEAC) pilot program should be created in 10 school districts.

Morris said the legislation, House Bill 5024: An Act Concerning Voting Rights, would allow Election Day voter registration and create an online voter registration system.

“Voter turnout in Connecticut has been falling with every election,” Morris said. “We need to encourage more voting and break down the unnecessary barriers that keep people from participating in the democratic process. To improve access to voting, we must make it a priority to modernize and revitalize our elections system.”

The bill would allow eligible Connecticut residents to register to vote and cast a ballot on Election Day. It would establish Election Day registration (EDR) procedures and eliminate the use of presidential ballots since they will be redundant under the bill's EDR provisions.

The bill would also require the secretary of the state to establish and maintain an online system for voter registration. Starting in January 2014, Connecticut residents would be able to go online and use their driver’s license number to log into the website. They would enter the same information that is currently part of the paper-registration. That information would be verified and sent electronically to the registrar of voters in their town and the registrar would be able to accept or reject the registration.

Election Day Registration would begin in 2013, a municipal election, allowing election officials to have three election cycles before administering EDR in a Presidential election.

The legislation now goes to the state Senate for consideration.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Monday awarded financing to two state companies, which he highlighted as examples of businesses that are in a position to expand and create jobs in Connecticut. Malloy, in a press release announcing the agenda for this week's State Bond Commission, emphasized plans to invest in expansion projects by FactSet Research Systems Inc., a Norwalk-based financial data and software company, and Beacon Industries, an aerospace machining company in Newington. The state's investment in their companies will retain and add high-power jobs to the state's workforce.

FactSet, which has 641 employees, expects to add 200 jobs over the next five years as part of its expansion project, which will be supported by a 10-year, $2 million loan at a rate of 2.5 percent from the Department of Economic and Community Development.

Based on the number of jobs FactSet creates, the loan may be forgiven, according to the statement from the governor's office.

Beacon Industries has planned the acquisition of TECT Power, and will invest $10.2 million to move its Bloomfield operation into TECT's Newington building. The move will retain 165 employees and add 60 new jobs. Like FactSet, Beacon will receive funding to aid this project, loans which may be forgiven based on the company's job growth. The DECD has pledged a 10-year, $1.5 million loan at a rate of 4 percent and the Connecticut Development Authority will support the merger with a $1.5 million loan.

"It is great to see a result such as this -- $2 million in state funding to help a worthy Norwalk employer -- coming a relatively short time after Gov. Malloy's jobs tour of the state," said state Rep. Bruce Morris (D-Norwalk), in a statement.

"I'm encouraged by the governor's continued commitment to increasing jobs in lower Fairfield County and the state of Connecticut as a whole."

"By changing how the state partners with business, reducing bureaucracy, and speeding up how we invest and support Connecticut companies, we are setting the stage for an economic revival," Malloy said in the statement. "Our unemployment rate, once 9.2 percent, continues a steady decline and is now lower than the national average. But we need to do more to ensure that our economic recovery continues. By supporting the expansion of FactSet and the merger of Beacon and TECT Power, both solid companies with a history in the state, we are sending a strong message that we are serious about turning around decades of no-growth."

In addition to the loan from the DECD, FactSet may be able to claim job creation tax credits and up to $8 million in Urban and Industrial Sites Reinvestment Tax Credits.

State Sen. Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) praised the state investment.

"The key to getting the economy back on track is helping companies like FactSet grow and hire new workers," Duff said in a statement. "FactSet is a global company that stays true to its roots here in Norwalk. This is an investment that will come back to the state tenfold in the amount of jobs it creates and the boost it will no doubt give the economy here."

"FactSet is a leading business citizen in Norwalk, which has provided increasingly important contributions to the economy of our region," said Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia, in a press release. "The announcement is particularly welcome in that it furthers the reputation of FactSet, the state and the City of Norwalk as good places for well educated high tech workers. I want to thank Gov. Malloy and members of the Norwalk delegation to the State Legislature for their hard work in accomplishing this partnership."

“It is great to see a result such as this – $2 million in state funding to help a worthy Norwalk employer – coming a relatively short time after Governor Malloy’s jobs tour of the state. I’m encouraged by the governor’s continued commitment to increasing jobs in lower Fairfield County and the state of Connecticut as a whole.”

The funding is in the form of a loan that will assist the company also in making renovations and improvements to its headquarters in Norwalk. The loan will be provided at an interest rate of 2.5 percent for ten years with principal deferred for five years.

The company is expected to retain 641 jobs and create up to 200 or more new jobs. The loan is forgivable if the company reaches its job creation milestones. The project will create or retain approximately 147 construction related jobs.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $10 million.

The State Bond Commission is expected to approve the funding when it meets at 10:30 a.m., Friday, April 27, in the State Capitol complex.

The funding, designated for Elmcrest Affordable Housing, is part of a $15 million proposal for gap financing of low- and moderate-income housing, which is expected to create or retain 784 construction-related jobs and provide for a total of 250 housing units across the state. In addition to Norwalk, the funding is proposed for housing in New Haven, Bridgeport, Cheshire, Cornwall, Southington and Hartford.

“I applaud the governor’s commitment to making housing affordable for everyone in Connecticut. The state’s investment in affordable housing is critical to the city’s growth and prosperity, and this grant is great news for Norwalk,” Morris said.

“This grant will not only enhance affordable housing in Norwalk and elsewhere, but also create jobs and strengthen the state’s economy,” Morris said.

The State Bond Commission is expected to approve the funding when it meets at 10:30 a.m. next Friday in the State Capitol complex in Hartford.

Morris was named assistant majority whip during his second term and served in that capacity until his recent promotion to deputy majority whip.

State House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden) complimented Morris on his new appointment. “Rep. Morris is a highly respected member of our caucus. His energy, tenacity and integrity will be valuable assets in this new leadership position,” Donovan said.

“I am honored to be chosen for this new leadership position and ready to work hard to further Democratic ideals and policies that benefit Connecticut residents,” Morris said. “I am always available to members who want to talk about our issues or any legislative questions they may have.”

Another 135 residents are in the process of being hired through the program, which came out of the bipartisan jobs bill passed in October. One of those businesses getting state funds to hire and train a new employee is Mayan Corporation, a small manufacturing company in Norwalk.

“STEP UP is a great program that gives us another opportunity to help the unemployed get back to work. It's a win for the people and a win for the state, while giving small businesses a chance to grow,” Morris said.

“Even helping a small business hire one new worker can boost productivity and help that person get back on his feet,” Sen. Duff said. “STEP-UP gives businesses like Mayan Corporation the support they need to expand, thrive and create jobs. That is what economic revival is all about.”

“STEP-UP is helping us reduce our costs and train our new employee,” said Ronald Pair, co-owner of Mayan Corporation, which makes high-end leather goods for designers of handbags and luggage. “It is definitely good for business.”

“Small businesses, like the Mayan Corporation, are the engines of economic growth. This investment by the state allows this Norwalk company to hire more workers and help grow our local economy,” said Rep. Chris Perone (D-Norwalk).

The Subsidized Training & Employment Program (STEP UP) provides two types of hiring incentives – a scaled, six-month wage subsidy and a small manufacturer training grant that provides up to $12,500 over a six-month period. Qualified participants are typically residents who may have some of the necessary job qualifications but who still require on-the-job training to meet the needs of the company.

“The incentives offered through STEP UP are helping employers make the decision to hire individuals that show tremendous potential, but need more training,” said state Department of Labor Commissioner Glenn Marshall. “The positive response to STEP UP from the business community provides further validation that Connecticut’s economy is recovering and the number of job opportunities is growing. We are grateful to Governor Malloy and the General Assembly for having the vision to approve an initiative that benefits both employers and jobseekers.”

In total, STEP UP will provide $20 million in subsidies and training grants to help Connecticut small businesses hire more employees. Of the new jobs the program has helped create so far, positions include customer service representatives, machine operators, office assistants, carpenters, mechanics, equipment installers, shipping and receiving, fabricator, dispatch manager, tool grinders, help desk technicians and process engineers with hourly wages from $10 to $28.85.

To be eligible for either program, a company must employ less than 50 people and training must be provided at the business site. The new employee must be an unemployed jobseeker, and those hired under the wage subsidy program must meet certain income requirements and reside in specific municipalities, based on population or unemployment rates.

Small businesses and unemployed jobseekers seeking additional information on the STEP UP program should visit the Connecticut Department of Labor’s website at ct.gov/dol/StepUp to download a fact sheet, contact information and inquiry forms.

NORWALK -- More than 100 people of all walks of life -- from politicians and ministers to convenience store clerks and ex-cons -- marched from Calvary Baptist Church up South Main Street on Saturday to show their support for Trayvon Martin and demand the arrest Martin's killer, George Zimmerman.

The "March for Justice" attracted a diverse array of Norwalkers who were outraged by the handling of the Martin case in Sanford, Fla. Marchers walked from Calvary Baptist Church, 21 Concord St., to Grace Baptist Church on West Avenue, where various community leaders spoke about their feelings on the case.

"I may look calm but on the inside, I am a parent. That could have been my son," said the Rev. Nellie Mann, who helped organize the event. "That is my son."

Martin was fatally shot by Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, in February while walking through a gated community in Sanford, Fla. He was wearing a hoodie and carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea, and Zimmerman believed that the teen, who was visiting his father, was a "suspicious" person. Zimmerman claimed that he acted in self-defense, and he hasn't been arrested for killing the unarmed black teen. Communities around the United States have held rallies to demand that Zimmerman be brought to justice.

Religious leaders like Mann and the Rev. Lindsay Curtis, of Grace Baptist Church, joined public officials like state Rep. Bruce Morris, D-140, Norwalk Mayor Richard A. Moccia and Norwalk Police Chief Harry Rilling at the rally. Moccia said that the rally shows that there "needs to be justice for all."

Disappointed that he could not speak at the rally, Norwalk rapper Joe Grits said the event lacked a speaker who could engage youths in their teens or 20s, and many of the speakers were ignoring the issues in their own community. Grits' repeated requests to speak led to a dialogue in the hallway of Grace Baptist between Curtis and Grits in which Curtis said that he did not want Grits to "cause a disruption" by speaking at the event.

"Why did it take until Trayvon Martin to start a rally?" Grits said. "Why didn't it happen when Vonterrell (George) passed or Joe Bateman passed? Violence is violence."

Norwalk resident David Bowman said he felt rage when he first heard about the murder of Trayvon but at first, he felt it was not his place to protest.

He joined the march on Saturday, because he now views the case as a national issue.

"Justice has not been served in either his community or by the Florida courts," he said.

In addition to supporting Martin, Charlene Fuller and Anita Fuller-Osborne wanted to march in the rally to honor the memory of their late brother, Richard Fuller, a civic leader whom the sisters said "would have definitely been there."

"This is a major injustice," said Charlene Fuller. "We all have to come together so it doesn't happen anywhere else."

Wearing a motorcycle racing jacket, defense attorney Darnell Crosland joked that he was not dressed in his standard bowtie and a suit, and he asked the crowd: "Do I look suspicious?"

"When I walk into a courtroom or a courthouse, I do look suspicious," said Crosland. "People look at me as a nontraditional lawyer. They sometimes ask who my lawyer is."

Crosland also asked Curtis to take donations from the community for Martin's family, and he donated funds toward the cause.

NORWALK, Conn. – The old Norwalk Company building on North Water Street will be getting cleaned up thanks to a state grant.

A $500,000 Brownfield Remediation Grant from the state Department of Economic and Community Development will allow the city an opportunity to create a mixed-use development project on the site, although the funding still has to be approved by the state Bond Commission.

"This important state funding not only will help in the redevelopment of the old Norwalk Co. building but also provide a boost to our local economy by creating jobs," state Rep. Bruce Morris, D-Norwalk, said. "On behalf of Norwalk, I'm very grateful for this grant. Without it, the project would be nearly impossible to complete."

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a brownfield is a property looking for expansion, redevelopment or the "reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant."

"With the Brownfield grant, the City of Norwalk will use the funds to clean up the old Norwalk Company site to make way for a new development project, which will bring jobs and economic vibrancy to the neighborhood," Mayor Richard Moccia said.

“This important state funding not only will help in the redevelopment of the old Norwalk Co. building but also provide a boost to our local economy by creating jobs,” Rep. Morris said. “On behalf of Norwalk, I’m very grateful for this grant. Without it, the project would be nearly impossible to complete.”

The brownfield remediation grant will help pay for the clean-up and reconfiguration of the old Norwalk Company building on North Water Street, paving the way for a mixed-use development project at the site.

Governor Dannel P. Malloy said the Norwalk grant was awarded as part of the state Department of Economic and Community Development’s awarding of $16 million in loans and grants for brownfield projects throughout the state.

“This grant is great news for Norwalk because it marks the start of a redevelopment project that will create jobs, boost the economy and result in a cleaner environment,” Sen. Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) said. “Cleaning up brownfield sites makes for cleaner, more vibrant communities and this project will be no exception.”

“This is a smart investment by the state. Cleaning up brownfields is good for the environment — and key to our economic recovery,” said Rep. Chris Perone. (D-Norwalk). “This grant will help create jobs immediately and lays the foundation for economic expansion.”

Rep. Bruce Morris, joining other members of the Norwalk legislative delegation and officials, speaks out at a press conference in Hartford for more equitable Education Cost Sharing funding for Norwalk.

“It is my hope that this is the first of many continued steps where the state delegation, the mayor, other local officials, the Norwalk Education Foundation and residents all come together for the good of Norwalk and its students,” Morris said.

The delegation cited Danbury, a city they believe compares favorably to Norwalk in all capacities but property values and receives $24.5 million or $5,579 a student. By comparison Norwalk receives $10.6 million or $996 a student.

“It’s been decades that we’ve suffered from an insufficient and disproportionate share of ECS funding,” Morris said.

Morris' testimony and that of the business owners are here.

House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden), the co-chairmen of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, Rep. Robert Megna (D-New Haven) and Sen. Joseph J. Crisco Jr., (D-Woodbridge), Rep. Bruce Morris (D-Norwalk) and members of the working group announced the legislation (HB 5487) Tuesday during a press conference in Hartford.

The working group, chaired by Megna, has been studying and seeking to overcome the obstacles that small business owners face in seeking to purchase health insurance coverage for employees and their families.

“Small businesses in Norwalk as well as across the state have long complained that health-care costs are too high,” Morris said.

“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. This new legislation will give small-business owners health-care coverage options,” Morris said.

“The cost of providing health insurance is stifling small business growth. It is not uncommon for small employers to face annual double-digit premium increases, making it nearly impossible to budget for health care costs,” Donovan said. “This bill gives small employers new bargaining power, increases transparency and eliminates disincentives to hiring older, more skilled workers. By allowing small employers to purchase insurance through a large pool, we can lower costs and make rates more predictable.”

“This legislation will make the market work for small businesses as well as it does for large groups – providing a quality product at a lower premium,” Megna said. “Here in Connecticut we call it the insurance capital of the world and that’s a good thing because it means we have a lot of people employed in the insurance industry. But when I think about what we’re actually trying to do here by giving everyone access to insurance we’re really trying to make Connecticut the true insurance capital,” Megna said.

Joining them in the announcement were Dr. Carolyn Malon, a dentist and owner of Family Dental Care of Farmington, and Kevin Galvin, owner of Connecticut Commercial Maintenance Inc. and co-founder and chairman of Small Business for a Healthy Connecticut, a statewide network of small business owners.

“Connecticut needs to recognize the plight of small business and level the playing field by providing more health care options for small-business owners,” Galvin said.

Malon said it is difficult for small-business owners to find affordable health care options. “As both a small business owner and a health care provider, I am very familiar with the challenges employers face and also can’t over-emphasize the importance of access to quality insurance that covers routine, preventative care.”

Malon recounted her own experience last year that demonstrated the need for affordable health care. In trying to keep their health insurance premiums down, she and her husband took a gamble on a policy with higher deductibles. “The decision backfired when our son was hospitalized for treatment of a blood-borne staph infection. Due in part to our high deductible, our out of pocket cost for his treatment amounted to more than $9,000,” she said. “A bill like this is beyond many citizens’ ability to pay.”

The legislation:

• Permits small employers with fewer than 50 employees, including self-employed individuals, to purchase employee health insurance through the state employee plan. This would allow them to take advantage of the state’s bargaining power to secure good health care at affordable prices.
• Eliminates insurers’ ability to adjust small group premiums based on age, gender, occupation or group size.
• Requires insurers to rate and offer policies to associations. This would enable small businesses to band together with their professional associations and receive a premium quote based on the health experience of the entire group.
• Requires insurers to report on whether employers’ current insurance plans meet the minimum standards that will be in place in 2014.

NORWALK -- Mayor Richard A. Moccia, along with Norwalk legislators, announced a march on the capitol in support of Education Cost Sharing (ECS) reform at a press conference Thursday night.

The delegation Moccia nicknamed "TUFF," for "treat us fairly in funding," included Moccia, Sen. Bob Duff, D-25, State Reps. Bruce Morris, D-140, Gail Lavielle, R-143, Terrie Wood, R-141, Chris Perone, D-137, Norwalk Education Foundation (NEF) President Lauren Rosato, and representatives from the Norwalk PTO encouraged Norwalkers to sign up for a March 15 bus trip to march on the Legislative Office Building.

"Some of the numbers have been out there before. We can talk about per pupil funding against schools smaller than us or with towns more affluent than we are, but it boils down to this: The end result is it hurts our kids," Moccia said.

Opponents of the current ECS formula argue that it unfairly weighs the city's net grand list value, ignoring that many Norwalk residents rent and that, despite the list's high value, there is still poverty in the city. This gives the city less in funding and unfairly pushes taxes up, critics say.

The push comes amidst a city-wide campaign to get the ECS formula changed. Two weeks ago the Board of Education passed a resolution passed calling for the state legislature to "fundamentally alter" the ECS formula so it weighs accurately "the socioeconomic demands on communities' school systems." That same week a delegation from Norwalk including Moccia and Board of Education Chairman Jack Chiaramonte went to Hartford to testify on the city's behalf. Last week the NEF announced a petition that Rosato said 966 signatures as of Thursday night.

"Almost 50 percent of our students are on free or reduced lunch," Moccia said. "We have seniors that are house rich and cash poor."

The goal for the delegation is three full buses for the trip next Thursday and 10,000 signatures on the petition before the ECS committee makes its recommendations in the fall.

Morris said he hopes the march shows Norwalk's diversity. He said as a member of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus he has a hard time explaining to other legislators the city's diversity.

"As legislators we can say numbers make a difference," Morris said. "Hopefully we can represent the diversity. Hopefully we can change the perception that (we're just rich white people from Fairfield County)."

Duff heralded the non-partisan effort and hoped parents would make the trip "to say as a group, 'We need more funding for ECS.' That will get people's attention."

"This is an issue we fought for a number of years," Duff said. "As a matter of fact, we've made some gains, but those gains are not enough."

NORWALK -- Local lawmakers stood in solidarity with employees and clients of Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now to call for a change in leadership at the anti-poverty agency.

Picketers held signs that read, "Can the Mann" and "Joe must go," during what was described as a peaceful rally outside the South Norwalk Community Center Wednesday night. More than 30 people were in attendance, including state Rep. Bruce Morris and state Sen. Bob Duff.

"Our first and foremost concern is the children who attend the Head Start program," said Duff, D-25. "We need to make sure we have a Head Start program that not only meets the needs of the community but delivers quality services, and it can't happen right now with the current leadership."

Earlier this month, Duff and Morris stood with Mayor Richard A. Moccia to call for the resignation of NEON President and CEO Joseph E. Mann. As head of the anti-poverty agency, Mann has been blamed for the mismanagement of government funding.

A recent government audit, which found that the NEON misused more than $400,000 in government funds earmarked for Head Start, opened the floodgates, so to speak, to a host of questionable decisions Mann has made during his tenure.

Community members and Head Start parents called for the rally in an effort to drum up support ahead of tonight's Board of Directors meeting. The board has scheduled a special meeting at the South Norwalk Community Center, 98 South Main St., to discuss Mann's future at NEON.

Duff and Morris gave board members an ultimatum: remove Mann from NEON, or risk being thrown off the board.

A former board member at NEON who was voted off several years ago, the Rev. David Washington presented a petition signed by more than 600 parents, employees and clients of NEON. The petition calls on Mann and the entire NEON Board of Directors to step down.

If the board does not take action tonight, Washington said he would send the petition to Roderick L. Bremby, commissioner of the state Department of Social Services.

"We trust the board will make the right decision," he said.

NORWALK — When Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy visited Brookside Elementary School on Monday, local teachers’ union President Bruce Le Vine Mellion was one of the first to greet him.

Mellion did not engage the governor over his controversial proposals targeting tenure — the process whereby teachers earn job security. He simply handed Malloy an eight-page report saying unfocused, disruptive and out-of-control elementary students are making it hard for educators to do their jobs.

Malloy’s stops at Brookside and Norwalk Community College were the latest in his education reform tour to sell initiatives, including restructuring tenure, he unveiled last month. Three Democratic lawmakers — state Sen. Bob Duff and Reps. Bruce Morris and Chris Perone — joined Malloy for the tour.

Monday’s focus was early childhood education; it was devoid of any of the heated exchanges over tenure the governor had in Hartford on Thursday during the first of a series of planned public forums, including more in Fairfield County.

Unions were incensed by the governor’s comments that to earn job security “basically the only thing you have to do is show up for four years.” Malloy wants teachers to re-earn tenure every five years.

“That was discourteously done,” Mellion said in an interview Monday about the comments, adding it was not the appropriate time to confront the governor.

Unions like Mellion’s are hoping they can continue to rely upon their traditional Democratic allies in the Legislature, which has until the end of the session in early May to act on the governor’s proposals.

“ It’s an election year,” Mellion said. “ If we bring up good, rational, cogent arguments and concerns, they’ll listen to us.”

Duff said it is appropriate to discuss tenure and teacher evaluations, but expected changes to Malloy’s proposal.

Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia, a Republican, said, “I think it’s going to be a very, very hard fight.

“The governor’s very good at compromises.

There will probably have to be some compromises and safeguards for teachers.”

NORWALK, Conn. – Brandon Salguero had unusual teacher Monday at Norwalk's Brookside Elementary School: Gov. Dannel Malloy.

Malloy gave the 5-year-old lessons in meeting people during a brief visit to the school's preschool classrooms. "Every time you shake hands you have to look the person in the face," said Mallloy told the boy.

Malloy was accompanied by some of Norwalk's elected officials, Superintendent Susan Marks and other educators as he looked at the school before heading to Norwalk Community College for a look at the Child Development Lab School there and a roundtable discussion about early education.

Malloy, State Rep. Bruce Morris, State Sen. Bob Duff and Mayor Richard Moccia visited all four of Brookside's pre-K classrooms. The group watched children sing "Bingo was His Nam-o" in one room and learned that this is the first-year kindergartners have used the computer classroom at the school.
Malloy said that early education is the "biggest bang for our education buck."

"If we can get more 3- and 4-year-olds to have a pre-kindergarten learning experience that's probably the single largest thing we can do to close the achievement gap," he said. "That is in fact one of the biggest differences between urban and nonurban areas, the percentage of students that are actually having that experience.

"Ultimately what we want to do here in Connecticut is make sure every child has access to an early-childhood slot."

NORWALK – As many families struggle to pay their bills and put dinner on the table, Christian Community Action of Norwalk has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority to help the agency fight hunger in the region.

State Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, and state Rep. Bruce Morris, D-Norwalk, welcomed the grant award Thursday. It will help the nonprofit organization keep the doors to its food pantry open and its shelves stocked with food for needy families living in Norwalk, New Canaan, Wilton, Weston and Westport.

"In this tough economy, hunger is a very real problem that afflicts too many people in our communities. This grant recognizes the hard work of Christian Community Action in meeting the needs of people who are struggling to put food on the table," Duff said in a statement. "I applaud CHEFA's decision to include CCA in its list of dedicated service providers that will receive grant awards this year."

"Christian Community Action does phenomenal work at a time when it is most needed. We certainly appreciate this award being given by the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority. It is well deserved," Morris said in the statement.

CCA has seen dramatic increases in the number of families and individuals seeking help in recent years. The organization serves about 100 families and individuals a week.

"Christian Community Action is very pleased to be receiving these funds from CHEFA. The grant will help us continue to provide groceries to those struggling with food insecurity in the Greater Norwalk area," Christi Pope, CCA's executive, said in a statement. "Statewide recognition of the critical nature of social services safety nets is a sign to us all that our pleas are being heard."

CHEFA announced $1 million in grants to 23 nonprofit community service agencies throughout the state.

NORWALK -- Christian Community Action of Norwalk was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority and local officials welcomed the award and the timing of the event.

"Christian Community Action does phenomenal work at a time when it is most needed. We certainly appreciate this award being given by the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority. It is well deserved," State Rep. Bruce Morris, D-140, said.

"In this tough economy, hunger is a very real problem that afflicts too many people in our communities," State Sen Bob Duff, D-25, said. "This grant recognizes the hard work of Christian Community Action in meeting the needs of people who are struggling to put food on the table. I applaud CHEFA's decision to include CCA in its list of dedicated service providers that will receive grant awards this year."

CCA serves needy families living in Norwalk, New Canaan, Wilton, Weston and Westport.

CCA has seen dramatic increases in the number of families and individuals seeking help in recent years, CCA officials said. The organization serves about 100 families and individuals a week.

"Christian Community Action is very pleased to be receiving these funds from CHEFA. The grant will help us continue to provide groceries to those struggling with food insecurity in the Greater Norwalk area," said Christi Pope, executive director of Christian Community Action of Norwalk. "Statewide recognition of the critical nature of social services safety nets is a sign to us all that our pleas are being heard."

CHEFA on Thursday announced $1 million in grants to 23 nonprofit community service agencies throughout the state.

HARTFORD – State Rep. Bruce Morris, D-Norwalk, and others spoke out Wednesday against a proposal made by Gov. Dannel Malloy during the first Minority Business Enterprise Day at the State Capitol.

Morris, vice chair of the legislature's Human Services Committee, was joined by Teresa Younger from the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, Ted Hsu of Minority Business Enterprise, Steve Harris from the African-American Alliance and business owners as they discussed ways to improve opportunities for minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses.

"As legislators, we must continue to champion the cause for women-owned and minority-owned business," said Morris, according to a statement.

"The state's expenditure for human services, which now makes up 29 percent of the state budget, could be reduced over time, if we could level the playing field and increase the number of qualified minority business doing business with the state of Connecticut."

Morris spoke out against Malloy's proposal to cut continued funding of a disparities study approved during the 2011 General Assembly session. The study, which is supposed to be completed by Oct. 1, seeks to bring to light abuses of Connecticut's minority set-aside laws.

Among the abuses:

• Many women-owned firms are proxies for white male-owned firms using wives, daughters, relatives and employees.

• Many "front companies" are created by white male-owned firms deploying their minority employees as a means to divert state contracts.

• Half of Connecticut agencies failed to meet goals of the Minority Business Enterprise.

• Racially ethnic minorities are 29 percent of the state's population but minority-owned firms were awarded less than 1 percent of state contracts in 2010.

The group gave its recommendations for remedying the abuses:

• Separation of minority business enterprise's from women-owned enterprises for the purpose of defining a Minority Business Enterprise.

• Completion of the study by the set date and implement recommendations.

• Increase of penalties for creation of "front companies" to felony violations.

• Addressing that Connecticut exempts a large number of contracts from the state supplier diversity goals, amounting to $7 billion over the past 10 years.

"We have a duty to make sure that minority and women-owned businesses are included in our economic success strategy of the future," Morris said in the statement. "We have laws on the books that serve a good purpose but we need better monitoring to make sure they are followed."

Rep. Morris was joined by Teresa Younger from the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, Ted Hsu of MBE, Steve Harris from the African-American Alliance and business owners as they discussed ways to improve opportunities for minority-owned businesses.

“As legislators, we must continue to champion the cause for women-owned and minority-owned business,” said Rep. Morris, who is vice chair of the legislature’s Human Services Committee.

“The state’s expenditure for human services, which now makes up 29 percent of the state budget, could be reduced over time, if we could level the playing field and increase the number of qualified minority business doing business with the state of Connecticut,” Morris said.

Morris and the others spoke out against Governor Dannel Malloy’s proposal to cut continued funding of a disparities study approved during the 2011 General Assembly session. The study, which is supposed to be completed by October 1, 2012, seeks to bring to light abuses of Connecticut’s minority set-aside laws.

Among the abuses:

• Many women-owned firms are proxies for white male owned firms using wives, daughters, relatives and employees.
• Many “front companies” are created by white male owned firms deploying their minority employees as a means to divert state contracts.
• Half of Connecticut agencies failed to meet MBE goals.
• Racially ethnic minorities compose 29 percent of the state’s population but minority owned firms were awarded less than 1 percent of state contracts in 2010.

The group gave its recommendations for remedying the abuses:

• Separation of MBE’s from WBE’s (women owned enterprises) for the purpose of defining an MBE.
• Completion of the study by the set date and implement recommendations.
• Increase of penalties for creation of “front companies” to felony violations.
• Addressing the fact that Connecticut currently exempts a large number of contracts from the state supplier diversity goals, amounting to $7 billion over the past 10 years.

“We have a duty to make sure that minority and women-owned businesses are included in our economic success strategy of the future,” Morris said. “We have laws on the books that serve a good purpose but we need better monitoring to make sure they are followed.”

Rep. Bruce Morris, with PCSW’s Teresa Younger at his side, speaks at MBE Day.

The funding builds on last year’s commitment, which allocated more than $130 million to this effort, bringing the total commitment to nearly $500 million over the next ten years.

“I applaud Governor Malloy's commitment across this wide range of affordable housing issues,” Morris said. “As a member of the legislature’s Housing Committee, I look forward to assisting in achieving these goals in the House and through the entire legislative process.”

 The proposal announced last week emphasizes the governor’s commitment to creating housing for low- and moderate-income residents as a driver of economic growth and making Connecticut a more vibrant place to work and live.

“This is a long overdue investment in already existing assets that have been neglected for far too long,” Morris said. “All of our communities that host state-owned properties will benefit from the important commitment and the families that call public housing home will be better served and have their quality of life improved.”

The package builds upon the initiatives Governor Malloy included in last year’s budget, including an increase of $30 million in bonding for each of the next ten years for public housing to bring deteriorated and vacant units back on line; an additional $20 million that will increase affordable housing options; an additional $12.5 million in capital funding to re-invigorate the state’s elderly congregate housing; and an annualized $1.5 million for the Rental Assistance Program (RAP) to support an additional 150 RAPs for scattered site supportive housing, which assists low-income families with securing affordable decent, safe and sanitary housing.

It is estimated that these housing initiatives included in the current two-year budget will create or retain over 6,700 construction and other related jobs.

“Investing in housing where there already is infrastructure is smart policy and this advances an agenda for making affordable housing more available especially since we have high housing costs,” Morris said.

Governor Malloy is also proposing a reorganization of the state’s housing functions into a new State Office of Housing within the Department of Economic & Community Development to provide leadership and facilitate coordination, consolidating a number of offices from several state agencies in order to strengthen the state’s structure and vision on housing initiatives.

 “For the past twenty years, the State of Connecticut has languished in its affordable housing commitments, not investing in this critical area that is needed to help individuals and families find stability and employment. It’s time we changed that approach and make Connecticut a better, more affordable place to live,” Governor Malloy said. “As many studies have shown, every dollar spent on affordable housing generates multiple times that amount in private economic activity. Housing is going to be a key component of our success to get Connecticut moving again.”

“Our commitment to increasing the availability of affordable housing is an investment in families and our economy that will result in a solid return for Connecticut residents,” Speaker of the House Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden) said. “I look forward to working with the Governor on this important initiative.”

Democratic Speaker of the House Chris Donovan will join legislators representing southwestern Fairfield County and area business and industry leaders at Norwalk Community College's annual Legislative Breakfast on Feb. 15.

House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-142, state Sens. Bob Duff, D-25, and Toni Boucher, R-26, along with state Reps. Bruce Morris, D-140, Chris Perone, D-137, Terri Wood, R-141 and Gail Lavielle, R-143, are among the legislators who will attend.

At the breakfast, David L. Levinson, NCC president and interim vice president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Board of Regents for Higher Education; and Moira Lyons, NCC director of Community and Government Relations, will brief legislators on the need for state funding to help the college serve an ever increasing number of students and create a workforce that will help stimulate the economy.

Agenda topics will include:

Workforce Readiness

Increasing enrollment requires additional faculty if NCC is to be able to deliver the skilled workers necessary to increase employment and stimulate the economy. The Center for Science, Health and Wellness is now up and running; the next step is to ensure we have the faculty necessary to make full use of its outstanding resources.

Wright Technical School/NCC

J. M. Wright Technical High School is scheduled to re-open in 2014. An Early College academic partnership between NCC and Wright Tech would address the issue of remediation and improve student retention and graduation rates. More than 70 percent of high school graduates require remedial classes before entering NCC.

Career Services

NCC seeks to expand its career development services in order to help students choose a focused academic path leading to graduation and employment.

Infrastructure

NCC seeks funding to build an enclosed pedestrian bridge over Richards Avenue, thus safely connecting the East and West campuses.

Essential NCC Expansion

NCC is a "landlocked" college with no room for expansion on its current site. A proposed campus presence in Stamford would enhance the college and provide value to the community by delivering services where more than a third of our students reside.

Under Malloy’s proposal, Norwalk would receive an additional $577,476, or 5.72 percent, in ECS funding, increasing Norwalk’s total education grant to $10,672,607 for 2012-13.

“That’s really good news,” Morris said. “The additional money for Norwalk is certainly welcomed and needed at this time.”

“While the total funding proposed for Norwalk is not sufficient to meet all our needs, it is certainly appreciated and my hope is that Norwalk’s leaders can match the state’s 5.72 percent increase,” Morris said.

In his State of the State address Wednesday at the State Capitol, Malloy outlined his vision for Connecticut that maintains recent efforts to stabilize the state’s finances and continues to pursue the job creation policies that have begun to spur economic growth. Malloy also announced the final part of his education reform agenda – an overhaul of the state’s tenure system so that it rewards quality teachers, not just those who have been in the profession the longest.

Malloy’s proposal addresses many areas in need of reform, including: increasing the access to and quality of early childhood education slots; allocating new funding and implementing new approaches that will improve low performing schools; expanding slots for public schools of choice including charter schools; removing red tape and other barriers that stand in the way of local school districts; repositioning our vo-tech schools to promote job readiness and job linkages; and improving teacher preparation so professionals have the skills they need to excel when they enter the classroom.

“In these difficult economic times, it is critical that we invest in early childhood education and school districts that are the most challenged,” Morris said.

“We need to guarantee the success of our students. The governor’s plan to overhaul the teacher preparation program is critical to that success,” he said.

“The issue of teacher tenure also must be resolved. In his proposal, the governor provides a delicate balance to addressing teacher tenure reform while respecting the many good things teachers do in the classroom. The issue is not about bashing teachers but rewarding great teaching and supporting those who need help and fail to meet standards,” Morris said.

Information on the governor’s tenure reform package is attached.

The forum is the first of four to be held this year in Norwalk City Hall. The other forums will be from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, Wednesday, Aug. 15, and Wednesday, Nov. 21.

The forums, co-sponsored by the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, will focus on ways to keep people in their homes while representing themselves in the foreclosure process.

“This forum will give people the power to help themselves. It is a win for all parties involved,” said Rep. Morris. “It is an opportunity for homeowners in a difficult financial situation to learn that they may have options to keep their homes.”

“While Connecticut tries to navigate through these tough economic times, this forum can be of some help to homeowners who are still having some difficulty,” Morris said. “Since 2008, nearly 11,000 people have taken advantage of this foreclosure mediation program and 85 percent are still in their homes. That is a real success story, and we need to spread the word about it.”

The forum will highlight resources and assistance available through the state’s Mediation Program and Connecticut Fair Housing Center. Topics to be discussed range from home loan modification to negotiating a home exit strategy. An 80-page publication explaining the foreclosure process, including forms needed for court, will also be available.

NORWALK -- The classrooms were empty at West Rocks Middle School on Monday, but the auditorium filled up quickly, drawing about 200 people to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Parents, children, lawmakers, clergymen and school officials attended the ceremony, a yearly tradition.

More than paying tribute to King, the ceremony was a rally cry for residents to embody his message through community service.

During a keynote speech, the Rev. Ray Dancey of Macedonia Church espoused the special value of mentor programs. He leads a faith-based youth service program called Serving All Vessels Equally (S.A.V.E.).

Against the backdrop of disturbing statistics -- that 58 percent of America's black fourth-grade students are "functionally illiterate" and that homicide is the No. 1 killer of young black men -- he said mentoring "makes a difference."

"We are able to build futures through mentoring," he said.

Remarks were also delivered Monday by Mayor Richard A. Moccia, Congressman Jim Himes, Superintendent Susan F. Marks and Board of Education member Steven A. Colarossi.

The Columbus Magnet School choir gave two musical performances and several Norwalk residents, including the late Richard Fuller Sr., were honored for their service work.

Also honored was state Rep. Bruce Morris (D-140) and Tremaine Gilmore, a Norwalk High School security guard who runs the Carver teen center.

Fuller, a longtime civic leader who ran the George Washington Carver Community Center, "enabled hundreds of young people to overcome challenges and become self-reliant, contributing members of society," said Board of Education member Rosa Murray.

Fuller's wife, Caroline, accepted the Citizenship Award with tears in her eyes.

"Children were his life," she said.

The annual ceremony at West Rocks Middle School included workshops for children and adults. They revolved around King's accomplishments and asked community members how they could sustain his vision in today's world.

"It is our hope that you will reflect upon what you are doing to fulfill the dream and will consider taking on new roles in this community to create a Norwalk community that works for all residents," said West Rocks Principal Lynne Moore.

That message resonated with Alisha Price, who attended the ceremony with her 11-year-old daughter, Adiah Price-Tucker.

"It's not only a matter of learning history, but understanding our role in continuing Dr. King's legacy," said Price, who teaches sixth grade at Hallen School in Bridgeport.

Adiah agreed.

"I learned today that you can make a difference," said the Nathan Hale Middle School student. "You can help the community, you can decide not to make bad decisions and you can write to your senator."

Rep. Morris was recognized for his work in promoting oral health care for Connecticut citizens.

“I am grateful for the recognition given to me by the hygienists association,” Morris said. “Promoting oral health care for all has been very important. It should be a top priority for everyone.”

Rep. Morris co-sponsored legislation designed to increase access to dental care through the establishment of an advanced dental hygiene practice pilot program. The program would provide minimal dental services in a community health setting.

“This forum presented a great opportunity to discuss important issues, including education and job creation, and exchange ideas for how these vital topics can be addressed in a fiscally prudent way,” Morris said.

The forum, titled Policy in Action Conference: A White House Discussion on Economic and Domestic Issues Facing the African American Community, was led by Valerie Jarrett, senior policy adviser to President Obama.

“I was very happy to share my concerns and the feedback I’ve received from my constituents with leaders who are able to make real changes,” Rep. Morris said.

Since taking office, President Obama has worked to secure the future prosperity of the African American community by creating jobs, revitalizing schools, making college more affordable, increasing access to health care and strengthening the bonds that keep families together.

“While there’s still much work to be done, the Administration continues to champion initiatives that support African Americans in today’s difficult economy,” Morris said.

One of those important initiatives, Morris said, is the need to extend and expand the payroll tax cut, which would give tax breaks to millions of families across the country next year. The tax cut would pump millions of dollars into the economy and help everyday people at a time when they need it most.

Morris said the U.S. Senate this week is taking up legislation to extend and expand the payroll tax cut for middle class families and businesses. The law would put $1,500 back in the pockets of the average American family — money needed for food, fuel and other important expenses. An estimated 113 million people would benefit from the tax break.

The federal tax cut, in combination with Connecticut’s newly enacted earned income tax credit, would provide double relief for the state’s working poor and further fuel the state economy, Morris said.

Morris also said work needs to be done to rebuild the economy and restore security for the middle class and folks trying to become part of the middle class.

“We need to rebuild an economy that is not based on outsourcing of jobs to other countries, additional tax breaks for the super wealthy, risky financial deals and further cuts to education and social programs,” Morris said.

Rep. Bruce Morris shakes hands with Martin Luther King III as Rep. Ernest Hewett of New London looks on.

NORWALK, CT - Students in Norwalk Community College's Connecticut Collegiate Awareness and Preparation (ConnCAP) program have a lot to celebrate.

All 15 students who graduated from high school in June 2011 have entered college, and in recognition of the program's impact, prominent donors have stepped forward to provide needed funding.

ConnCAP provides academic support and life planning for students who aspire to be first in their families to earn a college degree.

From 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday, December 3, parents and students will gather in the NCC East Campus PepsiCo Theater to thank Dick Whitcomb of the Richard and Barbara Whitcomb Foundation, Ray Hodil of The Community Fund of Darien, and Deputy Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik of the Norwalk Police Activities League.

Also there to celebrate the program's success will be NCC's President David L. Levinson, Ph.D., Norwalk Superintendent of Schools Susan Marks, Ph.D., Norwalk Education Foundation Executive Director Lauren Rosato, Senator Bob Duff and State Representatives Terri Wood (Darien) and Rep. Bruce Morris (Norwalk).

Students enter the ConnCAP program after 8th grade and remain until they graduate from high school. Comprised of both a 6-week summer program and a Saturday program during the school year, ConnCAP includes enrichment classes, tutoring, homework help, test prep, college trips and, for juniors and seniors, college-level courses, all held on the NCC campus.

Two-thirds of the June 2011 graduates saw their high school grades go up significantly while in the program. In summer 2010, 59% of ConnCAP students who were tested were placed in college level math vs. 28% of all entering NCC freshmen. One parent of a graduate notes, "With the help of the ConnCAP family, I'm proud to say that she (my daughter) is now a very confident young lady who knows that in order for her to make her dreams come true it takes hard work, dedication, respecting others, and education."

NCC's ConnCAP program serves more than 50 income-eligible high school students from Norwalk.

“I'm proud to have supported measures during this past session that will aid in improving the environment as well as opposing bills that would have been detrimental,” Morris said. “My commitment to ensuring the preservation of our natural resources is unwavering and I will continue to support initiatives that will help prevent further environmental degradation.”

The annual environmental scorecard grades state lawmakers based on how they vote on significant environmental legislation. This year the scorecard grades legislators’ votes on twelve bills that came up during the 2011 legislative session.

Morris was just one of 29 state representatives — less than 20 percent of the Connecticut House — to earn a rating of 100 percent.

“I’m honored that the League of Conservation Voters has recognized me with this prestigious award,” said Morris. “Protecting open space, water and the air in Connecticut will always be a real priority for me.”

David Bingham, co-chair of the league, said of the legislators who received high scores, “despite the pressures of economic distress, they upheld policies that are critical to providing clean air and water and make Connecticut an inviting state to do business.”

Formed in 1998, the bipartisan league works on laws that affect Connecticut's air, water, wildlife, open space, transportation, energy choices, and health.

The Earned Income Tax Credit has been criticized by conservative types as a handout to those who don't pay taxes in the first place.

But these working poor people are disproportionately hit by sales taxes and, unlike the giveaways to wealthy folks who are banking their hefty tax cuts and not creating new jobs, the EITC constituency turns around and puts their money right back into the state economy.

And there isn't a district in the state where residents aren't benefiting from the credit. This coming tax-filing season it expands to include a state EITC, which combined with the federal plan will return about half a billion dollars to about 190,000 filers.

It was the result of a multi-year campaign by lawmakers led by Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, and the election of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. "It really is an economic-development program that's focusing upon communities most in need and will empower individuals from every community of the state," Looney said last week.

Eligible incomes range from $13,460 for a single to $48,000 for a family of four. It will cost the state about $108 million in lost revenue to pass on additional benefits in refund checks that will average $540, but can top out at $1,700 above the federal EITC.

The Brookings Institute reported this year on district-wide eligibility, using 2007 figures that must have expanded after the 2008 meltdown of the housing market and the under-regulation of the financial services industry.

It's a very interesting scorecard. Sure, inner-city districts benefit greatly. In Rep. Charles D. Clemons' Bridgeport district, 3,317 tax filers split $6.5 million for an average of $1,970. Under the state EITC, they will receive an extra 30 percent, nearly $2 million.

Citywide, about 16,000 Bridgeporters, who split $32 million, will get an additional $9.5 million. But the benefits reach far beyond the hard-pressed cities.

In Rep. Bruce Morris' Norwalk district, 1,623 people divvied up nearly $3 million in the federal EITC for an average of $1,829. Under the state EITC, they will split another $890,000.

"These are working families," said Kevin B. Sullivan, commissioner of the state Department of Revenue Services. "These are taxpayers in the state of Connecticut. Lower income working families still pay a higher proportion of their disposable income in taxes than folks from anywhere else in the state."

The DRS will be reaching out to eligible taxpayers to make sure they join the state EITC. You can start out by calling Infoline at 2-1-1, the telephone-based referral service.

"There are too many people who qualify for both the federal and now the state Earned Income Tax Credit who don't properly file," Malloy said last week. "We've got to make sure that we do everything we can to encourage every filer...to improve their lives, their children's and relatives' lives and our economy."

Takima Saunders, primary service manager for the 162-year-old Family Services Woodfield Inc., in Bridgeport, said that people with incomes of $49,000 or less are eligible for free tax preparation and they'll be routinely signed up for both the federal and state EITC.

"This is money that goes toward basic needs," she said last week in an interview. "This is an added boost for a family to catch up on bills, maybe even buy that used car to go back and forth to work, or start a savings account. It helps households and the community because money is poured right back, locally."

“The legislature made growing jobs its top priority – now and in future legislative sessions. The fact that this legislation received bipartisan support shows that we can work together and achieve concrete results that will help create and retain quality jobs in our state. This legislation focuses on initiatives designed to create a climate in Connecticut that is ripe for maintaining, attracting and creating jobs,” Rep. Morris said.

Morris also praised the legislature’s approval of Jackson Laboratory’s proposal to build a $1.1 billion genomic research facility at the University of Connecticut Medical Center in Farmington and the state funding required for the project.

“This critical investment in Jackson Laboratory’s plan for a $1.1 billion facility unlocks the potential for the creation of thousands of jobs in the field of genomic medicine and the biosciences in Connecticut,” Morris said Wednesday during the special session of the General Assembly.

The goal of the comprehensive jobs bill is to jump-start job creation and foster long-term economic growth through small-business incentives, less government red tape, incentives for innovation, economic development tools and workforce development and training.

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.

“Small business continues to be the engine that drives our economy,” Morris said. “Investing in the future of Connecticut’s small businesses is essential to our continued economic growth.”

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
• Creating investment incentives for angel investors in emerging technology
• 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 foster seamless communication between business and the state
• 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)
• Main Street commercial centers improvement initiative

In addition, the legislature approved Jackson Laboratory’s plan for a $1.1 billion research facility at UConn. 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,” Morris said.

According to the state Department of Economic and Community Development, the project is expected to create over 660 positions at Jackson Laboratory in Farmington within 20 years. The department 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.

“This funding provides what Norwalk needs to advance an important project that will serve commuters and other residents in this area,” Rep. Morris said. “The project also will drive job growth and economic development, which will surely benefit Norwalk’s economy and its taxpayers.”

The State Bond Commission earlier this year approved $13 million for transportation project and municipalities were encouraged to apply. Norwalk’s application was among 23 submitted to the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the Office of Policy and Management, which, together, made the final determinations on the awards.

The funds are designed to facilitate “transit-oriented development” projects to promote economic development by connecting transportation to housing and employment centers.

“Projects like Norwalk’s will help alleviate congestion on our major highways, which adversely affect our local and regional businesses as well as commuters,” Morris said. “Transit-oriented development benefits Norwalk and the state on many levels including fueling much needed economic activity.”

NORWALK, Conn. – The associate minister of Norwalk's Bethel AME Church listened Thursday as a guest delivered a prayer. "Father hear the cries, see the moans, we're certain that you've seen them as years have gone by," said the Rev. Bruce Morris. "You have seen the unemployed as they stood in lines, month after month. You've seen those, God, whose unemployment benefits have run out. God, you see the despair.

The Rev. Randy Hughes listens to the Rev. Bruce Morris during
Thursday's prayer vigil for jobs at Bethel AME Church.

"Father, many have been brought to their knees and we intercede on their behalf," said Morris, who is also the Democratic state representative for the 140th House District.

The Rev. Randy Hughes stood to the side, watching as a prayer vigil he organized gained steam, murmuring words of agreement. About 50 people, many of them Norwalk's leaders, attended the vigil, the first of its kind in the city. Hughes and others led prayers to ask for divine intervention in the face of what he called "trying times."

"We pray right now for our leaders, God," Hughes said during the vigil. "God, we ask that you would give them rest. We know Lord God that some of them are working tirelessly trying to find a way to end this problem. God, they also need our help, they need our patience, they need us to understand as lay and as community, God, that with patience all things will work out well."

What inspired the vigil? "In listening to the community, so many people without a job, we just felt the need to come together as a community, pray together, just so that, 'God, hear our prayer,'" he said.

Hughes said he and other leaders of Bethel AME Church see five to six people a day, "people who are just out looking for jobs and have no clue on where to find work."

They all have the same story. "People are looking for jobs, looking for an opportunity, asking that their leaders will do something to help them," he said. "Mostly it's factory people, the factory jobs that have closed between Stamford and Norwalk. You have the Clairols, you have the Biersdorfs, you have all these manufacturing facilities now that have closed which employed thousands of peoples. Those jobs are gone."

Hughes is confident that prayers will work and promises to hold another vigil. "This is the first step," he said.

"Let us set the model for the rest of the country to follow," Hughes said to those in attendance. "Let's show them that this is a community of people that love one another, that cares for one another, and when God blesses Norwalk, Conn., he will bless the entire country."

The Rev. Richard Clarke, pastor of Bethel AME, closed the hourlong service. "God is able to turn this situation around," he said, his voice rising. "God is able to fix this economy. God is able to take the resources we have in the United States, and turn this whole country around. How do I know it? It's in the Bible."

Clarke said Genesis promises that if there are 50 righteous people in the land, the land will be saved. "Look how many of us have come out tonight," he said. "I believe God is about to turn this situation around."

NORWALK -- Advocates for low-income residents joined state legislators on Wednesday in urging Congress to adequately fund a federal energy assistance program that is slated to receive a 50 percent reduction in funding.

Last year, the state ran the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEP, with $115 million in federal funding. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has projected the state will receive $46.4 million this year, which is close to President Obama's recommendation to significantly slash the program's funding.

"This is a major issue," state Rep. Bruce Morris, D-140, said. "As a state, we want to do the right thing for our residents here, but we need the help of Washington to think in terms of priorities and raise those who are at the bottom to a higher level."

Congress has not yet set the funding level for LIHEP. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have called for $40 million in LIHEP funding for the state, while the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate is proposing $76 million.

"What we're looking at right now is very scary," state Sen. Bob Duff, D-25, said. "We are looking at our best case scenario being a 50 percent cut from what was out there last year, and at the same time we're seeing more people in need."

Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now, which provides a range of emergency services to low-income area residents, is projecting a 7 percent increase over last year in the number of households applying for energy assistance, according to Joseph E. Mann, who heads the organization.

"It's a dire situation," he said. "I'm afraid that if we don't' do something about this than we're actually going to have people who freeze."

The Malloy adminstration has proposed limiting the assistance to households that rely on deliverable fuel, such as oil, propane, kerosene, coal or wood. That would have eliminated assistance for more than 80,000 low-income households with gas or electric heat. The administration argued that state law protects them from having their utilities shut off for nonpayment between Nov. 1 and May 1, while no such protection exists for deliverable customers.

On Tuesday, legislators on the Appropriations, Energy and Technology, and Human Services committees effectively rejected that plan and unanimously endorsed an alternative that would provide assistance to everyone who qualifies. It assumes that the state will have $61.6 million to use for the program.

The plan adopted by the committees would provide benefits to 122,127 households, but because the expected program funding is still significantly below last year's level, the amount of money each household receives will be significantly lower.

Laura Epstein, executive director of the Senior Umbrella, worries that low-income seniors will be left out in the cold this winter if the proposed federal cuts are approved.

"Last year, you may recall, was a tough winter," she said. "We are very upset about the possibility that they will be getting far less than last year and we don't know what they're going to do."

HARTFORD, Conn. – A new law that requires the collection of DNA evidence from convicted felons upon a subsequent felony arrest has been enacted, earning the praise of state Rep. Bruce Morris.

"I truly believe this new law I helped championed will save lives," Morris, a Norwalk Democrat who co-sponsored the legislation, said in a statement. "It will help law enforcement resolve crimes quicker and prevent repeat offenders from causing more pain to families. It will also exonerate people wrongfully arrested."

Norwalk Police Chief Harry Rilling joined Morris to witness Gov. Dannel Malloy sign the legislation into law Friday at the state Capitol. He said it is an important step.

"The more DNA samples we have the greater the likelihood we will be able to identify offenders of unsolved crimes or solve any other crimes they might later commit," Rilling said in the statement. "Since DNA has become a forensic tool not only have we been able to solve crimes that have gone unsolved for years, but many people wrongfully convicted also have been freed. This forensic evidence is a valuable tool for enforcement and will accomplish many purposes. It will serve the state well."

The new law requires people arrested for any of 39 serious felony offenses to provide DNA sample before they are released from custody if they have previously been convicted of a felony.

"DNA is the new fingerprint in law enforcement," Morris said. "It will prevent crimes and save lives."

Morris said that when he heard of Katie Sepich's tragic story he decided he wanted to do everything possible to pass a "Katie's Law" in Connecticut. In Katie Sepich's murder, after three years of investigation, the New Mexico DNA database matched the unknown profile of her perpetrator, who had been convicted of several other crimes.

The information gathered in Connecticut will be added to a federal DNA database. A provision in the bill allows for an individual that is exonerated to be allowed to have their DNA expunged from the system.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signs legislation requiring the collection of DNA from felons as (from left) Norwalk Police Chief Harry W. Rilling and Democratic state Reps. Phil Nicastro of Bristol, Bruce Morris of Norwalk and Larry Butler of Waterbury witness the signing in Malloy's office.

“I truly believe this new law I helped championed will save lives,” said Morris, who co-sponsored the legislation. “It will help law enforcement resolve crimes quicker and prevent repeat offenders from causing more pain to families. It will also exonerate people wrongfully arrested.”

Norwalk Police Chief Harry W. Rilling, who joined Morris to witness Gov. Dannel P. Malloy sign the legislation into law Friday at the state Capitol, said it is an important step in the right direction.

“The more DNA samples we have the greater the likelihood we will be able to identify offenders of unsolved crimes or solve any other crimes they might later commit,” Rilling said.

“Since DNA has become a forensic tool not only have we been able to solve crimes that have gone unsolved for years, but many people wrongfully convicted also have been freed,” he said. “This forensic evidence is a valuable tool for enforcement and will accomplish many purposes. It will serve the state well.”

The new law requires people arrested for any of 39 serious felony offenses to provide DNA sample before they are released from custody if they had previously been convicted of a felony.

“DNA is the new fingerprint in law enforcement,” Morris said. “It will prevent crimes and save lives.”

Morris said that when he heard of Katie Sepich’s tragic story he decided he wanted to do everything possible to pass a “Katie’s Law” in Connecticut. In Katie Sepich’s case, after three years of investigation, the New Mexico DNA database matched the unknown profile of her perpetrator, who had been convicted of several other crimes.

The information gathered in Connecticut will be added to a federal DNA database. A provision in the bill allows for an individual that is exonerated to be allowed to have their DNA expunged from the system.

Attorney Darnell Crosland made several claims to the media after representing his client, Tanya McDowell, on Tuesday in Norwalk Superior Court. One of them concerned state Rep. Bruce Morris, who says Crosland got his facts wrong.

McDowell is being prosecuted for first-degree larceny because she enrolled her son at Brookside Elementary School by stating that his babysitter's address was his residence. The case has drawn national attention because McDowell says she is homeless.

"Rep. Bruce Morris has presented a letter to the prosecution's office on behalf of the Board of Education, claiming that they're not looking for restitution and they're not seeking incarceration," Crosland said Tuesday.

Morris, in addition to being a state legislator, is the human relations officer for the Norwalk public schools.

"The letter was addressed to the prosecutor on my State Legislature stationary, in my capacity as State Representative," Morris said in an email Thursday. "It would be a gross error to say that the content of the letter, which is cited correctly, was on behalf of the BOE (Board of Education). It is a publicly published fact the BOE is not seeking arrest or incarceration in this matter.

"However, the letter does include an enclosure that I requested (as State Representative) from the Superintendent, regarding the actual cost to educate a student for the same period of time Ms. McDowell's son attended Norwalk Schools."

He reiterated: "I was not acting on behalf of nor authorized by the Board of Education to address this matter. My communication was exclusively in my role as State Rep."

Rep. Bruce Morris at a recent event. Photo Credit: Nancy Chapman

A bill allowing the collection of DNA evidence from convicted felons was approved by the Connecticut House of Representatives on Friday. Co-sponsored by State Rep. Bruce Morris (D-Norwalk), the legislation (HB 6489) calls for the collection of DNA evidence from convicted felons upon a subsequent felony arrest.

"This measure has the potential not only to solve crimes, but also to prevent crimes and save lives," Morris said in a statement. "This is the new fingerprint, a tool to be used to assist law enforcement."

The legislation is modeled after "Katie's Law," which was created after Katie Sepich, a 22-year-old graduate student at New Mexico State University, was raped and strangled in August 2003 outside her New Mexico home. Her body was set on fire at a dumpsite nearby.

The legislation requires people arrested for any of 39 felony offenses to provide a DNA sample before they are released from custody, if they had previously been convicted of a felony.

Morris said that when he heard of Sepich's story he decided he wanted to do everything possible to pass a "Katie's Law" in Connecticut. In Sepich's case, after three years of investigation, the New Mexico DNA database matched the profile of her perpetrator, who had been convicted of several other crimes.

The information gathered in Connecticut will be added to a federal DNA database. A provision in the bill allows individuals who are exonerated to have their DNA expunged from the system.

The bill moves to the Senate for legislative action. The General Assembly adjourns June 8.

State Rep. Bruce Morris on Friday praised the House of Representatives’ approval of legislation he co-sponsored that requires the collection of DNA evidence from convicted felons upon a subsequent felony arrest.

“This measure has the potential not only to solve crimes but also to prevent crimes and save lives,” said Morris, D-140. “This is the new fingerprint, a tool to be used to assist law enforcement.”

The legislation (HB 6489) was modeled after what is known as “Katie’s Law,” which was created after Katie Sepich, a 22- year- old graduate student at New Mexico State University, was raped and strangled in August 2003 outside her New Mexico home. Her body was set on fire at a dumpsite nearby.

The legislation requires people arrested for any of 39 felony offenses to provide a DNA sample before they are released from custody — if they had previously been convicted of a felony.

Morris said that when he heard of Sepich’s tragic story, he decided he wanted to do every-thing possible to pass a “Katie’s Law” in Connecticut. In Sepich’s case, after three years of investigation, the New Mexico DNA database matched the unknown profile of her perpetrator, who had been convicted of several other crimes.” The information gathered in Connecticut will be added to a federal DNA database. A provision in the bill allows for an individual that is exonerated to be allowed to have their DNA expunged from the system.

The bill now moves to the Senate for legislative action. The General Assembly adjourns June 8.

“This measure has the potential not only to solve crimes, but also to prevent crimes and save lives,” Rep. Morris said. “This is the new fingerprint, a tool to be used to assist law enforcement.”

The legislation (HB 6489) was modeled after what is known as “Katie’s Law,” which was created after Katie Sepich, a 22-year-old graduate student at New Mexico State University, was raped and strangled in August 2003 outside her New Mexico home. Her body was set on fire at a dumpsite nearby.

The legislation requires people arrested for any of 39 felony offenses to provide a DNA sample before they are released from custody, if they had previously been convicted of a felony.

Rep. Morris said that when he heard of Katie Sepich’s tragic story he decided he wanted to do everything possible to pass a “Katie’s Law” in Connecticut. In Katie Sepich’s case, after three years of investigation, the New Mexico DNA database matched the unknown profile of her perpetrator, who had been convicted of several other crimes.”

The information gathered in Connecticut will be added to a federal DNA database. A provision in the bill allows for an individual that is exonerated to be allowed to have their DNA expunged from the system.

The bill now moves to the Senate for legislative action. The General Assembly adjourns June 8.

Nearly 20,000 people from Connecticut to California have endorsed a petition online that calls for Norwalk to drop criminal charges against a homeless, single mother accused of using false information to enroll her child in a city school.

While the number of virtual signatures rises, however, the mayor -- one of several officials targeted by the petition -- said the matter should be handled by the criminal justice system.

"Ninety-nine and nine-tenths of the people who have signed the petition do not even live in Norwalk or know the full facts," said Mayor Richard A. Moccia. "The case is in the courts now, and that is where the final verdict will be decided."

Penned by Norwalk resident Anthony Crisci, the petition began to circulate two months ago, when police arrested 33-year-old Tanya McDowell on charges of first-degree larceny and conspiracy.

The homeless woman was last known to be living in Bridgeport,

Police said that McDowell had used a false address to enroll her kindergarten-age son at Brookside Elementary School. The woman faces up to 20 years in prison and could be forced to pay nearly $16,000 in restitution.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 19,722 people had signed the petition, hosted by change.org, to exonerate the woman on those charges.

"The criminal case being pursued against McDowell is a disgrace," the petition states. "To pursue a case like this creates a dark cloud over our beautiful city, not as a warm and compassionate place to live in, but as a city that is concerned with making examples of the less fortunate."

The petition also calls for the resignation of State's Attorney Suzanne Vieux. As the prosecutor in the case, Vieux is "wasting taxpayer money and causing great embarrassment to the City of Norwalk," the petition states.

Yet the mayor -- also Vieux's stepfather -- defended her actions.

"Stepdaughter or not, there has been no violation of trust from the prosecutor," Moccia said. "Not agreeing with a decision is not the criteria for having someone resign. If that were the case, we would have no prosecutors."

Still, like the multitude of Americans who signed the petition, local civil rights activists said they hope the petition will resonate with lawmakers and officials.

"The situation with Tanya McDowell represents a bigger picture and the problems of inequality when it comes to homes, justice and education," said Shirley Mosby, the first vice-president and education chairperson for the Norwalk branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Mosby added: "She represents people who are trying their best to educate their children, whether or not they have a home."

Darnell D. Crosland, the attorney for McDowell, said the petition indicated strong support from taxpayers that his client should not be criminally prosecuted for her actions -- whether or not they agree that parents should generally be allowed to send their children out of district.

He also drew a parallel to another high-profile case that unfolded in Connecticut this spring. James Tate, a Shelton High School student, was barred from attending the prom until mounting pressure from around the world prompted the headmaster to rescind her decision.

"If that is an indicator of where the case is heading, I would only say that since no man is an island of itself, I would hope that the Norwalk prosecutor's office would join the national conversation … and dismiss the case and all follow the normal course of action of the school district, which is to simply disenroll the child (with) no jail, no restitution," Crosland wrote in a statement.

Also named in the petition are Board of Education chairman Jack Chiaramonte, Superintendent of Schools Susan Marks, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Chief State's Attorney Kevin T. Kane and State's Attorney David Cohen.

Messages for Kane and Cohen were not returned Tuesday. Nor could the superintendent be reached for comment.

When reached for comment, Chiaramonte said the matter was "not in (his) hands," as the public school system was neither involved in probing McDowell's residency claim nor pressing charges against the woman.

The case marks something of an aberration for Norwalk, where instances of fraudulent enrollment are typically handled by school administrators and result in the child being transferred back to his home district.

Nearly 26 of those cases unfolded in the past year alone and none resulted in criminal charges.

Yet this investigation has been handled by the Norwalk Housing Authority and Norwalk Police, instead.

In a separate case, McDowell has been charged with possessing 62 small bags of marijuana and 14 of crack cocaine.

She has pleaded not guilty to those charges and will return to Norwalk Superior Court on June 7.

Both local and state chapters of the civil rights organization have coordinated a rally for that evening, outside Brookside Elementary School, where McDowell enrolled her 5-year-old son between September 2010 and January 2011.

The rally will take place between 6 and 8 p.m.

The case of a homeless mother accused of stealing her son's education could end up changing state law in Connecticut.

Democrats and Republicans are discussing new legislation related to the arrest of Tonya McDowell, the Stamford Advocate reports.

McDowell was charged with larceny in April after registering her son at a school in Norwalk in September 2010. She used a babysitter's address.

At the time, McDowell said, she was living in a van, sleeping at a Norwalk shelter or staying at a friend's Bridgeport apartment. The case captured national attention and more than 19,000 signatures are on an online petition to stop the court case.

State Rep. Bruce Morris, D-Norwalk, wants to change the law so a case like McDowell's is not prosecuted as a felony, the Advocate reports. Instead, it would be a civil matter for the local school boards.

Lawmakers are also discussing if any new language would apply to McDowell specifically. Either way, time is running out. The legislative session ends on June 8.

HARTFORD -- A decision to arrest a homeless Bridgeport woman for enrolling her son in a Norwalk elementary school has state lawmakers debating legislative solutions to what many consider prosecutorial overkill.

"I know people are talking about it," House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden, said during Tuesday night's session at the Capitol. "I think it was too harsh and everybody believes it was too harsh."

But the parties involved in crafting legislation related to Tanya McDowell's arrest and ongoing prosecution still have some significant differences to overcome before the General Assembly adjourns June 8. Those include whether any fixes should retroactively impact McDowell, who faces a possible 20-year jail sentence and being forced to repay Norwalk about $15,600.

McDowell was arrested by Norwalk police April 14 following a 3-month investigation and charged with first-degree larceny for allegedly stealing her son's education.

She enrolled her son, Andrew Justin "A.J." Paches, 5, at Brookside Elementary School using the address of a friend who baby-sat for the boy at a Norwalk public housing complex.

The single mother is homeless, dividing her time between an apartment in Bridgeport where she is not allowed to stay when the leaseholder is away, the Norwalk Emergency Shelter and her minivan.

State Rep. Bruce Morris, D-Norwalk, argues state statutes need to be amended to prevent such cases from being prosecuted as felonies. They should instead be civil matters left in the hands of local school boards, Morris said, arguing it is also a wiser use of taxpayer money.

Morris was seen negotiating bill language with House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, Tuesday night.

Cafero, a former school board chairman who has served as hearing officer on residency cases for nearly two decades, believes state laws should be clarified to address the issue of where the homeless educate their children.

"Where does that child belong? That's not in our statutes and it should be," Cafero said. "For a legislature to deal with that problem is very, very legitimate."

But he is reluctant to exempt the issue from criminal prosecution, arguing limiting it into a civil matter is more of an incentive for anyone looking to scam the education system by enrolling a child in an out-of-district school.

Cafero said he is willing to consider lesser penalties.

He and Morris are also divided on whether any changes should aid McDowell.

"If we get the governor to sign it before she's convicted, I'd hope so," Morris said.

But Cafero said that is inappropriate. McDowell's case has been continued to June 7.

Sate Rep. Gerald Fox, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the legislature's Judiciary Committee, has also been involved in trying to negotiate a response to the McDowell arrest. Fox is also reluctant to craft anything specifically for McDowell, arguing municipalities statewide wrestle with issues of students improperly attending out-of-town schools.

"There seems to be a consensus that this type of activity shouldn't be done. At the same time there's a question as to what's the appropriate penalty," Fox said. "Can something get worked out between now and next Wednesday? I don't know."

Tanya McDowell is arraigned in Norwalk Superior Court on larceny charges in Norwalk, Conn. on Wednesday April 27, 2011. McDowell's attorney's Michael Thomas and Darnell Crosland stand with her. McDowell allegedly used a false Norwalk address to enroll her son in Brookside Elementary School.
Photo: Kathleen O'Rourke / Stamford Advocate

Rep. Bruce V. Morris, D-Norwalk, said Wednesday that since Tanya McDowell's 5-year-old son A.J. was withdrawn from Brookside Elementary School in January, she should be held accountable for no more than half the $15,000 she has been charged with stealing.

If it were $7,500, it would only reach the level of a misdemeanor, he said, stressing that the case underscores Connecticut's record of depriving inner-city residents of the same level of education that is available in the suburbs.

"She wanted to see to it that her child was given a great education," Morris said. "Education is the equalizer. Equal access to education is the civil rights issue of today and it's something that needs to be addressed across all borders. Connecticut has the largest achievement gap in the country."

House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, the city's longtime expulsion and residency hearing officer, said Wednesday that usually a parent is given a low-profile chance to withdraw.

"I think in 19 years of doing it, I've done about 12 or 13, and they are actually called by statute `denial of school accommodations,' " Cafero said in an interview on the House floor. "It is certainly within the rights of any school, I think, to make sure the people getting the education are residents."

He said the school system usually holds a probable-cause hearing in which the onus is on the parent to prove they live in the city.

A lawyer, Cafero called McDowell's pending trial a possible "case of first impression" that could set a legal precedent, especially since she is homeless.

"If the person was homeless and their domicile was a homeless shelter within the town, then that town has an obligation to educate that child," Cafero said.

He said parents caught crossing district lines are usually given a chance to move to the city. Often, parents go to Probate Court to place a child into the custody of relatives who live in Norwalk.

"If one is perpetrating a fraud to receive services that they should not ordinarily be receiving, I get it," Cafero said. "If the woman is truly homeless, that's a very interesting issue and it could get muddied."

Morris, in an interview outside the House chamber Wednesday, said he believes McDowell is being singled out.

"Norwalk public schools have identified people in the past who have fraudulently used different addresses in order to have their kids enrolled in Norwalk public schools," said Morris, a member of the Judiciary Committee. "However, the practice has always been that those students were disenrolled. The schools have never pushed for any criminal charges. Certainly this is in the extreme."

Rep. Gerald M. Fox III, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday that the appropriate remedy in the McDowell case is to get A.J. back into a Bridgeport school.

The groups attacked Bank of America April 14 in a new report accusing the financial giant of numerous abuses in Connecticut and the nation.

The coalition, which includes the Service Employees International Union and the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, unveiled “Bank of America in Connecticut: Profiting Without Pitching In.”

“I’m shocked that Bank of America paid out corporate bonuses instead of paying taxes. And I’m very upset that its employees use state subsidized healthcare (HUSKY), but paid no taxes,” Morris said.

The new report accused Bank of America of:

• Pushing credit cards on struggling employers with interest rates that are up to 15 percentage points higher than typical small business loans.
• Having a dismal record of modifying mortgages for homeowners threatened with foreclosure.
• Making state taxpayers subsidize health care for its Connecticut employees at a cost of $6.4 million annually, by paying some employees so poorly that they qualify for the state's low-income medical assistance.
• Failing to pay its share of taxes in 2010, when the company, according to its recent annual report, received tax credits of $7.8 billion.

Carol Meyers, a policy analyst for SEIU who researched and prepared the report, said Bank of America is just an example, but it's the biggest example. “They play a huge role in the economy and their behavior is egregious,” Meyers said. “Are they worse than other companies? We can't say.”

The Connecticut Action Alliance for a Fair Economy said the Bank’s abuses are happening after nearly $200 billion in bailouts and backstops funded by taxpayers.

Bank of America's “refusal to pay a fair share of taxes, onerous limits on job-creating lending and irresponsible behavior that has contributed to a steep decline in home values has cost Connecticut an estimated $1.7 billion since 2009,” the group said.

HARTFORD — Clergy representing hundreds of Christian and Jewish congregations in the state came to the Capitol Tuesday to support abolition of the death penalty as an "ineffective, unfair and fallible response to violence."

More than 300 of them signed a letter in opposition to the penalty and urged lawmakers to replace it with a sentence of life in prison with no possibility of release for certain murders.

The group said the death penalty wastes resources, prolongs victims' pain, applies disproportionately to the poor and puts innocent lives at risk of execution.

Since 1973, 138 individuals across the country sentenced to death were later exonerated, while four men in Connecticut were found to have been wrongly convicted of murder in the past two years.

State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, D-New Haven, the lead sponsor of repealing the death penalty, said a vote on it by the Judiciary Committee will take place before April 15.

Ending the death penalty was approved in a bipartisan vote in 2009 as a punishment that was unworkable, but then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed it. Only one person on death row in Connecticut, Michael Ross, has been executed in the past 50 years, after he personally rejected all appeals.

Support for the death penalty in Connecticut is at an all-time high in the state in the wake of the home invasion and murders in Cheshire, but voters continue to be almost evenly split on the issue when offered the option of life without parole, according to the Quinnipiac Poll.

Connecticut voters support the death penalty 67 percent to 28 percent. But when given the option of life without parole, 48 percent favor death for first-degree murder, with 43 percent in favor of a life sentence, also a new high.

On Tuesday, several of the clergy, representing different denominations, argued against the penalty based on their religious teachings and justice issues.

Rabbi Donna Berman, a member of the steering committee of Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice, a statewide network of people of faith committed to non-violence, called capitol punishment "a stain upon civilization and upon our religious conscience ... that taps into a primal place where we want to see justice done."

"Let us commit ourselves to seeing justice done this way: Through repair of a system that is riddled with racism and classism. Let us create a system of true equity and fairness lest we become what we claim to abhor: murderers ourselves," Berman said.

Rep. Bruce Morris, D-Norwalk, who is also a minister, said "when religious leaders speak, I believe that there is a moral authority with which they speak that legislators and people throughout this entire state of Connecticut listen to."

The Rev. Charles Wildman, interim conference minister of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ, said the $4 million spent every year on death penalty cases in Connecticut, is an "enormous waste of taxpayer dollars" that could be put to better use hiring teachers, police and social workers, as well as supporting programs to save young people from lives of crimes and preparing them for "lives of service."
Because polls show that the state is split on the question of punishing people with life in prison, as opposed to the death penalty, Holder-Winfield thought having the clergy speak out could have an effect on lawmaker's vote.

Holder-Winfield said the makeup of the legislature is somewhat different than it was in 2009 and the triple murder of the Petit family in Cheshire in 2007, which is now going through the courts, complicates the issue, but shouldn't derail repeal.

"I believe the job of the legislature is to give to the people of state security, and that is life without the possibility of parole," Holder-Winfield said.

The clergy, meeting in the Legislative Office Building, presented a letter signed by more than 300 urging passage of legislation (HB 5036), which was introduced by Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield (D-New Haven), vice chairman of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee and chairman of the Black and Puerto Rican caucus.

Rep. Bruce Morris (D-Norwalk), who is also a minister in his hometown, emceed the event that included Catholic, Baptist, Quaker, Presbyterian, United Methodist, Episcopal, Unitarian Universalist, Greek Orthodox, United Church of Christ, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Jewish leaders.

“It’s significant that so many representatives of the major religious traditions in Connecticut gathered here today to speak out against the death penalty,” Morris said.

Holder-Winfield accepted the letter on behalf of legislators.

“As much as opinions vary about capital punishment within society at large, opinion among religious leaders is strongly in favor of repealing the death penalty,” he said.

The religious leaders’ letter states:

“The public often seeks our guidance on tough issues, and we have concluded that the death penalty fails us. In Connecticut, the law already provides a severe alternative punishment for capital murders – life in prison without the possibility of release.

“We join many in Connecticut who question capital punishment due to its record as an ineffective, unfair and fallible response to violence. The death penalty applies disproportionately to the poor and minorities and puts innocent lives at risk of execution.

“Since 1973, 138 individuals sentenced to death were later exonerated of their crimes. When a human life is at stake, there is simply no room for error.

“As religious leaders, we often serve as resources to victims' families in the aftermath of murder. Given this responsibility, we have a special interest in advocating for policies that serve their needs and promote healing and well-being. There is growing evidence that the death penalty does the opposite: it prolongs victims' pain and delays healing while appeals and reversals force families to relive their trauma.

“Finally, we cannot ignore the millions of dollars it costs to prosecute a capital case. In light of the serious economic challenges facing our state and nation, the valuable resources expended on the death penalty would be better invested in programs to prevent crime and meet the needs of victims’ families.”

State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, with state Rep. Bruce Morris at his side, addresses a press conference at the Legislative Office Building at which clergy members spoke in favor of repealing the state’s death penalty for certain murders.

The letter signed by more than 300 will be given to state Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield (D-New Haven) and other lawmakers during a vigil at 10:30 a.m. on the North steps of the State Capitol. Holder-Winfield is the lead sponsor of legislation (HB 5036) that replaces the death penalty with a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of release for certain murders. The letter presentation and news conference to follow will be led by Rep. Bruce Morris (D-Norwalk), who is a minister.

Gathering outside the State Capitol on the North steps will be a diverse group, including Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, United Methodist, Episcopal, Quaker, Unitarian Universalist, Greek Orthodox, United Church of Christ, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Jewish faith leaders.

What: Clergy Seek Repeal of Capital Punishment

WHEN: 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 5

WHERE: North Steps Of State Capitol

In case of rain, location will be Room 1C in Legislative Office Building

NORWALK -- Residents and municipal leaders challenged each other to seek ways to reduce gun violence during a forum on the subject Sunday.

Judy Meikle, a member of the Alternatives to Violence Project, said community leaders need to create better programs for young gang members and those at risk of joining them to teach more pacifistic ways to solve their problems.

"We need to have intervention at other stages before they become involved in gangs or commit crimes," said Meikle, who lives in Darien.

Clergy, anti-violence advocates and area residents joined Sunday with elected officials such as U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn.; Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia; state Rep. Bruce Morris, who is a minister; and Norwalk Assistant Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik for Stand Against Gun Violence, an event to gather suggestions on how to reduce gun violence in Fairfield County communities.

Himes is cosponsoring federal legislation to outlaw high capacity magazine guns. He said he finds it difficult to fathom how Second Amendment purists oppose gun reform efforts to require more stringent background checks and legislation to ban high capacity magazine weapons such as the one used in the January attack of U.S. Rep. Gabriele Giffords, a Democratic congresswoman in Arizona and a crowd of her constituents.

Giffords was shot point blank in the head and remains in the hospital, while six others were killed in the incident.

Morris said in poorer neighborhoods, youth who commit gun violence often come from families in which there is minimal emphasis on education and achievement.

"They don't have meaningful and affirming relationships with adults," Morris said. "A good 70 percent of them are undereducated or uneducated."

Rabbi Ron Fish, of Congregation Beth El in Norwalk, said he felt sometimes that residents of towns with less crime such as Westport, Wilton, and Weston need to become more concerned about the problem of gun violence and help advocate for legislation that would address the problem.

"A majority of my congregants are not Norwalk residents and may consider it as something foreign to them," Fish said. "They may attend services here or enjoy restaurants and South Norwalk but don't see that as making them part of the community that is struggling with this."

In 2004 in Connecticut, 60 percent of homicides were committed using firearms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The majority of suicides in the state, 55 percent, are committed by firearm, with 87 percent of those being white males, according to 2005 data.

The forum, sponsored by the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, was held at Norwalk City Hall and focused on strategies to keep people in their homes while representing themselves through the foreclosure process.

“We continue to face tough economic times as we find ways to deal with our statewide budget deficit,” Donovan said. “In the meantime, we are reaching out to homeowners who are having difficulty with their mortgages. This program is an alternative to consider for those who want to keep their homes from being foreclosed.”

The forum highlighted resources and assistance available through the Connecticut Fair Housing Center. Mediation classes are being offered across the state. Topics discussed ranged from home loan modification and negotiating a home exit strategy to housing counselors and demystifying the process. An 80-page manual, which walks homeowners through the foreclosure process and includes all forms needed for court, was distributed. To date, some 5,000 owners have kept their homes thanks to this mediation process.

“Facing foreclosure is devastating to families, communities and the economy,” Morris said. “We are trying to provide necessary tools to help homeowners who are facing this crisis. It is my hope that as more people learn about how this program works that we will have many taking advantage of it.”

“Norwalk families facing foreclosure deserve a chance to save their homes,” said Rep. Perone. “It is outrageous that so many families are facing the threat of foreclosure, but we have created programs to help Connecticut homeowners.”

“The Connecticut Fair Housing Center is the only non-profit organization in the state that provides legal assistance and resources, free of charge, to homeowners facing foreclosure,” said CFHC Staff Attorney Jeffrey Gentes. “One in 13 Connecticut homeowners is either 90 days behind on their mortgage or in foreclosure. It is critical that we continue to support and educate people about resources like the Foreclosure Mediation Program so that we can prevent as many foreclosures as possible.”

For assistance with foreclosure, please contact:

Connecticut Department of Banking
Foreclosure Assistance Hotline: 1-877-472-8313
www.ct.gov/dob

Connecticut Fair Housing Center
Phone: (860) 247-4400
www.ctfairhousing.org

Housing Development Fund
Phone: (203) 798-6527
www.hdf-ct.org

Neighborhood Housing Services of Waterbury
Phone:  (203) 753-1896
www.nhswaterbury.org

Community Action Center of Danbury
Phone: (203) 744-4700www.cacd-caa.org

HARTFORD — Last year, when lawmakers considered a bill requiring DNA samples of anyone arrested on a serious felony charge, state Rep. Ernest Hewett was a critic.

The New London Democrat, like other African American lawmakers, worried that such a proposal would unfairly target minorities. He also feared that it would infringe on people's civil liberties.

But Hewett said he went from a skeptic to a supporter after researching the proposal, once again on the legislative agenda after failing last year.

"I took it as a project of mine to see what's really going on," he said after a brief press conference at the Capitol Wednesday morning. "And this just makes sense."

Hewett and other supporters believe pre-conviction DNA collection will provide law enforcement officials with a powerful tool to catch criminals and perhaps even exonerate people who are wrongly imprisoned. The DNA samples would be placed in a database overseen by the FBI and available to law enforcement officials across the nation, who could consult it when investigating other crimes.

Also pushing for passage of the bill was Jayann Sepich, who has become a national advocate for DNA testing of arrested felons after her 22-year-old daughter, Katie, was raped and murdered in New Mexico in 2003. Sepich, who traveled to Connecticut to testify in favor of the measure before the legislature's judiciary committee, said her daughter's killer would have been charged much sooner had New Mexico required pre-conviction DNA collection several years ago.

Twenty-four states currently collect DNA samples from those arrested but not necessarily convicted of a certain felony. Under the Connecticut proposal, DNA would be required only of those charged with "serious felonies," which Hewett defined as murder, rape and sexual assault of a child. Connecticut, like every other state, already mandates the collection of DNA samples from convicted felons.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut opposes the bill, saying it upends a longstanding principle of the American criminal justice system: that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

"There is a vast difference between using DNA as a tool in investigations — both to catch the guilty and exonerate the wrongly accused — and storing the most intimate biological information of persons who have not yet been convicted of any crime," Andrew Schneider, executive director of the ACLU of Connecticut, said in written testimony submitted to the judiciary committee.

A top state police official expressed support for the concept but said mandating the collection of DNA from all those arrested in serious felonies would have big budgetary implications. The Department of Public Safety cannot meet its existing commitments: Its forensics laboratory has a three-year backlog in processing DNA evidence in criminal investigations, Col. Danny R. Stebbins, acting public safety commissioner, said in written testimony to the committee.

Hewett and other supporters say pre-conviction DNA collection is far less costly and cumbersome than processing DNA evidence obtained from a crime scene.

They also dismissed the civil liberties concerns, saying DNA samples are no more invasive than providing law enforcement with fingerprints or a mug shot. DNA "is today's science, and we need to be using it," said Rep. Bruce Morris, a Democrat from Norwalk.

But the ACLU of Connecticut said DNA is much more than a fingerprint. "It contains some of the most private information about a person," Schneider said.

And contrary to Hewett's assertion, expansion of the DNA database to include those charged but not convicted would reinforce racial stereotypes because minorities are arrested at a higher rate than whites, Schneider said.

“I want to offer my sincere condolences and prayers to the family and friends of Pfc. David Fahey. We will be eternally grateful for the personal sacrifice he has made to his country and each of us as citizens,” Rep. Morris said. “Pfc. Fahey enlisted to serve his country with honor to make sure that people in other countries enjoy the same freedoms that we have. His tragic death is a reminder to each of us of the cost of those freedoms.”

Pfc. Fahey, 23, was born in Norwalk, where he lived until he enlisted. He was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. Pfc. Fahey was killed after his vehicle was struck by an IED after a morning patrol in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The details of his burial were pending.