Dear Neighbor,
This year’s legislative session has concluded and with it, the passage of new legislation that will shape our state for years to come. The headline from the session is the adoption of a bipartisan budget that funds transportation infrastructure, restores cuts to education and restores funding for the Medicare Savings Plan – all without raising taxes.
We worked on policies that support small businesses, workforce development and making our state a place that we can proudly raise our families. I am committed to fighting for you to build a bright future for Connecticut and our New Britain community.
I hope you find the enclosed information helpful. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office if I can be of service to you or your family.
Sincerely,
Components of the bipartisan budget agreement that I supported include:
- No income, sales or other state tax increases
- Increased state aid for education over 2018 levels
- Restored funding to Medicare Savings Program that helps low-income elderly individuals and the disabled pay for the cost of medicine and health care premiums
- Restored funding to Husky A, juvenile justice programs, developmental services, and partial funding to the Energy Efficiency Fund
- Maintenance of the “Rainy Day” Fund reserves at the highest level in over a decade
- Reinstated the Renters Rebate program that helps so many people on fixed incomes in the fall
Borinqueneers
I was proud to help secure the land and $300,000 in state funding to help make this 1st in the nation monument possible to honor the amazing group of Puerto Rican volunteer soldiers in the 65th Infantry Regiment. Members of the Borinqueneers unit served in WWI, WWII, and the Korean War. This monument in New Britain is only a small token of our deep appreciation to honor their sacrifice.
Jobs
Motivating companies and making Connecticut more business friendly to create jobs and improve our economy is a top priority. We assisted 15 companies to relocate and create new jobs in the state with the approval of $80.7 million in low-cost loans, grants-in-aid and other programs designed to increase economic growth; in return 3,894 jobs are expected to be created and 15,006 jobs retained.
Early Childhood Education
The requirement that 50% of Early Childhood program educators hold a bachelor’s degree has been bumped out to 2020 in order to keep existing programs in compliance while policy changes are further refined. New ways to certify teachers and identify additional programs are being developed to ensure that we are attracting the best and brightest teachers to help our children learn and grow.
Minority Teacher Recruitment
The State Dept. of Education (SDE) will work to develop new alternative routes to certification for paraprofessionals, charter school teachers, and veterans. SDE will also work with vendors to allow certain teachers to retake their licensure test for free if they do not successfully pass the first time.