Dear Neighbor,
We have concluded the 2021 legislative session, and I am proud to report that we have passed a budget and made many changes in policy that will be greatly beneficial to the residents of Newington.
The biggest highlights include over $4.5 million in new additional state aid to the town of Newington. The town can use these additional dollars to help lower property taxes, make infrastructure repairs, and maintain our great services.
Additionally, we passed legislation to provide over $20 million to Newington to fund over half the cost for the Anna Reynolds Elementary school renovation project. This is a vital project for our community.
I also worked to pass a bipartisan budget that strengthens our economy, invests in our infrastructure, pays down debt, cuts taxes, supports education, and works to overcome the difficulties many families and businesses still face due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thank you to all of you who came to me with ideas for legislation throughout the session. Please sign up for my weekly newsletters, follow me on social media, and join me at my monthly Meet and Greets to further discuss how we can continue to make Newington an even greater place to live.
Best,
Delivering For Newington
This session, we passed a budget that significantly increases state funding to Newington, takes steps to keep our community safer, cuts taxes for seniors, and invests in education.
- Newington will receive over $18 million each year to assist with school funding, town services, and lower property taxes. This is a 13% increase for FY 22 and a 15% increase for FY 23 from FY 21; for a total increase of $4.6 million over the next two years.
- Newington will receive over $20 million for the Anna Reynolds Elementary School renovation, which will cover over 50% of the project.
- We strengthened laws to keep our community safer and help reduce car break-ins/thefts by increasing penalties for adults who entice minors to commit crimes. We also improved the judicial and detainment process for crimes committed by juveniles.
Funding Secured for Newington
Fiscal Year 22 | Fiscal Year 23 | Increase from Previous Budget | |
---|---|---|---|
ECS Funding | $14,131,800 | $14,490,650 | 5.2% |
Non-ECS Statutory Aid | $3,944,940 | $3,945,177 | 82% |
Total Municipal Aid | $18,076,740 | $18,435,827 | 15.6% |
Highlights From The 2021 Session
While we passed many new laws that I believe will greatly benefit the residents of Newington, below are some of the laws that will have the most significant impact.
- Increased property tax breaks for volunteer firefighters and first responders (HB 6420)
- Provided a state income tax break for more low-income families through the Earned Income Tax Credit (SB 1202)
- Eliminated state income taxes on IRA income over time, beginning in the 2023 tax year (SB 1202)
- Declared racism a public health crisis and created a Commission on Racial Equity tasked with eliminating health disparities (PA 21-35)
- Legalized adult use of cannabis (SB 1201)
- Legalized sports betting and online gaming (PA 21-23)
- Lowered prescription drug costs by requiring manufacturing discounts go to the consumer and not the insurance company (PA 21-14)
- Fully funded free community college – meaning students can work on their associate degree without having to pay tuition out of pocket (SB 1202)
- Regulated the harmful chemical “PFAS” (SB 837)
- Blocked individuals who a court determines as high-risk from getting their hands on a gun (PA 21-67)
- Cut the sales tax on breastfeeding supplies (SB 1202)
- Further cut taxes on social security and pensions for seniors
- Set minimum standards for long-term care insurance (SB 2016)
- Voters will get to decide in 2022 if we should have early, in-person voting and in 2024 you’ll decide if every registered voter in CT should be able to vote by absentee ballot (RA 21-1 and RA 21-2)
Serving Our Veterans
I want to thank those of you who joined me on the Newington Veterans Advisory Group to help guide me in voting as a member of the legislature’s Veterans Committee. We were able to pass several new initiatives to help veterans and their families.
- Established the Purple Star School Program to assist families with school registration, planning, counseling and other support services (PA 21-86)
- Expanded state benefits for LGBTQ+ veterans (PA 21-79)
- Increased state benefits for veterans to cover the cost of funerals (HB 6480)
- Directed state colleges and universities to update what credits they can award based on military training (HB 6402)
- Established a tourism trail that showcases our veteran and military destinations (PA 21-105)
Responding to COVID-19
The COVID-19 global pandemic caused the passing of many of our friends and relatives and had a severe economic impact on many individual families and businesses. The federal government responded strongly with assistance programs and the legislature worked this session to close many remaining gaps.
- Cut unemployment insurance taxes for local businesses by excluding pandemic-related layoffs and paying directly into the fund (PA 21-5 & SB 1202)
- Ensured access to virtual visits and monitoring for nursing home residents (PA 21-55) and created a statewide policy on visitation (PA 21-71)
- Continued coverage and access to telehealth (HB 6470)
- Expanded workers’ comp benefits for PTSD to cover emergency responders, corrections workers, dispatchers and health care providers who were on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic (SB 660)
- Continued virtual parent-teacher conferences
- Reformed nursing home staffing, policies and supply inventories in response to COVID-19 (SB 1030)