Andre Baker Jr

Several new pieces of legislation that will help improve the quality of life in Connecticut went into effect Saturday, July 1.

I was proud to support the following bills:

Fighting the opioid epidemic
Connecticut has been grappling with an opioid epidemic for years. House Bill 7052 will help reduce addiction and overdoses by limiting the maximum opioid drug prescription for minors from 7 days to 5 days. It additionally requires health insurers to cover medically necessary, inpatient detoxification services for an insured diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder.

Pretrial bail reform
Adults who are accused of committing misdemeanors and are unable to afford money bail languish in jail for weeks or months, costing the state millions. House Bill 7044 aims to end this cash only bail for certain misdemeanors, saving the state approximately 31 million over the next two years. The legislation additionally reduces the time for those being held in jail pretrial for misdemeanor charges from 30 to 14 days. This bill is an important step in making the Connecticut justice system fairer and more efficient.

Universal preschool
Senate Bill 954 will create a new task force that will develop a plan for the provision of universal preschool to all children three and four years of age for the school year commencing July 1, 2022, and each school year thereafter.

High school graduation requirements
Starting with the class of 2023, there will be new requirements for high school students to graduate. Senate Bill 1026 will require students to complete nine credits in the humanities, nine credits in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, one credit each in physical education, world languages and health and safety education, and one credit mastery-based diploma assessment. To view all the changes in requirements, click here.

I will continue to fight for the passage of bills that address education, safety, and public health issues.