Great News

April 27, 2018

This week the legislature has been busy, working till well after midnight as compromises were reached on key issues. A few highlights:

  1. The House passed HB 5210, mandating essential health benefits. This bill, which I cosponsored, requires certain health insurance policies to cover 10 essential health benefits, which are the same benefits the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) (P.L. 111-148, as amended) requires most policies to cover. The bill also requires certain health insurance policies to cover specified benefits and services, including preventive health care services; immunizations; and contraceptive drugs, devices, and products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
  2. The House passed HB 5421, AN ACT ADOPTING THE INTERSTATE COMPACT TO ELECT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES BY NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE. Connecticut would commit its presidential electors to the national popular vote winner in a presidential election. Any state or Washington, D.C. may join the compact, which takes effect when enough jurisdictions have done so to cumulatively possess a majority of Electoral College votes
  3. The House passed SB 4, AN ACT ASSISTING STUDENTS WITHOUT LEGAL IMMIGRATION STATUS WITH THE COST OF COLLEGE. This bill extends eligibility for institutional financial aid to attend a state public higher education institution to certain students, including honorably discharged veterans, who lack legal immigration status. The bill extends eligibility for the aid to these students, to the extent allowed by federal law, if they (1) meet certain residency, age, and criminal history requirements and (2) file an affidavit about their intent to legalize their immigration status with the institution they are attending. Under the bill, veterans are eligible for institutional financial aid upon the bill's passage, while non-veterans are eligible on the earlier of January 1, 2020 or when Congress provides a “pathway to citizenship” for students without legal immigration status. The funds affected are generated by fees paid by students. This legislation, passed through the efforts of many constituents, passed in concurrence with the Senate and is on the way to the Governor.