Maria Horn

It’s a short week, but one that is already packed with legislative activity.  This Friday is the deadline for individual legislators to submit bills (or “concepts”) for consideration this year, and many of us spent a chunk of the long weekend submitting bills and consulting with colleagues who were considering submitting bills.  Bills can also be proposed by committees, so, as Co-Chair of the Public Safety & Security Committee this year, that is another option for proposing legislation.   
 

This is my State Capitol update for the week of State Capitol Update for the Week of January 11.

As we learn more detail about the violent events of January 6, I find myself insisting that we use our time to draw closer to them, that we turn and look squarely at what, exactly, happened, and why.  Some voices are calling for us to let the events go, to move ahead, to turn the page, to avoid division.

Yesterday the Connecticut legislature was sworn in, and I proudly began my second term representing the 64th District in the General Assembly.  I have come to savor my drive into the state’s capital, as the different routes I take bring me through seven out of the nine towns in the district, past homes, businesses, and farms that I have come to know, past libraries, town halls, town greens, coffee shops where I’ve met with so many of you.  Yesterday’s drive, at sunrise, with a covering of snow, filled me with optimism and excitement about the term ahead.

omorrow the new session, my second term in Connecticut’s legislature, begins, as all House and Senate members will be sworn in, agree on a new set of rules, and hear from our leadership and the Governor. The swearing in ceremony itself will be very different this year.  In the past, the House chamber would be packed with family and friends, all eager to celebrate the start of a new year. 

We had good news this week in the form of a new federal stimulus package that is finalizing its journey through Congress and the White House.  The process behind creating this 5,000 page bill was messy at best, and we will be sorting out its provisions in the weeks to come, but one especially bright light within it is the Save Our Stages Act fund, which would help struggling independent concert and entertainment venues get back on their feet. 

Yesterday we had a real snow day, including some of the largest snowfall we’ve had in some time.  At my house, depending on who did the measuring, it was either 16 or 20 inches of fresh snow. As I listened to my own three kids tumble outside with our dog (who was completely, and gleefully, buried by the snow), wishing I were outside making a snow angel myself, it illustrated the contradictory moment we live in.  For a school-aged child, a snow day can represent pure joy, but to the working parent it is much more complicated, at a time when so many are already carrying a heavy burden of worry about family economics and public health. 
 

We are awaiting two big events in the next couple of days.  One is Winter Storm Gail, which has caused a winter storm watch from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon, and will potentially leave us with a foot or more of snow.