Maria Horn

This is my State Capitol update for the week of January 20. If you would rather watch than read, check out the link at the bottom of the page.

If you’re one of those who always reads this newsletter rather than watching the video, you’ll miss a little drama this week (and a closeup shot of the floor of my car). I did the video from a snow-constricted parking lot in Hartford, and when a large bus drove in there was a little drama, all safely resolved!

3-D Printed Guns

Yesterday Attorney General William Tong announced that Connecticut will join 20 other states in a legal challenge to laws that would enable online release of plans that can be used to create a gun with a 3D-printer. As you will recall, Connecticut banned these untraceable weapons (which are a type of “ghost gun”) in the 2019 legislative session, but the distribution of how-to plans online would drive a huge loophole through Connecticut’s ban. The federal government has attempted to release these how-to plans online in past years, and despite being rebuffed by the courts, is currently finalizing a new effort.

Healthcare costs

Governor Ned Lamont announced yesterday that he has signed two executive orders that will directly address healthcare costs, primary care spending, and quality of care for individuals, businesses, and state government. The orders direct the Office of Health Strategy (OHS) to establish statewide healthcare cost growth and quality benchmarks and a primary care spending target. It also directs the Department of Social Services (DSS) to improve public transparency of Medicaid costs and quality. Similar benchmarks in Massachusetts have saved healthcare consumers more than $5 billion since 2013.

These executive orders will help increase transparency regarding healthcare costs, and I hope we as a legislature can address this issue again in the upcoming session.

Minimum wage news

The suicide rate in the United States has grown to such a degree recently that it’s contributing to an overall decline in life expectancy. The economic and social costs of these deaths are staggering. But there was a piece of good news in the past week, as a new study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggests that raising the minimum wage can reduce the suicide rate.

The researchers focused on the impact of state minimum wage increases on suicide rates. They estimated that for the period from 2009-2015, a $1 increase in the minimum wage could have prevented 13,800 suicides among those age 18 to 64 with a high school education or less; a $2 increase could have prevented 25,900 such deaths.

Local Go Fund Me Campaign

There are so many people in our neighborhoods who reach out to help others when they see a need. We all need a little help from time to time, and when we look for chances to pitch in, we all win. Mary O’Brien in Salisbury, who has a keen eye for neighbors in a moment of need, brought one of these situations to my attention. Gary Marks lost his truck recently when his brakes went out on Mt. Riga, leaving him without a way to get around and help people in the area. The community is trying to help him raise $2,500 to replace that truck. Click here for a link to the campaign.

Some Recent Events

Earlier this week I participated (along with both of my wonderful aides, Noemi and Marc) in the 'Point in Time Count', the aim of which is to take a snapshot of the homeless population throughout the state in order to assess their needs. We started out at The Gathering Place in Torrington, from which several teams fanned out into locations throughout the region in order to locate those who had no place of their own to sleep. It was a cold night, and we were all bundled up in many layers of warm clothing: our team was glad that everyone we interviewed had found space at a local shelter or at least a car that was safer and warmer than the abandoned buildings and woods we also searched. Special thanks to The Lakeville Journal’s Cynthia Hochswender for joining us and shining a light on this issue.

The Cornwall Board of Selectmen took a moment this week to honor Joyce Hart, who has clerked hundreds of meetings during the past 22 years, which also included active service to the Cornwall Fire Department, serving as its President. Presenting her with a citation from the General Assembly was a real privilege, as she’s a true example of what it means to be dedicated to her town and its people. Thank you, Joyce – we wish you some well-deserved and restful time off.

Yesterday I participated in another event highlighting the importance of the upcoming census. Several towns in the district (including Salisbury, Sharon, North Canaan, and Cornwall) are still in need of enumerators, so if you think a part-time job from March to June of 2020, paying between $21 and $25 per hour might be of interest, check it out here.

Last night I attended the Litchfield County Farm Bureau dinner held at the UConn Extension in Torrington. We covered a lot of topics important to local farmers and agricultural education students, including protecting the Community Investment Act (which provides critical funds for local agriculture as well as other community investments), funding for agricultural education, and investing in anaerobic digesters (which have the potential not only to help farmers, but also increase recycling, produce energy, and address regional and state-wide waste management issues).

Upcoming events

I have a lot of legislative-themed meals coming up in the next week or so, as a number of local organizations are hosting them, including:

• Litchfield League of Women Voters legislative breakfast on Saturday, January 25;
• Northwest Hills COG, NW Chamber, and EdAdvance legislative breakfast on Monday January 27;
• Litchfield Realtors legislative night on Monday, January 27; and
• Northwest Connecticut Community College legislative breakfast on Friday, January 31.

It is my honor to represent our district. I look forward to hearing from you about the issues raised in this newsletter, or any other topics you think I should know about. You can email me at maria.horn@cga.ct.gov or call me at (860)-240-8585. Thanks for reading, and I wish you a safe weekend.