Maria Horn

It has been a busy week at the Capitol. The House has passed several important bills, including a ban on the commercial sale of handguns that can be easily converted into fully automatic weapons (HB 5043), an update to Connecticut's vaccine policy, and an elections bill focused on modernizing absentee voting, strengthening election security, and improving access to the ballot (HB 5001). We also passed a proposed bill related to homeschooling oversight (HB 5468) late last night. I will highlight a few of those bills in detail below. 

Here’s a list of today’s topics: 

• Session Recap. Click here.
• Lower Electric Bills Starting May 1. Click here.
• April 25 is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Click here.
• Milling and Resurfacing Projects in Warren, Cornwall, and Salisbury. Click here.
• CTDOT Vegetation Management Program. Click here. 
• Food Waste Program Update. Click here. 
• This Week is National Library Week. Click here. 
• Northwest Corner Events. Click here. 

During session this week, the House of Representatives passed several bills, including: 
 

Connecticut is advancing a gun violence prevention bill aimed at strengthening public safety and closing dangerous gaps in current law. House Bill 5043: An Act Concerning Convertible Pistols and Unfinished Frames or Unfinished Lower Receivers.

The proposal would ban the commercial importation into Connecticut of convertible pistols, firearms that can be easily modified to function like automatic weapons, sometimes with minimal tools such as a screwdriver or knife. By addressing these modifications, the bill targets a growing concern among law enforcement and public safety officials. The bill is forward-looking, and would not affect current owners of such firearms, but would prevent their future commercial sale in Connecticut.

It would also make it easier for individuals to safely surrender firearms to local police. Current law primarily applies to assault weapons, but this change would expand that option, helping to ensure that more firearms can be removed from potentially unsafe situations.

Together, these measures are designed to reduce the risk of gun violence while promoting responsible ownership and safer communities across the state.
 

This week, the House passed HB 5044: An Act Establishing Connecticut Vaccine Standards.

In the past, Connecticut's vaccine policies and standards have been tied to the expert recommendations developed by the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC). Unfortunately, the CDC has recently abandoned its standing as the premier resource of medicine and science guidelines.

HB 5044 seeks to update Connecticut's vaccine policies so they are based on science, not political agendas. The bill will: 

• Allow the Connecticut Department of Public Health to promote COVID and flu vaccines
• Require private insurance companies to cover the cost of your vaccinations
• Allow Connecticut to buy vaccines from suppliers other than the CDC
• Establish an adult vaccine program for uninsured and under-insured individuals
• Reinforce the bargain struck under prior legislation concerning required vaccination for public school students

While the bill includes no new vaccine mandates, it makes vaccines more accessible, more affordable, and it will keep our communities healthier.

In recent years, a handful of child abusers have exploited loopholes in Connecticut’s unusually minimalist homeschooling laws – resulting in horrific crimes of abuse, kidnapping, and homicide. In response to those events, this bill wrestled a variety of approaches to protecting children.  

The bill has undergone a lot of change since its inception and there is, not surprisingly, a fair amount of confusion about what we actually passed.  During the process of debating and amending this bill, I’ve had the privilege of meeting and communicating with several dedicated homeschooling families in the region, many of whom were concerned that our response might be too heavy-handed, or unfairly target those who choose to homeschool. As a result of those conversations, the bill was significantly pared down, and I believe the legislation we passed takes a light touch, respecting different approaches to educational excellence while closing some loopholes that been abused. 

The bill sets up some simple and commonsense procedures when a child is withdrawn from public school: 

• When a parent or guardian wishes to withdraw a child from public school, they must complete a withdrawal form. (Note that this is current law.)
• If a child will be enrolled in a different school (for example, a private or parochial school), the parent can demonstrate this with a letter of enrollment.
• If a child will be homeschooled, the public school is required to check DCF records for protective orders and open cases of abuse and neglect prior to the child being withdrawn.  

Thereafter, the parent must submit a form once a year (this can be done by email, with no personal appearance) stating whether a child will be attending a private school, public school, or be homeschooled.  

HB 5001 - An Act Concerning Absentee Voting for All and Various Other Reforms to the Administration of Elections
 

Connecticut House Democrats passed legislation to make sure our 2026 elections are free and fair.

We took steps to:

• Modernize our absentee ballot laws and vote counting procedures
• Create more safeguards to ensure your vote counts
• Protect our elections from corrupt outside forces

Additionally, we’ll keep ICE and people with weapons away from our polls, increase penalties for tampering with vote counts and intimidating poll workers, and empower the Attorney General to prevent people from interfering with our elections, among other provisions.

During the debate on this bill, we took a pause to have a long conversation about early voting.  While not directly addressed in this bill, many of us feel strongly that 14 days of early voting places too high a burden on municipalities, particularly small towns, while a shorter period (say, 10 days) would serve the same goal.  This burden seems especially unnecessary when we are creating a system ensuring access to no-excuse absentee ballots that will provide access to the polls for 30 days preceding an election.  An amendment that touched on this topic gave us an excuse to make this point to our colleagues.  We made that point, and have gotten a commitment to address this once the no-excuse absentee ballot system is in effect.  Stay tuned, and keep reaching out with your views on this one! 

People’s right to vote is under constant attack around the country, but here in Connecticut, we’re making sure elections are free and fair.

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is on April 25.

From 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, the DEA will provide the public with a free and convenient opportunity to dispose of unwanted, unused, and expired household medicines. To find a location near you, please visit the event’s website and use the Collection Site Locator Tool. 

MyOldMeds.com features a Locator Tool that can help you find the nearest disposal site year-round. There are more than 29,000 verified locations in all 50 states that have secure unwanted or expired medicine disposal kiosks, and/ or provide free in-home disposal kits upon request. Additionally, the Locator Tool provides disposal sites’ hours of operation, hours of collection, what is collected, and other helpful information. 

MyOldMeds.com also provides information on proper use, proper storage, and proper disposal of unwanted or expired household medicine.

CTDOT has announced that a milling and resurfacing project will be performed on Route 41 in Salisbury starting on Monday, April 27 and be completed on Friday, May 14.

Milling and resurfacing will also be performed on Route 45 in Warren and Cornwall starting on Friday, May 1 and be completed on Friday, May 28.  No work to be performed on the Memorial Day Holiday.

Crescendo – Lakeville's Chorus and Music

Crescendo will conclude the second half of its 22nd season with a series of spring performances and community events across the region. Highlights include:

• Two choral concerts featuring tango-style repertoire, including two U.S. premieres, on April 25 & 26
• “Baroque Brilliance: Bach’s Motets” concerts on May 30 & 31
• A solo harpsichord recital honoring Wanda Landowska on June 13

A limited number of free tickets are available for community members upon request. They can be requested by writing to crescendo@crescendomusic.org.

The annual Shane Kinsella Memorial Run/Walk will be held on April 25. This year’s event features a 5K run and a 2-mile walk, with a kids’ run at 10:15 AM and the main race kicking off at 11:00 AM.

Proceeds support the SMK Fund, which helps local children participate in sports, attend camps, and access other enriching opportunities. 

Click here to learn more.