Happy National Working Moms Day, Addressing Our Vaccine Standards

March 12, 2026

Dear Neighbor,

You may have heard that our Capitol was busy yesterday. As we hurdle toward the end of committee deadlines, we are completing our final public hearings and our final committee meetings for this very short session.

Snow days and extra session days have made the schedule even tighter. Yesterday alone, the Judiciary Committee, the Education Committee, the Public Health Committee, and the Planning and Development Committee all held hearings, and though I do not serve on it, I know the Education Committee went until after 4 a.m.

The days are long, and the work is important.

Today is National Working Mothers' Day! We are grateful to all of the moms out there who work inside and outside the home. Give yours some extra love today.

Heads up that we did reschedule the 764 Network online safety event, but sadly, because of snow days and wild scheduling, we won't be able to hold it until June. It better not snow then!

I've included information today on the vaccination bills that we heard yesterday in Public Health. Specifically, I have shared a clip from the Department of Health Commissioner's testimony yesterday, which I think clarifies some portions of the bill. If you have an interest in hearing her back and forth with committee members, you can find that and the rest of the meeting HERE.

Have a great week,

Eleni

National Working Moms Day!

Today, we celebrated National Working Mothers Day at the Capitol. Honoring mothers working inside the home and outside of the home is the backbone of our families and our societies

I am grateful that we live in a state that is prioritizing the needs of all moms with access to quality childcare, a student loan reimbursement program that helps address single moms' outsized student debt, and continues to work toward equal pay for equal work, including fighting to have transparent salary requirements.

Celebrate a working mom in your life today!

Addressing Our Vaccine Standards

Due to changes at the federal level, specifically at the CDC, as a state, we are looking at changes to ensure that vaccines can still be covered by insurance and that we remain a state with high vaccination uptake.

There has been a lot of misinformation about these bills, and I thought it important to include the information directly from the DPH Commissioner, Manisha Juthani, MD.

She spoke to two bills yesterday, the first is the Governor's Bill HB5044 AAC ESTABLISHING CT VACCINE STANDARDS, and the second is SB450, An Act Concerning the Standard Care of Immunization, which establishes a standard of care for vaccines in adults, children, and infants, to include recommendations from several medical organizations and the Department of Public Health commissioner.

Please click on the video below for her comments.

Our Public Hearing in P&D

Yesterday, in the Planning and Development Committee, we heard testimony on 18 different bills.

Our committee is known as both a catch-all committee and a problem-solving committee. Hearing testimony on a bill for Success Village in Bridgeport was especially gutting.

Over the course of years in this community, people were left without hot water for more than six months, when they had a fire, people were displaced horribly, and the list went on and on.

And, on top of that, their condo fees were misappropriated, and taxes that should have been paid were not. It's before our committee because they need a small change in order to get the taxes paid, and that is within our purview.

We also heard a bill that didn’t belong in our committee. It ultimately belonged in the Labor Committee.

During screening, when we were sorting through concepts, we thought we were in receipt of a bill whose subject matter was transit district grants. In reality, it was a bill that sought to take paid family medical leave away from bus drivers. And, while it may have been about a small transit district, it would be nearly impossible to narrow it down in this short session.

We heard from many transit drivers who were able to share their experiences having access to PFML.

We may not be the most exciting committee, but the work we do can affect people all over the state.

Ellie: What a Week!

Hello!

This week was a whirlwind!

I began working on a Joint Favorable (JF) report, traveled with Eleni to a school, and produced a day-in-the-life-of-a-legislator video. I also began helping Eleni get organized for the Women’s Equity Caucus. What I have come to realize about this internship is how much it can change from day to day.

I have a good routine, but day by day, different events happen, and I can have new and exciting experiences.

A JF report was something I had never done before, but I was excited to help with it. This report compiles all testimony from a bill after a public hearing. It organizes it by the bill's purpose, who drafted it, the state agencies’ responses, and a summary of each person’s testimony on who opposed and who supported the bill. I was tasked with completing a JF report on a bill involving municipalities' ability to regulate pet shops.

Many people testified against this bill, with over a thousand testimonies. Obviously, with that much testimony, this has been a long report to complete. However, I think it is not only important that I was assigned this, but also exciting because I was trusted enough to execute the report well. But I am happy to do it, as I am learning, and I understand that this is a pivotal part of the legislative process.

Have a wonderful week!

Ellie

Update: Public Safety Info Forum

The Public Safety Informational Forum "Understanding Violent Extremism and Its Impact on Our Community" has been rescheduled to Monday, June 1, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Avon High School.