Eleni Kavros DeGraw

Dear Neighbor,

I hope you're staying as cool as you can in yet another heat wave. This weekend promises to be better, and I hope you'll kick it off Saturday morning with me and Senator Paul Honig at 9 a.m. at Beanz & Company. We will be going over the major bills that passed this session, and if the turnout in Canton when we did this is any indication, it could be packed!
 
Speaking of passed legislation, I've included a couple of important bills we passed and a little more information about them in this session. The first, regarding capping excessive premium hikes (I heard about this from many of you, even directly at the polls last year) and ensuring mental health parity. The second invests in our farmers, who have had a particularly rough few years. The legislation provides crop loss reimbursement as well as a 20% tax credit for farm investment property, among other things.
 
I've also included some more information on housing in Connecticut, specifically our land use boards and a recent study done on their demographic makeup. While the study only covered two counties in our state, I believe the information can be extrapolated across the state. Interesting stuff!
 
Wishing you a good week ahead and a break in this heat,

Eleni

New legislation signed by Governor Lamont prioritizes patients and holds insurance companies accountable.
 
Here’s a closer look at what it does:

• Caps excessive premium hikes. Allows the Connecticut Insurance Department to limit rate increases for insurers with a track record of increasing costs.
• Enforces mental health parity with real consequences. Insurers must treat mental health like physical health, and those who don’t comply can face fines up to $625,000 and must publicly report how they’re doing.
• Ends harmful “step therapy” delays. Patients with MS, rheumatoid arthritis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression will no longer be forced to try cheaper meds first while their condition worsens, and trial periods are also cut from 60 to 30 days.

The governor also recently signed legislation establishing a range of new incentives and protections for farm owners in the state.
 
Among the provisions:

• 20% tax credit for “farm investment property
• Crop loss reimbursement
• Drone regulations to boost innovation
• ️Support for shellfish, agritourism & more
• Expanding land access grants

You may have heard that the Trump administration cut $53 million from Connecticut schools. 
 
What did that translate to for Avon and Canton?
 
Avon lost over $62,000, including:

• $40,127 for teacher and school leader supports
• $12,439 for English learners
• $10,000 for student support and academic enrichment 

Canton lost over $30,000, including:

• $20,577 for teacher and school leader supports
• $10,000 for student support and academic enrichment

As you know, school budgets get tighter every year, and these cuts eat away at what teachers can provide as we continue to ask them to support our students with fewer resources. Want to see what your town may be losing?  Check out the CT Post article by clicking on the image below.

As we continue to discuss the importance of increasing housing in the state of Connecticut, I’m grateful to see that The Housing Collective did a study on two of our counties in Connecticut regarding the demographic makeup of land use boards. 
 
What is a land use board? Your municipality’s planning and zoning, inland wetlands, and zoning board of appeals, to name a few. 
 
Some of the statistics from the article below that would most likely be reflected similarly in the other counties across Connecticut: 
 
Among members of the land-use board in Fairfield County: 

• 70% are male, while 49% of the county’s overall population is male.
• 94% are white, while 58% of the population is white.
• 91% are homeowners, while 67% of the population are homeowners.
• Their average age is 61, while the average age of the population is 40.

Among members of the land-use board in New London County: 
 
* 72% are male, compared to 48% of the county’s overall population.
* 97% are white, compared to 73% of the population.
* 92% are homeowners, compared to 68% of the population.
* Their average age is 63, while the average age of the population is 41.
 
When we say we want people to have a voice in their local government, the above data shows these boards are not representative of their communities. If we want more vibrant, thriving municipalities in Connecticut, then we need more people at the table across all demographics who can speak to the needs of that community, not just a privileged few. 
 
We can do better in all of our communities by actively recruiting people reflective of the people who live there and what we want the future to look like. Please click on the image below for a read on the topic in CTNewsJunkie.