Kate Farrar

Wednesday, four state legislators -- including State Representative Kate Farrar (D – West Hartford) – joined to advocate for bold action and for Connecticut to invest in the state's future.

The legislators said that with the COVID-19 pandemic only widening the gap between those with and without – working families facing poverty, food insecurity, job loss, educational disparities and housing issues– thousands of Connecticut families are being pushed to the brink, making state resources more vital than ever.

"COVID-19 remains an everyday crisis for seniors, for families and for working people. Our state has lost 7,133 residents to the virus. We have nearly 200,000 people still out of work, the majority of which are women," said Rep. Farrar. "There are thousands of families that are fearful of losing their homes and struggling to put food on the table. A fair recovery will invest in affordable housing, health care, and educational opportunities for all. A fair recovery will reduce racial and economic inequality and build a strong economy where we leave no one behind."  

Rep. Farrar was joined in today's announcement by state Senator Julie Kushner (D – Danbury), Representatives Robyn Porter (D-New Haven), and Quentin Phipps (D-Middletown). Connecticut residents also joined the legislators to share their personal stories about struggling with heath care and housing in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

Denise Rogers of Hamden told her story of survival and recovery from COVID-19 after losing her husband to the virus in the spring of 2020. Rogers, who has been diagnosed as a COVID-19 "long hauler" with side effects including brain fog and fatigue, pleaded with the public to understand that there is a recovery gap among survivors, as she is still fighting for workers' compensation.

"It's a fight for many of us, and it's still an uphill battle out here," Rogers said. "We need your help."

Gavin Guerra, an independent filmmaker from Danbury, has struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic in a different way. As a gig worker moving from project to project, Guerra said he lost his health insurance around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring him to go on COBRA health care. His daughter, who has autism and Crohn's disease, has sent the cost of that care to more than $30,000 per year, just in health insurance premiums. Health care reform and investments are key, Guerra said, to help many families like his avoid this extreme financial pressure.

Among the priorities mentioned today by legislators were:

• Municipal aid, especially in fully funding the Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, program that reimburses cities and towns for state-owned and other tax-exempt properties
• Grade-level and higher education, with the Education Cost Sharing formula, full funding of Alliance District grants and universal pre-kindergarten programs, and protections for state and community colleges by closing budget deficits and funding the Program for Free Community College
• Health care, with recommendations to expand HUSKY and commit to long-term care and state-run direct care mental health and housing services
• Expand the Temporary Rental Housing Assistance Program and build new affordable housing units.
• Send stimulus payments to those who have lost their jobs
• Double property tax credits for property owners
• Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit

To pay for and put such pro-middle-class changes in place, legislators proposed the following changes to Connecticut's existing tax code:

• Digital ad revenue taxes for companies with annual revenue over $10 billion (Google, Facebook and Amazon)
• A property tax on the portion of market value of homes with a market value of over $2 million
• Reduce estate tax exemptions to $2 million
• Increase corporation business tax rates for entities with gross income of/over $100 million, extend/increase current surtax to 20 percent
• Impose new capital gains, dividend and taxable interest for individuals with income of more than $500,000
• Raise individual income tax rates for individuals earning more than $500,000 per year and $1 million per year.