2/10/21 Newsletter: Legislative Survey, COVID Update, Vaccine Update, Resources for Small Businesses

February 26, 2021
It's been a busy week full of committee hearings, meetings and phone calls with constituents, and today, the Governor's Budget address. All of this means a slightly longer than usual update tonight which includes: 

--my Legislative Priority Survey: I want to hear from you!
--the COVID-19 update for today
--the COVID-19 vaccine update
--new resources for small businesses
--our first budget update
 
Legislative Priority Survey 

The 2021 Legislative Session began on January 6th. This session, we will be working on a variety of legislation to help Connecticut during these unprecedented times. Many of these bills will affect your family and our district, which is why it is so important for me to hear directly from you what your top priorities are. I hope you will take a few minutes to complete this survey so that I can better represent our district at the state capitol.
Click here to complete the survey
 
COVID Update 
 
The following is a summary of the day-to-day newly reported data on cases, deaths, and tests in Connecticut. It is important to note that these newly reported updates include data that occurred over the last several days to a week. All data in this report are preliminary, and data for previous dates will be updated as new reports are received and data errors are corrected.
For a series of interactive graphs and maps that provide additional data, including metrics related to age, gender, and race/ethnicity, as well as data broken down by every town and city in Connecticut, visit ct.gov/coronavirus and click the link that is labeled, “Data Tracker.”
 
Vaccine Update

If you are 65 to 74 years old, on Thursday, February 11th, you can book your appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

To book an appointment you may:
(1) Call through the state’s Vaccine Appointment Assist Line (877-918-2224)
(2) Book an appointment online through the state’s online central system or VAMS

While I do know that some people in this age group have already been able to schedule, and you can absolutely try the system, it will definitely be available Thursday.

The VAMS system online works best with the Chrome or Edge browsers. If you are eligible, you can register here: https://dphsubmissions.ct.gov/OnlineVaccine I highly recommend when you get to the portion of scheduling the appointment and it asks you to enter your zip code and choose how many miles away you are willing to look for an appointment, that you set it higher than 10 miles. This will give you more options for locations to get the vaccine.

If you wish to contact UCONN Health with any vaccine inquiries please see the contact information below:

COVID Vaccine Scheduling
Phone: 860-679-5589

COVID Vaccine Call Center
Phone: 860-679-8888
 
Resources for Small Businesses
 
Connecticut’s online business portal – business.ct.gov – launched in the summer of 2020 with the goal of providing the state’s entrepreneurs with a one-stop-shop to easily find information and quickly create a checklist with everything required to start up or manage a business in the state.
 
 Governor Ned Lamont announced that the State of Connecticut’s online business portal – business.ct.gov – continues to add more features that will make it easier for entrepreneurs to find information and services that aid in the process of starting or managing their businesses in Connecticut. Using feedback gathered from entrepreneurs, the state has continued to customize this one-stop-shop experience for users.
Some of the newly added features during this most recent update include:
  • Resource Center: A customizable resource center that centralizes 170 different programs from multiple sectors and disciplines; providing financial, technical, and equity-based support programs for business owners in any stage of their business lifecycle. 
  • Business Dashboard: When users log in, they will see a new dashboard that will cut down on the time needed to find crucial business information.
  • Connecticut COVID-19 Content: Users will be able to find the latest updates on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic right from the dashboard.

I hope these resources will benefit the local businesses of Avon and Canton, and throughout Connecticut. 
 
Budget Update

Governor Lamont has presented a two-year state budget to the legislature. Today’s proposal marks the first step in the budget process. From here, the legislature and its committees will review the proposed budget and make changes. There will also be a public hearing on the “budget bill”. The process will take several months to develop the 2021-2023 state budget.
n the coming weeks, the legislature's Appropriations and Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committees review the proposal and schedule public hearings on spending and revenues. You can keep track of when these public hearings take place by visiting the committee pages on the Connecticut General Assembly website.

After the public hearings, Appropriations develops a revised budget which is then passed out of the committee. This usually happens in April. At the same time, the Finance Committee will determine if there should be any changes to the bill's revenue package.
Appropriations Committee
Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee
Legislative leaders, typically in consultation with the Office of the Governor and the Office of Policy and Management, work to develop a final budget bill. During this time, any number of changes may be made to the budget through bipartisan negotiations.
 
The budget bill then goes before the House and Senate. Each chamber must pass the same exact version of the budget in order for the bill to move on to the next step in the process.
 
After being passed by both chambers, the legislature’s final budget must then be signed into law by the governor before the end of the fiscal year, June 30.
 
I hope you follow along as my legislative colleagues and I work, along with the public, to develop a budget that will continue to move Connecticut forward.