Maria Horn

We were in session today, voting as usual from our offices in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.  The matters before us all had urgency from a timing perspective. In addition to several appointments and confirmations of judges, we passed two important bills.  One, a bill that passed unanimously out of the Judiciary Committee (HB 6462), amended and clarified the standards for use of force by police officers, and extended the effective date of the legislation to give ample time for training.  The other (HB 6555) assured there would be legislative oversight in the way that COVID-19 federal relief funds would be spent.  Both not only had overwhelming bipartisan support, but were also the product of much collaborative bipartisan work. 

Here’s a list of today’s topics:

• Acceleration of Vaccination Schedule. Click here.
• Telehealth Services Expanded and Extended. Click here.
• Program Launched to Provide Emergency Rental and Utility Assistance. Click here.
• Small Business Aid in American Rescue Plan. Click here.
• Additional SNAP  Benefits. Click here.

For several additional graphs and tables containing more data, including a list of cases in every municipality, visit ct.gov/coronavirus and click the link that is labeled, “Data Tracker.”
 

Specific Updates for Our Community

 

Town	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Number of Tests	Number of Positive Tests
Canaan	8	0	702	9
Cornwall	44	0	1,927	52
Goshen	125	1	4,313	150
Kent	135	0	8,737	163
Norfolk	61	0	2,000	70
North Canaan	184	8	8,567	201
Salisbury	126	0	9,633	150
Sharon	100	1	4,704	139
Torrington	2,850	133	78,460	3,488

 For several additional graphs and tables containing more data, including a list of cases in every municipality, visit ct.gov/coronavirus and click the link that is labeled, “Data Tracker.”
 
 
Acceleration of vaccination schedule

The next phase of the roll out, which expands eligibility to individuals aged 45 to 54, will begin this Friday, March 19. If you are in this age category, you will be able to begin the scheduling process at 8:00 am on Friday morning.
 
The State also announced that general availability to all individuals 16-years-of-age and older will begin ahead of schedule. Eligibility is tentatively scheduled to begin for this age group on Monday, April 5. This acceleration comes as the State was informed by the Biden administration that we should anticipate receiving a significant increase in supplies of all three federally authorized vaccines over the next several weeks.
 
It’s important to note that these dates are for appointment eligibility. They are not a guarantee of a timeline in which you will receive the vaccine.  If you are having trouble getting an appointment, please reach out to me, or to your town social service agent, as they often act as coordinators to arrange appointments for residents.
 
Connecticut continues to rank among the top five states in the nation in the percentage of our population that has been vaccinated. Individuals who are currently eligible to receive the vaccine in Connecticut include:

• All individuals age 55 and older;
• Healthcare personnel;
• Medical first responders;
• Residents and staff of long-term care facilities;
• Residents and staff of select congregate settings; and
• PreK-12 school staff and professional childcare providers.

 
All eligible individuals in Connecticut who would like to receive the vaccine must make an appointment in advance. Information on making an appointment and finding the closest available clinic can be found online at ct.gov/covidvaccine. Those without access to the internet can call the Connecticut’s Vaccine Appointment Assist Line at 877-918-2224. The assist line is available seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.  
 
Telehealth services expanded and extended by executive order
 
Telehealth services – which have provided safe and secure options for healthcare professionals to treat patients during the pandemic – have been expanded and extended through an executive order signed over the weekend by Governor Lamont.
 
Executive Order No. 10C extends the provisions codified by Public Act 20-2 and includes the following: 

• Authorizes additional health care professionals to provide telehealth services;
• Allows certain telehealth providers to offer audio-only services by telephone;
• Allows certain providers to use additional technologies, such as certain third-party video communication applications, like Zoom;
• Develops requirements for telehealth providers seeking payment from uninsured or underinsured patients;
• Requires insurance coverage for telehealth services and prohibits providers reimbursed for services from seeking payment from an insured patient beyond cost sharing;
• Prohibits insurance policies from excluding coverage for a telehealth platform selected by an in-network provider;
• Prohibits insurance carriers from reducing reimbursement to a provider because services are provided through telehealth instead of in-person;
• Modifies requirements for pharmacies transferring unfilled prescriptions for controlled substances that were electronically transmitted.

 
The executive order modifies and extends Public Act 20-2 through April 20, 2021, the date the governor's emergency powers are set to expire.
 
Telehealth services have been beneficial in slowing the spread of COVID-19 by enabling providers and patients to stay socially distant through technology and I hope these services will remain in place for the duration of the pandemic and beyond.
 
 
Program launched to provide emergency rental and utility assistance
 
Governor Lamont, members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation, and Connecticut Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno announced the launch of UniteCT, a new state program to provide rental and utility assistance to qualified Connecticut households financially impacted by COVID-19.
 
As further detailed in the program guidelines, UniteCT may provide up to $10,000 in rental assistance and up to $1,500 in electric utility arrearage payments to landlords and utility companies on behalf of approved tenants. Tenants and landlords will be able to complete and track applications online from any computer or smart phone. Assistance will be available through a call center and at housing counseling agencies and other community partners across the state.
 
UniteCT is funded by Connecticut’s $235 million share of the $25 billion Congress appropriated for emergency rental and utility assistance in December’s stimulus package. Last week, Congress appropriated an additional $21.55 billion for rental and utility assistance and $10 billion for homeowner assistance, as well as $4.5 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and $500 million to assist low-income households that pay a high proportion of their income for drinking water and wastewater services, as part of the American Rescue Plan.
 
UniteCT builds on the previous work of Governor Lamont and Connecticut’s Congressional delegation to promote housing stability during the pandemic, including by:

• Supporting renters facing eviction before the pandemic ($5 million);
• Rehousing people exiting homelessness or incarceration ($5.8 million);
• Providing temporary short-term rental assistance ($26.7 million);
• Availability of mortgage relief to homeowners ($10 million);
• Supporting renters excluded from federal assistance because of their or their loved ones’ immigration status ($3 million);
• Providing homeowners additional time to file property taxes;
• Working with local financial institutions to provide mortgage forbearance; and
• Issuing and extending one of the nation’s strongest and longest-lasting eviction moratoriums. (The Eviction Lab at Princeton University gives Connecticut the third-highest score in the country for that work.)

Governor Lamont is also proposing a bill – Senate Bill 882 – which would provide prospective tenants more information about home energy costs.
 
Homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage or facing foreclosure proceedings should consider the resources available through the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Last month, the Biden-Harris administration announced an extended opportunity to apply for up to 18 months of mortgage payment forbearance through programs Congress created in the CARES Act.
 
To learn more and apply for UniteCT, visit the Connecticut Department of Housing’s website at ct.gov/doh.
 
 
Support and assistance for small business in American Rescue Plan
 
The American Rescue Plan Act provides additional relief for the nation’s small businesses and hard-hit industries for programs the SBA is currently administering and adds new efforts, including:

• $7.25 billion additional for the Paycheck Protection Program, including to expand eligibility to additional nonprofits and digital news services
• Additional funds are allocated for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, and now allows businesses to apply for both a PPP loan after Dec. 27, 2020, and the SVOG
• $15 billion additional for Targeted Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advance (EIDL) payments, including NEW $5 billion for Supplemental Targeted EIDL Advance payments for those hardest hit
• NEW: $28.6 billion for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund for industry-focused grants  
• NEW: $100 million to establish a Community Navigator pilot program; grants will go to eligible organizations supporting efforts to improve access to COVID–19 pandemic assistance programs and resources.

SBA’s current relief efforts can be found at www.sba.gov/coronavirusrelief, and more details about these program updates and new efforts the SBA will administer in the coming weeks.
 
Additional SNAP benefits coming March 17 to 120,000 Connecticut households
 
The Connecticut Department of Social Services today announced that it will provide $19.5 million in Emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to more than half of Connecticut’s SNAP-eligible households on Wednesday, March 17. The allocation will bring an average of $157 in extra food assistance benefits to eligible households, raising the total emergency SNAP funding for Connecticut to over $238.3 million since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
 
Authorized by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, the extra food benefits will go to approximately 120,000 households that are not currently receiving the maximum benefits allowed for their household size. This means that all households enrolled in SNAP will receive the maximum food benefit allowable for their household size, even if they are not usually eligible for the maximum benefit because of income or other factors.
 
For additional information about SNAP, visit www.ct.gov/SNAP.
 
Providing information to Connecticut residents
 
For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus. Residents can also subscribe to text message alerts from the state by texting the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.
 
Individuals who have general questions that are not answered on the website can call 2-1-1 for assistance. The hotline is available 24 hours a day and has multilingual assistance. Anyone who is out-of-state or requires a toll-free number can connect to Connecticut 2-1-1 by dialing 1-800-203-1234. This is intended to be used by individuals who are not experiencing symptoms but may have general questions related to COVID-19. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms are strongly urged to contact their medical provider.