I hope you and your family are having a happy and healthy week. As we near the end of the legislative session on June 9th, I have been at the Capitol nearly every day voting on legislation as a proud representative of Orange, Derby and Woodbridge.
Throughout the week, the House has passed several pieces of legislation to uplift Connecticut’s residents and economy out of the pandemic. Please click here to see a comprehensive list of legislation from this week. Below I have highlighted a few pieces of legislation that are particularly important to me, many of which I worked on as Vice Chair of the Children’s Committee.
HB 6509: After working across the aisle with the Minority Leader Candelora to make this bill stronger, I was incredibly proud to bring my bill, HB 6509: AAC School-Based Mental Health Clinics, to the House floor. Providing access to mental health services for students is more important now than ever. Throughout the past few years, psychologists and physicians have noted a rise in anxiety and depression among youths, and the pandemic has only exacerbated this. It is critical to the success and overall health of children across the state that we remove as many barriers as possible that prevent access to these services. When students receive access to early intervention services we protect them from unnecessary trauma and create healthier school communities. I would like to thank the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Public Health, the Connecticut Association of School-Based Health Centers, Representative Linehan, Chair of the Children’s Committee, and Minority Leader Candelora for their support in the passage of this legislation. The bill passed 143-4 and is now headed to the Senate.
HB 6374: To more effectively combat sexual assault on our college campuses, we must work to gain a comprehensive understanding of students' insights and concerns. HB 6374 allows for a step toward this understanding by ensuring that universities regularly survey students to better understand campus climate and the accessibility of resources.
I am so glad that I was able to meet with advocates (a few who are also constituents!) from the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence and Every Voice Coalition, Connecticut in support of HB 6374! The goal of this bill is to reduce the number of sexual assaults on college campuses and make these areas safer for all of our students. Happy to be working with Rep. Elliott, Rep. Gilchrest, Rep. Turco and so many more not pictured here on this important initiative!
HB 6510: This bill that contains one of my proposals: to provide behavioral and mental health service information to families through Board of Education websites. This will ensure that when this important information is needed, parents and educators can find it quickly.
HB 6205: The House of Representatives passed legislation this week to make voting more accessible and convenient for Connecticut residents. HB 6205 expands eligibility for absentee voting in a common-sense way. Under current law, caregivers and family members of those with a disability or illness are not eligible to vote by absentee, forcing them to choose between their right to vote and caring for a loved one. HB 6205 adopts a more general standard of sickness and disability, thereby allowing caregivers and family members the opportunity to vote by absentee.
SB 1019: Yesterday we passed legislation to address the social and economic disparities experienced by individuals with criminal records and those who were formerly incarcerated. Known as the Clean Slate Bill, SB 1019 is groundbreaking legislation that will help thousands of formerly incarcerated citizens in Connecticut by clearing their records after demonstrating years of law-abiding behavior; paving the way for re-entry to society with access to good paying jobs, education, and quality housing. I looked at this legislation closely because while I support the concept and the reasoning behind it, I had concerns about certain crimes being cleared. I joined a large group of legislators to advocate specifically for more protections around crimes involving elderly, disabled, or pregnant residents.
Memorial Day Celebrations
To honor our veterans who have courageously served our country and are no longer with us today, please join me at one of the Memorial Day Parades throughout our district this weekend. I hope to see you there!
Orange Parade
When: Sunday, May 30th at 10:30am Where: High Plains Community Center Gazebo
The ceremo
ny will commence with Diane Cuzzacreo-Raikis singing the National Anthem. This year's ceremony will honor Lt. Dr. Norman J. Marieb, Lt. Kevin J. Hadlock Navy and SP4 Louis Abram. The parade will immediately follow the ceremony. The parade will proceed rain or shine.
Derby Parade
When: Monday, May 31st at 9:00am Where: Howe Avenue Exit 14
This year's parade theme is "Lest We Forget." Please come support local organizations, veterans groups, marching bands, fire departments, Boy and Girl Scout troops! The parade will proceed from Howe Avenue Exit 14 through Shelton, over the Derby-Shelton Bridge and into downtown Derby, ending at Elizabeth and Cottage streets. The parade will proceed rain or shine.
Woodbridge Parade When: Monday, May 31st at 11:00am Where: Veterans of Foreign Wars Monument, in front of the Center Building
The program will include patriotic music, a memorial wreath presentation, a history of the holiday, the Woodbridge Police Department Honor Guard and remarks by local elected officials. The event will not be held if it is raining.
Griffin Hospital Vaccine Billing Error
Last week Griffin Health discovered a coding error that caused some individuals who received COVID-19 vaccination at a Griffin community outreach vaccination clinic to be incorrectly billed for vaccine administration.
Starting that afternoon, Griffin’s Business Services staff members began calling individuals that received a bill in error to inform them they are not responsible for the vaccine administration charge. Each individual will receive a letter in the mail documenting that bill was sent in error and that the charge has been voided leaving a zero balance due.
Griffin will continue making phone calls to those who received a bill in error until all individuals have been contacted. The hospital will promptly refund anyone who made a payment on the bill sent in error and apologizes for any worry or inconvenience this mistake may have caused.
Child Tax Credit Conversation
The United Ways of Connecticut tell us that 38% of families in our state struggle to make ends meet every month. Want to learn more about the towns in our region and ways we can help struggling families in the valley?
Join me, Sen. Cabrera, Rep. Rochelle, and Rep. Scanlon, Chair of the Finance Committee, for a conversation on proposed enhancements to the Earned Income Tax Credit and the creation of a state Child Tax Credit on Thursday, June 3rd, at 10am. We will join TEAM Inc. and the United Way to discuss these and other proposals to help secure the economic conditions of families in Naugatuck Valley and across the state.
Small Business Assistance Event
The American Rescue Plan extended a number of critical tax benefits for small businesses. Join the U.S. Small Business Administration Tuesday, June 1st at 1pm to get the facts on these benefits.
Small Business Assistance
The American Rescue Plan extends the availability of the Small Business Assistance through December 2021 and allows businesses to offset their current payroll tax liabilities by up to $7,000 per employee per quarter. This credit of up to $28,000 per employee for 2021 is available to small businesses who have seen their revenues decline, or even been temporarily shuttered, due to COVID.
Paid Leave
The American Rescue Plan extends through September 2021 the availability of Paid Leave Credits for small and midsize businesses that offer paid leave to employees who may take leave due to illness, quarantine, or caregiving. Businesses can take dollar-for-dollar tax credits equal to wages of up to $5,000 if they offer paid leave to employees who are sick or quarantining. You could see these credits in your bottom line as soon as your next quarterly filing.
I was honored to speak at the Walk to End Epilepsy last weekend in Orange, hosted by the Epilepsy Foundation. One of the teams walking that day was the Amity Lacrosse Team who was there in honor of Ray Heenie, Jr, a young man who tragically passed away this year. My son went to school with Ray from 2nd grade on; I am grateful that I had this opportunity to join the community in remembering him.
Safety is paramount at our train stations. Last week I met with members of the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, Department of Transportation, CT Commuter Rail Council, and Mayor's Office to discuss safety upgrades to the Derby/Shelton train station for our community. This will bring more riders to the soon-to-be upgraded Waterbury Rail Line and will help spur economic growth for the city. Thank you to each of the offices involved in making these critical upgrades to our train stations.
Community Spotlight
Do you know of an individual, organization, or a place that makes our area special?
Please continue submitting your nominations to my email, mary.welander@cga.ct.gov with the subject line, COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT.
New Exit 29 on 91 North
The newly built Exit 29 on I-91 North in Hartford is now open, connecting to Routes 5/15 and I-84E. Please take note, the new exit is on the far-left lane.
