Updates from the Capitol

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April 1, 2022
It’s April Fool’s and I hope some of you have experienced a few laughs today. Some of the information below is no laughing matter, particularly information from today’s Veterans’ Suicide Prevention summit. There is also information about outdoor dining, remote access to meetings, and an upcoming mattress recycling program coordinated by Sustainable Fairfield Task Force.
 
Outdoor Dining
I was proud to champion the bill that allows our restaurants to continue their enhanced outdoor dining for another 13 months. A new local approval process will go into place after that, with restaurants retaining what is called an “as of right” ability to provide outdoor dining. Fairfield has approximately 180 restaurants. During COVID, 48 were approved for new or expanded outdoor dining under this new streamlined process. This has been an asset here in our community.
 
Both last year and this year, Governor Ned Lamont, the Connecticut Restaurant Association and colleagues on both sides of the aisle worked together to make this happen for our restaurants. A special thanks to Fairfielder Tony Phillips, along with Marc Anthony Gallucci and Jeff Holland, both of whom have Fairfield ties, for their advocacy on behalf of the disabled community. Their efforts led to important improvements in the bill this year.

I hope you’ll all go out to support our restaurants by doing some outdoor dining!

I also encourage you to hear what restaurants had to say about the passage of the bill, watch the NBC story by clicking the button below:
Restaurant Bill Story - NBC
 
Veterans' Suicide Prevention Panel
Earlier today, I co-hosted a Veterans’ Suicide Prevention Summit with my colleagues Senator James Maroney and Representative Mary Welander. The three of us have been working together with our colleagues on suicide prevention in Connecticut. Veterans are likely to die by suicide at 1.5 times the rate of the population at large. Many veterans are unaware of available services or how to connect with resources and support. Most veterans who die by suicide are not service connected and 69% of veteran suicide involves a firearm. Female veterans face particular risks and often lack sufficient peer support networks.

You can help by letting the veterans you know to download the CTVeterans Mobile App which provides information, resources, and connection. Just click the link above, or the photo below to download.
All veterans are encouraged to register and provide their e-mail and cell phone number. This will allow our Veterans’ service providers to reach out and provide information on how to access resources not only related to suicide prevention, but other areas of need.
 
Veterans in crisis can Text 838255 or call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1. You can watch the complete presentation on CT-N or here.
 
Remote Meetings
As House Chair of the Planning and Development Committee, I have led the efforts, along with the leaders of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, to assure local boards, commissions, and statutorily regulated groups have ongoing access to the option of remote meetings, an option the legislature expanded during the pandemic, but which will expire on April 30th.

Nearly identical bills in both committees provide the option for towns to continue the use of remote or hybrid meetings (Zoom, WebEx, Teams) and retain important Freedom of Information safeguards put in place when these options were expanded. Though I share the strong desire that our local boards and commissions return to in-person meetings, I believe it is critical that towns and cities retain the remote option. The bills are facing significant resistance, and I will continue to advocate for their passage.
 
Mattress Recycling
On Saturday, April 23 from 8:30AM - 12:30PM, Sustainable Fairfield is hosting a community-wide FREE mattress recycling event at Veterans Park, 909 Reef Road. This is a great way to get rid of an old mattress or box spring in a better, more environmentally friendly way. Thanks to Bob Wall, Becky Bunnell, Mary Hogue and the other members of the Sustainable Fairfield Task Force Food and Waste Subcommittee. Rep Leeper and I meet with this group monthly, and they are doing amazing work.

Any mattress, no matter when it was purchased, can be brought to the event for no-cost recycling, if it is not damaged, heavily soiled or posing other health or safety risks.

*Event is open to non-fairfield residents too*