State Capitol Update for the Week of July 25th

July 29, 2022
Dear Friend,

This is my State Capitol update for the week of July 18th.

As July comes to an end, I am about to head off to an annual family get together on the shores of a lake in New Hampshire, joining my two brothers and their families.  So no video this week – enjoy the last of July and I’ll see you in August.
Here is a list of today's topics:
COVID-19 weekly update
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.”
 
What You Need to Know About Monkeypox Webinar

The Department of Public Health will be hosting a Webinar aimed at educating people in Connecticut on the risks of Monkeypox and the status of the state’s response to the virus. The webinar, “What You Need to Know About Monkeypox” will be this Thursday, July 28, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
 
If you are interested in learning more about the virus and the state’s response, you encouraged to attend.

Register Here
Connecticut expands maternal health coverage through Husky from 60 days to twelve months after pregnancy. 
 
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the State of Connecticut’s request to extend Medicaid (known in Connecticut as HUSKY) and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage for twelve months after pregnancy. According to CMS, this extension will affect approximately 4,000 Connecticut residents who would have otherwise lost coverage after 60 days.
 
While the majority of roughly 14,000 HUSKY clients who give birth each year remain eligible for coverage after childbirth, some clients have lost eligibility after two months. The extension of this coverage will allow all individuals twelve months of HUSKY coverage to address postpartum health needs, which may include recovery from childbirth, pregnancy complications, mental health needs, and chronic health issues. Previously, Medicaid/HUSKY only covered two months of postpartum coverage. With high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality, the approval of Connecticut’s requested extension of coverage was hailed by state leaders as a big step in addressing maternal health.
  
The Connecticut Department of Social Services will administer this coverage extension through the HUSKY Health program. Parents enrolled in HUSKY Health will automatically receive this extended coverage. Parents not currently enrolled in HUSKY Health can apply through Access Health CT at www.accesshealthct.com or 1-855-805-4325.
 
 
$34 million in state funding to support outdoor recreation
 
The anticipated release of $34 million in state funding that will continue improving and increasing access to the outdoors for Connecticut residents in a number of ways was announced this week.
 
Among the items that are expected to be approved at this Friday’s meeting of the State Bond Commission include:
 
  • $15 million to support repairs, maintenance, and new construction at various Connecticut State Parks statewide. (This funding is part of $51.5 million in the adopted state budget to address the backlog of state park infrastructure improvements needed across the system, augmented by $21.5 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds.)
  • $10 million to provide open space grants for conservation and recreation purposes.
  • $9 million to support improvement and expansion of recreational trails, bikeways, greenways, pedestrian walkways, and more.

 
In addition to this state funding, DEEP is also set to receive American Rescue Plan Act funds totaling $21.5 million, which will be used to achieve many objectives, including providing improved accessibility, improvements, and repairs to park amenities; increasing outdoor recreation and education; reducing DEEP’s infrastructure footprint; and improving water supply and sewage disposal associated with outdoor recreation facilities. The improved outdoor recreation amenities will provide healthy socialization and recreation opportunities for disproportionately impacted communities.
 
For more information on Connecticut State Parks, visit portal.ct.gov/DEEP/State-Parks/Listing-of-State-Parks.
 
For more information on ParkConneCT, visit portal.ct.gov/DEEP/State-Parks/Park-Connect.
 
For more information on the Passport to the Parks program, visit portal.ct.gov/DEEP/State-Parks/Passport-to-the-Parks.
 

The 15h Annual Clambake for the Jane Lloyd Fund is Saturday, July 30
 
This weekend the Jane Lloyd Fund is holding its 15th Annual Traditional New England Clambake on Saturday, July 30th from 2pm to 8pm.
 
The Jane Lloyd Fund was established at the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation to benefit cancer patients and their families with financial need who reside or work in the Connecticut towns of Canaan, Cornwall, Falls Village, Kent, Salisbury and Sharon.
 
Tickets are $70 person, which include steamers, raw bar, lobster, potatoes, corn on the cob, dessert, and one beer or wine, as well as live music, must be purchased in advance by clicking HERE.
 
For more information, https://www.thejanelloydfund.org/annual-clambake
Northwest Corner Gives ends on July 30
 
The month long matching program Northwest Corner Gives from the Northwest CT Community Foundation ends on July 30. 
 
Participating nonprofits include:
 
 

 

After School Arts Program
American Mural Project
Brooker Memorial
Canaan Child Care Center
Caring For Bethlehem, Inc.
Community Kitchen of Torrington
Connecticut Veterinary Medical Foundation
Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities
FISH of Northwestern Connecticut
Food Rescue US
Friendly Hands Food Bank, Inc.
Greenwoods Counseling Referrals
Grumbling Gryphons Traveling Children's Theater
Gunn Memorial Library
Housatonic Child Care Center
Housatonic Youth Service Bureau
The Housing Collective
Institute for American Indian Studies
Joyful Noise, Inc.
KidsPlay Children's Museum
LARC, Inc.
Little Britches Therapeutic Riding
The Little Guild of Saint Francis
The McCall Center for Behavioral Health
Music Mountain
Northwest Connecticut YMCA
Pilobolus, Inc.
Prime Time House
Susan B. Anthony Project
Torrington Youth Service Bureau
Warren Public Library
Winchester Youth Service Bureau
Winsted Area Child Care Center
 
 
Questions? Please visit the Northwest Corner Gives Support page for more information.
Child Tax Rebate Application deadline is July 31


There's still time to apply for Connecticut's Child Tax Payments!

Income eligible parents who had a child born before January 1, 2022 can receive a maximum payment of $250 per child up to 3 children. The tax payment is available to single parents who earned $100,000 or less and married households that made less than $200,000 during the 2021 tax year.
  
The deadline to apply is Sunday, July 31, 2022!

Apply and Learn More
Applicants who have questions about the child tax payments can watch the United Way of Connecticut's info session.
Watch in English
Watch in Spanish
Salisbury will hold Town Meeting on Thursday July 28 at 7:30pm
 

Salisbury will hold a Town Meeting vote on Thursday, July 28, at 7:30 p.m. at the Salisbury Congregational Church Meeting House.
The vote is to give the Salisbury Housing Committee (SHC) access to a donated property on East Railroad Street by using a short section of less than half the width of the 66-foot-wide retired railroad corridor. Because the access is on Town property, it requires Town Meeting approval.
 
For more information on the SHC's plans (including maps) please visit https://www.salisburycthousing.org/east-railroad-street.
 
The Town Meeting vote will be held in person at the Congregational Church. There will be no absentee ballots or proxy votes. To be eligible to vote in the Town Meeting, you must be registered to vote in Salisbury or meet the requirements as described on the Town's website: https://www.salisburyct.us/registrars-of-voters/.

 

Landmark climate law reducing greenhouse gas emissions in CT signed into law
 
This week featured the enactment of Public Act 22-25, a landmark new law that includes a number of actions that will help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transportation sector, improve air quality and health outcomes for Connecticut residents, and help to mitigate impacts from the climate crisis.
 
The new law contains several measures aimed at reducing emissions from the transportation sector, which is the largest source of statewide GHG emissions (37%), as well as 67% of the emissions of nitrogen oxides, a key component of smog. Among the measures the law contains, it authorizes the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to adopt more stringent emissions standards for medium and heavy-duty vehicles, which account for as much as 53% of nitrogen oxide emissions, despite being only 6% of the on-road vehicle fleet. It also makes various statutory changes under the Connecticut Clean Air Act, expands existing programs, and establishes several new programs concerning electric vehicle use and improving air quality.
 
The bill’s provisions include:
 
  • Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Standards: Authorizes the DEEP commissioner to adopt regulations implementing California’s medium- and heavy-duty motor vehicle standards. These standards will ensure that manufacturers are producing cleaner vehicles and offering them for sale in Connecticut, giving prospective consumers more options while reducing a major source of in-state air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
  • State Fleet Electrification: Modifies the schedule for electrifying the state fleet, prohibits procurement of diesel-powered buses after January 1, 2024.
  • Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Automobile Purchase Rebate (CHEAPR) Program: Makes numerous changes to the CHEAPR program, including making the CHEAPR board advisory-only, modifying the board’s membership, giving priority to low-income individuals and residents of environmental justice communities, and extending eligibility to businesses, municipalities, nonprofits, and e-bikes; directs all of the greenhouse gas reduction fee and part of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative funds to the CHEAPR account.
  • Zero Emission School Buses: Allows for ten-year school transportation contracts if the contract includes at least one zero-emission school bus; sets target of 100% zero-emission school buses in environmental justice communities by 2030, and for all school districts by 2040; establishes a matching grant program of up to $20 million for the EPA Clean School Bus program.
  • Medium and Heavy-Duty Truck Vouchers: Allows DEEP to establish a voucher program to support the use of zero-emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles and funds the program from the CHEAPR account.
  • Traffic Signal Grant Program: Requires CTDOT to establish a matching grant program to help municipalities modernize existing traffic signal equipment.
  • Right to Charge: Establishes “right to charge” in condominiums and common interest communities, provides for “renter’s right to charge” with certain specifications.
  • New Construction Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Requirements: Requires a certain percentage of parking spaces in certain new construction to be equipped with either EV charging stations or charging station infrastructure.
Resources from Connecticut Children’s
 
FAQs for parents and caregivers: 

 
Connecticut Children’s new food program: 
 

  • a new program in our Emergency Department (ED) to screen families for food insecurity and provide fruit and vegetable vouchers to those at risk of going hungry. The program was developed by Connecticut Children’s Start Childhood Off Right program and is funded by a Healthier Kids For Our Future grant from Cigna. To help ensure families are able to easily use the vouchers, the Hartford Food System Mobile Market will set up outside the ED twice a week (Mondays 11-1, Thursdays 2-4). All Connecticut Children’s team members and patient families are also able to purchase items.

COVID-19 Vaccines for kids 6 months and older: 

  • The CDC now recommends that all children, ages 6 months and older, receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Connecticut Children’s will be offering the COVID-19 vaccine for all children 6 months and older (by appointment only) at our primary care locations every Saturday in August and September from 8 AM to noon. To make an appointment parents/caregivers can call 860-837-7250.
Mark your calendars for the Lakeville Journal’s 125th Anniversary events from August 13 through September 17
 
On August 14, 1897, The Lakeville Journal printed its first issue.  125 years later the weekly newspaper continues as a pillar of our community. This summer the Lakeville Journal Foundation invites us to celebrate a monumental anniversary for this nonprofit publication with a month-long calendar of festive and educational events honoring the history, coverage, and readers of the local paper. 
 
For more information, click here.

 
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.