State Capitol Update for the Week of October 17th

October 21, 2022
Dear Friend,

This is my State Capitol update for the week of October 17th.

If you prefer to watch rather than read, click the play button to hear about the issues contained in this newsletter.
 
 

This is the busy time for the Northwest Corner, as the eye-popping beauty of the season is on full display. 
 
Last weekend hundreds of residents turned out for rallies in our region: in Kent supporting access to full reproductive healthcare, and in Sharon for maintaining Sharon Hospital as a full-service hospital.  Local advocacy matters: we gain strength, ideas, and energy from one another, ensure that our voices are heard, and help catalyze action. The Office of Health Strategy was originally scheduled to hold the public hearing on Nuvance’s request to close labor and delivery at Sharon Hospital on October 18, but, due at least in part to the voluminous testimony that has been submitted in opposition to their request, the hearing has been delayed.  A new date has not yet been set.


The Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity kicked off a series of webinars on housing affordability earlier this week with an event hosted by the Goshen Housing Trust.  It was a chilly evening, and a reminder of the importance of ensuring that all of our residents have a warm and safe place to call home. For more information on their webinars, click here.
 
Yesterday, I was honored by the CT Council on Problem Gambling (CCPG) with their 2022 Advocacy Award.  As Chair of the committee that has jurisdiction over gambling in Connecticut, I’m particularly proud of the work we’ve been able to do to make sure the state has protections in place to help problem gamblers, and to work toward catching problematic behavior before it causes financial ruin.  CCPG’s work and partnership are a big part of that effort.

This weekend includes several events on Saturday, October 22:

  • Housatonic Youth Services Bureau 5K run at Indian Mountain School (see more information below)
  • Touch a Trade at CT Antique Machinery Assoc in the Eric Sloane museum from 10am -4pm
  • John Brown Project Community Art Unveiling at Five Points Arts Center on University Drive in Torrington– starting at 6pm.

This morning the funeral services for Lt. Dustin Demonte and Sgt. Alex Hamzy are taking place in Hartford.  The officers, shot and killed while responding to what appears to have been a fake 911 call, will be honored by thousands across the state for their valor and service, and mourned by their families, communities, and friends.  Sgt. Hamzy has a local connection, as his family owns the Collins Diner in North Canaan.  I hope you can join me in honoring the family’s request that all who are able display a blue light outside your home through the end of the month to honor these officers and let the family know we are with them in their grief.
Here is a list of today's topics:
  • COVID-19 Weekly Update. Click here.
  • Streamlined DMV website and additional online options launched. Click Here
  • Application for Student Loan Debt Relief Now Open. Click here
  • Connecticut’ annual teen safe driving video contest. Click Here
  • Housatonic Youth Services Bureau 5K race is back. Click Here
  • Crescendo concert on October 29. Click here
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.”
 
Streamlined DMV website and additional online options launched 
 
The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has launched a new website for the state agency (ct.gov/dmv) that streamlines all of the online services it offers in an effort to make completing transactions for customers easier, faster, and more convenient. The newly revamped website also contains several expanded language options, including Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
 
In the coming weeks the DMV will be adding the ability for customers to conduct two more transactions online, including requesting refunds when canceling vehicle or vessel registrations, and replacing lost titles. Until now, those transactions could only be completed using paper forms. These new offerings will add to the DMV’s list of more than two dozen online services that have been added over the last several years, which include driver’s license renewals, vehicle and vessel registration renewals, updating addresses, and requesting driving records.
 
Average customer wait times at DMV offices have significantly decreased over the last several years following the implementation of several new policies and procedures. In 2018, the average wait time at these offices was more than an hour. Today it is less than 15 minutes.
 
Application for Student Loan Debt Relief Now Open
 
Earlier this summer, the Biden Administration announced student loan debt relief, and the application process is now open. 
Apply Here
The application takes about 5 minutes to complete and is available in English and Spanish. Applicants do not need to log in or provide any documents. Borrowers will have until December 31, 2023 to apply.  

Nearly 40 million Americans will be eligible for this relief. Individuals making less than $125,000 per year and couples earning less than $250,000 could qualify for up to $10,000 in relief. Borrowers who received a Pell Grant are eligible for up to $20,000 in loan forgiveness.

The debt relief only applies to loan balances you had before June 30, 2022. New loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2022 will not be eligible for relief. 

Student loan debt has anchored millions of Americans, preventing them from building wealth, contributing to their families, and engaging with their community. Borrowers' budgets have been further constrained by economic pressures resulting from the pandemic, geopolitical conflict, supply chain disruptions, and inflation.


 
Connecticut’ annual teen safe driving video contest
 
In recognition of National Teen Driver Safety Week, the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Travelers are teaming up to co-sponsor Connecticut’s 14th annual Teen Safe Driving Video Contest, which engages high school students on the importance of making responsible decisions behind the wheel.
 
Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for teens in the United States between the ages of 15 and 18 years old. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, during 2020 an estimated 2,276 people in the country were killed in car crashes involving teen drivers, and 748 of those deaths were teen drivers.
 
The contest is open to all public, private, and home-schooled high school students in Connecticut between the ages of 14 to 18. It requires students to produce a creative, unique, and effective video public service announcement up to 45 seconds in length that highlights interactions between drivers and other teens and illustrates ways to practice safer driving habits while obeying Connecticut’s teen driving laws. The videos must also address at least one specific Connecticut teen driving law.
 
Travelers will award up to $26,000 in cash prizes to the winning students and their high schools. The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2023.
 
Since the contest began, nearly 5,000 students representing 100 high schools across the state have participated.
 
To read the full contest rules and information on how to submit a video, visit ct.gov/teendriving/contest.
 
To watch videos of contest winners from prior years, visit youtube.com/teensafedriving12.
 

HYSB's 5K is BACK for the first time since the pandemic!

 
Please join us, this Saturday, October 22nd at Indian Mountain School for the Falcon 5K & Kids Fun Run! 

 
Register Now!

SCHEDULE

9:00am Registration Opens

9:30am Kids Fun Runs Begin

10:00am 5K Begins

11:30am Awards Ceremony
Crescendo concert on October 29
 
The award-winning music organization Crescendo, based at Trinity Church in Lime Rock, is  performing a concert with Crescendo Chorus, including national and international soloists, and their chamber orchestra on October 29 at 4 pm at Trinity Church in Lime Rock.
 
It is a special program, and the subject - "Music Across Borders" - is meant to enlighten our communities and broaden our perspectives, not only in a geographical, but also cultural, and even spiritual sense. They will perform music that "crosses boundaries" between genres and eras, and takes us on a journey through time - back and forth between early Baroque and Renaissance, and contemporary music. Professional period instrument players will also play tuned water glasses and Tibetan singing bowls. As always they collaborate between the dedicated amateurs of our community and highly skilled professional performers from Boston, New York City and Philadelphia, and this time also the countertenor Nicholas Tamagna, who is based in Europe, pursuing an opera career.
 
An ensemble based in Lakeville/Salisbury, Crescendo promotes culture in our local area. Between the end of October and the end of April they will offer 6 different self-produced concert programs.
It is my honor to represent our district. I look forward to hearing from you about the issues raised in this newsletter, or any other topics you think I should know about. You can email me at maria.horn@cga.ct.gov or call me at (860)-240-8585. Thanks for reading, and I wish you a safe weekend.

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