State Capitol Update for the Week of October 31st

November 3, 2022
Dear Friend,

This is my State Capitol update for the week of October 31st.

If you prefer to watch rather than read, click the play button to hear about the issues contained in this newsletter.
 
 
This is the last newsletter before next week’s election on November 8.  Please make a plan to vote, if you haven’t already done that: every vote matters.
 
We are all being besieged by political advertising at the moment, a lot of which is focused on slinging mud and yelling past one another, so this week I wanted to highlight an article by a columnist who took a different tack. Bret Stephens, a conservative columnist for The New York Times, has been a climate skeptic, and, by his own admission, a snarky one.  Recently a scientist invited him to join a trip to Greenland to look at the facts on the ground, stripped of the demonizing and partisan rhetoric that gets thrown around.   Credit to the scientist for “inviting him” and not demanding he pay attention, and credit to Stephens for taking him up on it and approaching it with an open mind.  The result was this lengthy column, Where My Climate Doubts Began to Melt.  The columnist comes to terms with the fact of a warming planet, the importance of listening to people who come at issues from a different angle, and how destructive a snarky dismissal can be.  His solutions are still firmly rooted in his conservative principles (about which we can disagree in a robust and interesting debate), but the emphasis is on engagement, not division. 
 
I hope we emerge next week focused on engagement with one another, and respect for democracy itself as the only way to value all voters.
 
Another update on Sharon Hospital Hearing: last week, I included a notice that the office of Health Strategy had announced a date for the delayed hearing on Nuvance’s request to close labor and delivery at Sharon Hospital, but apparently, the date got cut off.  The hearing will take place on December 6, though we await details on specific timing and logistics.
Here is a list of today's topics:
  • COVID-19 Weekly Update. Click here.
  • CT Libraries are a force for digital literacy and inclusion. Click Here
  • Spongy moth devastation and salvage work. Click here
  • Open enrollment for health coverage through Access Health CT . Click Here
  • Connecticut receives $13.9 million grant to increase employment for individuals with disabilities. Click Here
  • Congratulations to Goshen for earning a 2022 Sustainable CT certification! Click here
  • Kent Conservation Commission introduction of Green Energy Initiative for NW CT. 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.”
CT Libraries are a force for digital literacy and inclusion
 
Thanks to the Office of Consumer Counsel for a recently shout-out to our libraries in Connecticut for helping residents with digital literacy and other digital inclusion needs. 
Nationwide, libraries have been advancing digital equity and access to high speed internet (see this article, encouraging policy makers to leverage libraries’ expertise, services, and connections).  In CT, our state libraries formed the Connecticut Libraries & Partners for Digital Equity (CTLPDE) and are endeavoring to do exactly that.  The Connecticut State Library staff and the many local libraries have been the cornerstone in this initiative, which is why the Office of Consumer Counsel recommended that at least $5 million of the federal infrastructure grant money allocated to Connecticut be allocated to Digital Equity work, such as performed by these libraries who have few human resources available to do what needs to be done to address digital equity in our State.
Check out the CTLPDE website
Spongy moth devastation and salvage work
 
The CT Bureau of Natural Resources (part of the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, or DEEP) recently posted information about the devastation caused by the spongy moth infestation we experienced in the Northwest Corner, featuring photos taken at Housatonic State Forest in Sharon. 
 
The DEEP Forestry Division has begun preparing salvages of trees that are dead or dying from the caterpillar attack the past two consecutive summers.  The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) has reported than more than 45,000 acres of forest in Litchfield County were impacted by spongy moths (formerly “gypsy moth”) this year, and has estimated a 70% mortality of trees, a staggering number in the state forest.  The preparations for salvaging have begun at Housatonic and Mohawk State Forests and are likely to continue at least through next year.
 
Per DEEP, timber harvests are prepared because:
  1. Cutting as many trees as possible before they are completely dead encourages sprouting of new trees and maximizes regeneration;
  2. Heavy cutting provides fuller sunlight and prepares site for new young trees that are shade intolerant (such as all oak species, tulip-poplar, aspen, black cherry, ash, white birch, and hickory), and provides habitat to many declining species of wildlife (mostly birds);
  3. Timber is a valuable and demanded commodity.

 
Finally, DEEP notes that “the majority of the state forest will be left untouched, still providing hundreds of acres of dying oak that the Forestry Division will not be able to reach.”

Click Here to View the Full Post on the Project
Open enrollment for health coverage through Access Health CT has begun and runs through January 15
 

The annual open enrollment period for Connecticut residents who are seeking to enroll in health coverage plans for 2023 through Access Health CT (AHCT), the state’s official health insurance marketplace, has begun and will continue through January 15, 2023. Connecticut residents can shop, compare and enroll or renew their health insurance plans with coverage beginning in the 2023 plan year. 
 
Customers who enroll by December 15, 2022, will have coverage that begins January 1, 2023. Those who enroll between December 16, 2022, and January 15, 2023, will have coverage beginning February 1, 2023.
 
AHCT is the only place Connecticut residents can qualify for financial help to lower health care coverage costs. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) extends the enhanced subsidies that makes coverage more affordable by greatly reducing monthly payments (premiums) for many people who enroll through AHCT. It also provides financial help for those with somewhat higher incomes who can face high premiums but weren’t eligible for help in the past. 
 
More people will be eligible for this financial help in plan year 2023. If an individual is covered by an employer-sponsored plan that does not provide affordable coverage for the rest of their family members, their spouse and dependents can enroll in a plan through AHCT and potentially be eligible for enhanced subsidies. 
 
Some Connecticut residents may be eligible for free or low-cost coverage through the HUSKY Health Program (Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program) and the Covered CT Program. The Covered CT Program was created by the State of Connecticut andprovides no-cost health insurance coverage, dental coverage and Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services.
 
Signing up for dental insurance through AHCT is now easier than ever. The process is streamlined and more customer-friendly, allowing people to shop, compare and enroll in a dental insurance plan at the same time as a health insurance plan. 
 
There are several ways for customers to obtain information on Access Health CT’s health plan options and to enroll in those plans. They include:
  • Online:
  • Browse AccessHealthCT.com
  • Telephone:
  • Call 1-855-805-4325 anytime on Mondays through Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on select Saturdays.
  • Individuals who have hearing or speech disabilities may use TTY at 1-855-789-2428 or call a relay operator.
  • In person:
  • Visit any of Access Health CT’s enrollment locations or navigator partner locations. (Click here for list of locations)
  • Attend one of several enrollment fairs that are being held throughout the next several weeks. (Click here for schedule of enrollment fairs)
Connecticut receives $13.9 million grant to increase employment for individuals with disabilities
 
The Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, a division of the Connecticut Department of Aging and Disability Services, has been awarded a $13.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Administration through its Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment project, which is designed to decrease the use of subminimum wages and increase access to competitive integrated employment for individuals with disabilities.
 
The grant, which runs through September 30, 2027, will begin with a year dedicated to planning by the state agency and its partners to gather stakeholder input and build a model of supported and accessible pathways leading to sustainable competitive integrated employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. The remaining years of the grant will involve fully implementing this model and evaluating its effectiveness. Connecticut received the maximum grant award possible.
 
Over the duration of the grant, the Department of Aging and Disability Services will reach out to a target population comprised of those who are currently working in subminimum wage employment, those who recently worked in it, and those who are considering working in it. The vast majority of this population is expected to include individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. The Bureau of Rehabilitation Services is collaborating closely with the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services on this initiative.
  
This federal grant will serve as a large boost to employment services for the many Connecticut residents already being provided by the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services and the Connecticut Department of Aging and Disability Services.

 Congratulations to Goshen for earning a 2022 Sustainable CT certification!
                        
   
                                
 
This week Sustainable CT announced which municipalities in the state had earned 2022 Sustainable CT certification or Climate Leader designation, in recognition of their work to build more inclusive, resilient, and vibrant communities. 
 
Among those recognized was Goshen, which achieved a 2022 Bronze Certification.  Other towns in the 64th District that have received this recognition in the past include Canaan/Falls Village, Cornwall, Torrington, and Washington.
 
For more information on Sustainable CT, click here.
ICYMI: Kent Conservation Commission introduction of Green Energy Initiative for NW CT

 

On October 15, the Kent Conservation Commission and People’s Action for Clean Energy hosted a terrific presentation on green energy.  The group completed a study of Kent’s energy use and proposed a long term strategy to move the town to a green, secure and affordable energy future.  It was packed with information and practical initiatives for all of us.
Click Here to Watch
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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