State Capitol Update for the Week of December 5th

December 9, 2022
Dear Friend,

This is my State Capitol update for the week of December 5th.

If you prefer to watch rather than read, click on the video below to hear about the issues contained in this newsletter.

 
 

After a long week of travel that included planes, trains, buses, Ubers, my car, and a lot of walking, I am glad to be back in CT.

 

I spent most of the week at a conference of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) entitled Forecast ’23.  NCSL is a comprehensive organization and resource for all the legislatures in the state, territories, and commonwealths of the US, and the NCSL conferences I’ve attended in the past have been great opportunities to take a deep dive into a specific subject area, learn how other states are handling similar issues, and network with other legislators from across the country.  This particular conference was focused on the big picture, looking at the most pressing issues ahead, and trying to look around the corner at what we might be facing as a national economy.  While many of us joked that the answer was “we don’t really know” (and some presenters chose different most likely cases), the real lesson is that we should be prepared for a variety of different scenarios, remain flexible, and sock some resources away just in cast. 

 

The good news is that CT has been doing exactly that.  In addition to the conference, my last week also included presentations from the Governor’s budget office (the Office of Policy and Management, or OPM) and our non-partisan fiscal analysists (the Office of Fiscal Analysis, or OFA).  There was strong bipartisan acknowledgement on the call that CT’s responsible budgeting has created a robust Budgetary Reserve Fund (BRF, also known as the Rainy Day Fund) of over $3 billion, and has enabled us to pay down significant pension debt, saving significant taxpayer dollars in the future. 

 

My plan to spend the conference days thinking big picture was foiled by the re-scheduling of the Sharon Hospital hearing, conducted by the Office of Health Strategy (OHS), which took place earlier this week.  Starting at 9:30 am and lasting until 9:30pm, it was a marathon session in which more than 240 people participated. The issues are serious for all stakeholders, and the hearing officer did a fantastic job patiently ensuring everyone had a chance to speak, and that things kept moving.  Nuvance presented its case that labor and delivery be closed at Sharon Hospital, after which Save Sharon Hospital (SSH), which was granted intervenor status to participate in the hearing, did the same.  Both Nuvance and SSH were permitted to cross-examine each other’s witnesses, and OHS asked questions as well.

 

I was one of 11 witnesses for SSH. Most of the other witnesses were medical professionals, so my focus, as the elected representative of all the CT towns served by Sharon Hospital, was on the importance of these services to the health and future of our region, and the need for constructive engagement between all parties, including the state, to solve the problem of vanishing healthcare in rural areas like ours.  The gist of Nuvance’s argument is that it is too costly to provide labor and delivery at Sharon Hospital. Given questions raised about both the absolute magnitude of that cost and its relative cost to the system as a whole, and the failure so far of Nuvance to be willing to discuss other options, we need OHS to help enable that engagement.

 

Hospital systems are not entirely private businesses, for many reasons. They depend on government programs for revenue, and are heavily regulated.  Most of the hospital systems in CT (including Nuvance) are nonprofits, so they do not pay taxes that private companies face: in return for that there are standards and expectations that hospitals must meet. Some are clear, some need legislative clarification.

 At the end of last week, the state held an informational forum on healthcare cost drivers and benchmarking tools.  It was held as part of legislation we passed this year on healthcare cost benchmarking, and included state and national experts who highlighted the key drivers of high and rising costs.  Among the concerns was health system consolidation, which, while bringing some efficiencies, has not yet delivered on the promise of lower costs.  Instead, reduced competition is raising prices by concentrating market power. 

 

Next week features lots of meetings for me, many in Hartford relating to my new responsibilities as Chair of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.  Locally, I’ll be meeting with the Litchfield Fire School, CT Junior Republic in Litchfield, and talking about using state owned land for housing.  On Wednesday 12/14 at 5pm, the annual Sandy Hook Vigil will take place in Salisbury on the White Hart Green, marking the 10th anniversary of that tragic day.  I hope to see you there.

Here is a list of today's topics:
 
  • COVID-19 weekly update. Click here
  • Connecticut receives $32 million federal grant to support workforce development in public health. Click here
  • New appointments for DSS and OHS. Click here
  • Thousands of low-level cannabis possession convictions to be clear. Click here
  • State Agencies provide update on state’s fiscal position. Click here
  • Department of Consumer Protection announced adult-use cannabis market opening date. Click here
  • Access Health CT Open Enrollment. Click here
  • PFAS Task Force update. Click here
  • Webinar from AAA Northeast on Electric Vehicles. Click here
COVID-19 update
For graphs and tables containing data on COVID-19, including a list of cases in every municipality, visit ct.gov/coronavirus and click the link that is labeled, “Data Tracker.”
Connecticut receives $32 million federal grant to support workforce development in public health
 
The Connecticut Department of Public Health has been awarded a $32,253,484 grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that will be used to support the state agency’s newly launched Office of Public Heath Workforce Development.
 
The initiative was created by Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani, MD, in August and is operating directly out of her office. It will have a broad focus on ensuring that the workforce development needs at state, local, and nonprofit public health agencies are met, specifically regarding future pipeline development academic and professional training, standards of practice, and workforce diversification.
 
The federal funding was awarded through the CDC’s Strengthening U.S. Public Health Infrastructure, Workforce, and Data Systems grant, which is a groundbreaking investment that supports critical public health infrastructure needs of jurisdictions across the United States.
 
Some goals of the Office of Public Health Workforce Development include:
 
  • Working with academic leaders in existing public health programs at public and private colleges and universities in Connecticut to ensure that they have the resources they need to deliver academic training and coursework that:
    • Is up-to-date;
    • Includes cross-cutting content addressing health equity and mental health;
    • Aligns with the current standards for public health professional training; and
    • Produces graduates that are work-ready.
  • Developing a new Public Health Training Academy to coordinate and provide continuing education and upskilling of state, local, and non-profit public health workers.
  • Improving pathways from enrollment to employment through more standardized and widely available experiential learning opportunities (i.e., internships, fellowships, apprenticeships) at public health agencies.
  • Increasing mental health supports for public health workers by developing an integrated program focused on worker physical and mental health protections, trauma-informed leadership, and an overall “culture of care” that is accessible, translatable, and implementable at state, local, and nonprofit public health agencies in Connecticut.

 
 

New appointments made to lead Department of Social Services and Office of Health Strategy
 
This week Governor Lamont announced that he is planning to appoint Andrea Barton Reeves as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) and Dr. Deidre Gifford as executive director of the Connecticut Office of Health Strategy (OHS) when he begins his second term in office early next year.
 
Gifford is currently the commissioner of DSS and Barton Reeves is CEO of the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority. Gifford will fill the role of OHS executive director that was most recently held by Victoria Veltri, who stepped down from state service in June. Barton Reeves will fill the position at DSS that is being vacated by Gifford in her transition to OHS.
 
In addition to serving as OHS executive director, Governor Lamont will continue to task Gifford with the added role of serving as senior advisor to the governor for health and human services. In this position – which she first agreed to take on in July 2021 – she is responsible for organizing a multi-agency approach among the state’s nine health and human services agencies in a way that best improves health and healthcare outcomes for the state’s residents, and specifically works to ensure that any areas in which these agencies have overlapping responsibilities are optimally coordinated. She is also responsible for working closely with the Office of Policy and Management on these issues and providing the governor with policy recommendations that address health and healthcare costs, quality, and disparities.
 
Prior to leading the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority, Barton Reeves served from 2013 to 2020 as president and CEO of Harc Inc, a large nonprofit organization in Hartford that provides services for people with intellectual and related disabilities and families. During her tenure, she transformed Harc’s operating model, created new revenue streams, and enhanced technology systems. She also previously served as director of program operations at Lawyers for Children America, Inc., and worked in the insurance industry at Chubb.
 
Barton Reeves has also been involved with several community organizations, including serving as president of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, board chair at the Village for Families and Children, and as board member of the Connecticut Community Nonprofit Alliance and Leadership Greater Hartford.
 
She has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Rutgers University and a Juris Doctorate from New York Law School.
 
Gifford has been serving as DSS commissioner since Governor Lamont appointed her to the position shortly after beginning his first term in early 2019. From May 2020 until September 2021 – amid the initial outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic – Gifford agreed to take on the added responsibility of serving as acting commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and thus becoming Governor Lamont’s top advisor on the pandemic. In this capacity, she served a significant role for the Lamont administration in overseeing the state’s COVID-19 response, including over the initial rollout of the vaccines.
 
Prior to joining Connecticut state government, Gifford served from 2016 to 2019 as deputy director for the Center of Medicaid and CHIP Services at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Washington, DC, where she oversaw the full scope of Medicaid functions at the federal agency. From 2012 to 2015, she served as Medicaid director in the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and from 2005 to 2011 she was co-founder and project director of Rhode Island’s multi-payer Medical Home demonstration, one of the nation’s first and most enduring multi-payer payment reform initiatives.
 
She has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in public health from UCLA; an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College in New York; and completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology and received an M.P.H. in epidemiology at UCLA. Over the course of her career, she has held faculty appointments at the UCLA and Brown Schools of Public Health.
 
DSS is the state agency responsible for administering a wide range of services that support the basic needs of children, families, persons with disabilities, and older adults, particularly regarding food security, economic aid, healthcare coverage, independent living and home care, social work, child support, home-heating aid, and protective services for older adults. Some of the largest programs that it oversees include HUSKY Health (the state’s Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (formerly known as food stamps), and the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (the state’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program).
 
Created in 2018, OHS is one of Connecticut’s newest state agencies. It is responsible for implementing data-driven strategies that promote equal access to healthcare, improve the value of healthcare, contain costs, and ensure better healthcare systems for the state’s residents. It was established as part of a consolidation effort that brought several existing resources from various state agencies into one centralized location so that these efforts could function more cohesively and efficiently.
 
Connecticut’s nine health and human services agencies include:

 
  • Department of Aging and Disability Services
  • Department of Children and Families
  • Department of Developmental Services
  • Office of Early Childhood
  • Office of Health Strategy
  • Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
  • Department of Public Health
  • Department of Social Services
  • Department of Veterans Affairs

 
Governor Lamont is set to receive the oath of office and begin his second term on January 4, 2023. At that time, Barton Reeves’s nomination as DSS commissioner and Gifford’s nomination as OHS executive director will be forwarded to the General Assembly for its consideration.
 

 

Thousands of low-level cannabis possession convictions to be cleared

Thousands of Connecticut residents convicted of cannabis possession are set to have these records cleared in January using an automated erasure method. Records in approximately 44,000 cases will be fully or partially erased. The policy is an integral part of the 2021 legislation signed into law to safely regulate the adult use of cannabis.
 
Residents who have had their records erased may tell employers, landlords, and schools that the conviction never occurred.
 
How people will receive erasure will depend on when they received their conviction. For more detailed information, see Letter from the Criminal Justice Information System Governing Board to the Judiciary Committee co-chairs on implementation of Clean Slate

State Agencies provide update on state’s fiscal position
 
Earlier this week the Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA, a nonpartisan state agency) and the Office of Policy and Management (OPM, an executive branch agency) gave an update on the state’s fiscal position.  Overall, I am pleased to report that responsible budgeting and major structural changes made to pension and teachers' retirements plans are putting Connecticut on much more solid fiscal ground and saving taxpayers billions in debt payments.
OPM noted the teachers' retirement unfunded liability has been reduced by a billion dollars in the last year. Combined with other recent deposits, the state will save $9.4 billion over the next 25 years.
Millions of dollars that would have otherwise gone to debt payments can be freed up to continue investments in childcare, mental health, higher education, and workforce training, improving the quality of life for all residents.

While our fiscal outlook is good, we remain cautious, and, given my new responsibilities, I intend to ensure that we remain disciplined in our budgeting.

CT Insider Article
Department of Consumer Protection announced adult-use cannabis market opening date

The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) has notified licensed hybrid retailers that they may begin selling cannabis products to all adults 21 and over beginning no earlier than 10 a.m., or as local zoning permits, on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.
Following the Social Equity Council’s vote Tuesday, all existing medical marijuana producers have met the requirements for an expanded license that allows them to supply both the adult-use cannabis and medical marijuana markets. The law requires at least 250,000 square feet of growing and manufacturing space in the aggregate be approved for adult-use production before retail sales can begin at licensed retailers, including hybrid retailers. With all four producers successfully converted, the 250,000 square-foot threshold has been met. 
Sales will be limited to 1/4 ounce of cannabis flower, or its equivalent, per transaction when the market opens. Transaction limits will be reviewed over time, and are in place to ensure businesses are able to maintain adequate supply for both adult-use consumers and medical marijuana patients. Patients in the Medical Marijuana Program may purchase up to 5 ounces per month.

Different types and sizes of products may be purchased together up to a total of 1/4 ounce of cannabis flower or its equivalent per transaction. Examples of what 1/4 of an ounce of cannabis flower or its equivalent might look like include:

  • Up to 7 pre-rolled cigarettes that weigh 1 gram each, or 14 pre-rolled cigarettes that weigh 0.5 grams each. Or any combination up to 7 total grams, which equals 1/4 ounce.
  • Two to four vape cartridges, which come in .5 mL and 1 mL sizes.
  • Edibles vary by type and size. A standard-sized brownie or cookie can be the equivalent of .08 grams of cannabis flower. One edible serving cannot have more than 5 milligrams of THC.
  • A combination of different product types that collectively amount to no more than ¼ of an ounce.

Patients in the Medical Marijuana Program are advised to purchase any necessary medication prior to January 10, or at one of the nine medical-only dispensaries in the state, as long lines and traffic are expected around the hybrid retailers during the opening weeks of adult-use sales.  
The following Medical Marijuana Dispensaries have been notified that they successfully completed the necessary steps for conversion to a hybrid license and may begin selling cannabis products to all adults 21 and over, beginning no earlier than 10 a.m. on January 10, 2023:

Cannabis was approved for adult-use in June 2021. Since then, the Department of Consumer Protection has worked to move toward the opening of a regulated cannabis marketplace.
For more information about Adult-Use Cannabis, visit ct.gov/cannabis.

Access Health CT Open Enrollment
PFAS Task Force update
 
This week the Connecticut Interagency PFAS Task Force provided an update on its work, marking the third anniversary of the state’s PFAS Action Plan.
 
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of more than 12,000 manmade chemicals that have been widely used in household, commercial, and industrial products and processes since the 1950s for their water, oil, and dirt repellant and heat resistant properties. Some of the most studied PFAS chemicals do not break down in the environment and are harmful to humans and animals at very low levels.
 
In July 2019, following the accidental release of PFAS-containing aqueous film forming firefighting foam (AFFF) to the Farmington River, an interagency workgroup chaired by the commissioners of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) and composed of representatives from nearly twenty state agencies and entities was formed.
 
The task force was charged with developing an action plan including a comprehensive strategy to:
 
  1. Minimize environmental exposure to PFAS for Connecticut residents;
  2. Minimize future releases of PFAS to the environment; and
  3. Identify, assess and cleanup historic releases of PFAS to the environment.

  
For more information on the Connecticut Interagency PFAS Task Force, click here.
 
**WatchDecember 8 meeting of the Connecticut Interagency PFAS Task Force

 

Webinar from AAA Northeast on Electric Vehicles
 
AAA Northeast is hosting a webinar on Monday, December 12 at 3pm about the electric vehicle landscape in the new year. It will include panelists from the Electrification Coalition and Green Energy Consumers Alliance to discuss changes to federal rebate programs, progress on installing charging stations, and how stakeholders at all levels of government and in the private sector can get involved. If you’re interested, you can register here.  They will also be recording the webinar, so if you’d like to view it, you can register and a recording will be automatically sent to you.

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.

Click here to forward to forward this email to a friend.