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Welcome to the start of the week! I’m trying a new schedule with my weekly video and newsletter, as it was proving too difficult to get it done during the week, so I’m hoping this one, in which the newsletter will go out on Mondays, will work.
That schedule has largely kept me in Hartford, as we sort through all of the bills that individual legislators submitted (known as “Proposed Bills”) by the January 13 deadline. In Finance we have well over 250 bills submitted by legislators, not including requests from state agencies or lobbyists. Also not included is a list of proposals from the Governor, which we will receive when he delivers the budget address on February 8. The sorting process has just begun, but a big focus for me will be on making the system more fair. “Fair” means something different to nearly every person at the table, but for me that includes ensuring that everyone is playing by the same sets of rules, working to balance the tax load in a more equitable manner, and using tax policy to nudge behavior that benefits the public. There is a lot of jargon and complexity in how we describe what it is we are trying to do, as well as in how we do it, but the ideas discussed include, among many, many others:
- Middle income tax cuts by cutting rates and/or inflation adjusting the tax brackets;
- Reinstating our fiscal guardrails (the “bond covenants”)
- Help for small business
- Using tax code to incentivize community investment and research and development
If you’re curious about understanding some aspects of how Connecticut handles its finances, the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee is holding two informational hearings next week:
- Monday, January 23 at 1:00 pm with the Department of Revenue Services (think taxes); and
- Friday, January 27 at 11:00 am with the Comptroller’s Office (think fiscal watchdog)
To watch either of these, click on the event in the calendar for this week on the CT General Assembly website.
Beyond my chair responsibilities, now is also the time to be advocating for bills and issues in other committees to try to move them forward. Among those this year is one concerning bears. I submitted a bill that would: 1) ban intentional feeding of bears statewide; 2) help farmers with depredation caused by “nuisance wildlife,” including bears; and 3) clarify the ability to defend yourself if you or your family is menaced by a bear. I have been meeting with advocates (on many sides of the issue), the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and the leadership of the Environment Committee to see what we can do this year.
While this is going on, we are all starting to receive the expected astronomical energy bills, which are imposing hardships for family (and business) budgets across the state. This is topic one for the Energy and Technology Committee, both in terms of continued long-term reform to the way we regulate our utilities, and more immediately to the programs that support residents who are struggling to heat their homes. For more information on state resources, click here, or contact your town’s social services agent.
I did get to anchor myself back in the district to present two sets of citations this week, which is always deeply rewarding for me to be able to do. Last month, Housatonic Youth Services Bureau honored Ann and Lance Beizer for their extraordinary record of service to our region, and particularly to young people, and I was finally able to extend the state’s thanks for that service to them this week. And this year is the 50th Anniversary of the Fife ‘n Drum restaurant in Kent and I got to honor the restaurant for its importance as a place for the community to gather around a crackling hearth, and enjoy good food with music and excellent company, and Elissa Potts for the hard work of keeping the place vital and vibrant since she took over from her parents.
Finally, yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the decision in Roe v Wade.
Though the decision was dramatically and abruptly overruled in June of last year by an activist court who turned back the clock to an era when women were chattel, we in CT have stood by the principles of Roe and continue to protect those who live in, and travel to, CT to access safe, legal abortion services. Let the anniversary now stand for our commitment to continue those efforts to protect, and create, access to full reproductive healthcare.
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