State Capitol Update for the Week of January 30th

January 30, 2023
Dear Friend,

This is my State Capitol update for the week of January 30th.

If you prefer to watch rather than read, click on the video below to hear about the issues contained in this newsletter.
 
 
As January ends, public hearings are starting to pick up in the General Assembly and we have a full selection of them this week, with bills I’m following closely in Environment (open space,  trees removed by DEEP, trees replanted by DOT, extended producer responsibility for tires, and green burial, among other issues), Public Health (more green burial, also known as human composting), and General Law (whether to allow wine sales in grocery stores). 
 
For more information on the bills being heard, check out the agendas for public hearings in the Environment Committee, Public Health Committee,  and General Law Committee this week.  For other events this week, check out the General Assembly website calendar, or the full list of events in the CGA Bulletin.

On Friday, the Education and Appropriations Committees are holding a joint hearing on a major priority bill this year, HB 5003, which is concerned with how the state funds our public schools.  The base for funding our schools is the property tax, which causes inequities not only in the funding available for our kids, but also the tax burdens of citizens across the state, tending to pose the highest tax burdens on those least able to pay.  To address this problem, CT created the Education Cost Sharing System (or ECS) in 1990, but we have never fully funded the program.  The bill being heard this week would do that, strongly increasing school funding, addressing inequities, and ensuring that programs like Agricultural Education that do so much for students throughout the region, will have stable funding. 
 
As the relatively new driver of an electric vehicle, I’m watching my mileage closely as I move back and forth from Salisbury to Hartford.  As other drivers of EVs know, your mileage decreases in winter months so my comfortable margin of error in the summer has become a little more constricted, though still very manageable.  I’ve found that the car starts a lot of conversations, from other EV owners, from those considering one, and from those skeptical of the whole endeavor.  Especially given current punishingly high utility costs, the calculations are constantly changing, with conversations quickly expanding to solar and geothermal energy, and about how to reduce emissions in the consumption, transmission, and extraction of our energy sources. 
 
There’s lots going on locally as well, especially the Ski Jumps next weekend (February 3-5). Check out the website for the Salisbury Winter Sports Association for a full itinerary of events.  Hope to see you there!

Here’s a list of today’s topics:
  • COVID-19 weekly update. Click here
  • National Gun Violence Survivors week. Click here.
  • New Renters Assistance Program For Residents On The Verge Of Eviction Click here.
  • Application Opening Soon: Access Health Broker Academy. Click here
  • CT’s Most Romantic Restaurants are in Litchfield County! . Click here. 
  • Crescendo Music presents Cantos y Suspiros on February 4. Click here. 
  • Prime Rib Dinner at the Canaan VFW, February 25. 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.”

Note that the federal government is making at home test kits available free of charge.  For more information, https://www.covid.gov/tests. 
National Gun Violence Survivors week
In honor of this year’s National Gun Violence Survivors week- Wednesday, February 1 - Tuesday, February 7, 2023-  Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action are focused on highlighting the resilience of America’s gun violence survivors, who, despite experiencing incredible trauma, are leading work on the ground to support other survivors and advocating for common-sense measures that save lives. The centerpiece of National Gun Violence Survivors Week is Moments That Survive, a year-round digital storytelling site and campaign in which Americans across the country share details of their experiences, in their own words.
 
National Gun Violence Survivors Week marks a week when we come together to share and amplify the stories and voices of gun violence survivors who live with the impact of gun violence every day. By early February, more people are killed with guns in the United States than are killed with guns in other high-income countries in an entire year. All told, 58 percent of American adults, including 68 percent of Black and Hispanic Americans, are survivors of gun violence, either experiencing gun violence themselves or caring for someone who has experienced gun violence in their lifetimes.
                                                           
For more details:
National Gun Violence Survivors Week
Wednesday, Feb. 1— Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023
New Renters Assistance Program For Residents On The Verge Of Eviction
The Connecticut Department of Housing is launching a new fund to assist renters who are on the verge of being evicted from their homes due to owing past due rent. Utilizing $12.5 million in funding from UniteCT and the Rent Bank, the Eviction Prevention Fund will provide households with up to $5,000 to pay off past due rent with their current landlord.
 
To apply, tenants must call the UniteCT Call Center at 1-844-864-8328 and be screened for eligibility. Eligible applicants will receive direct assistance from a local UniteCT Resource Center, where they will complete the application. If a tenant requires but does not have legal representation, access to mediators at Quinnipiac University’s Center on Dispute Resolution will be provided
Application Opening Soon: Access Health Broker Academy
The Broker Academy provides free training for selected students to become licensed brokers and covers the cost of their licensing exam. You can learn more by visiting their website or attending an upcoming virtual informational session. The next session is  Tuesday, February 7, 2023, from 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM. Registration is required.
Learn More
CT’s Most Romantic Restaurants are in Litchfield County!


 
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it was nice to see so many regional restaurants show up in Connecticut Magazine’s listing of Most Romantic Restaurants!  Congratulations to The White Hart (Salisbury), Swyft (Kent), RSVP (West Cornwall), and the Mayflower Inn (Washington) for making this year’s list. 
Read Here
Crescendo Music presents Cantos y Suspiros on February 4


 
Crescendo Music is putting on a wonderful concert of songs and dances from early Spain and Latin America. Performance will be on February 4 at 4pm Trinity Church in Lakeville.  
 
There is a limited number of free tickets available (first come, first served) . Please write to

crescendo@crescendomusic.org with your request, and you will receive a confirmation.
For these concerts support has been provided to Crescendo from CT Humanities (CTH), with funding provided by the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the Connecticut State Legislature.
Tickets: https://CrescendoMusic.ludus.com/22080
Prime Rib Dinner at the Canaan VFW, February 25