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Over the last three days, I was able to attend a handful of local events which allowed me to make the rounds in and around the district. On Friday that included a legislative breakfast at Northwestern Connecticut Community College in Winsted (which serves our district, though technically outside of it) on Friday morning, and an event with staff at Mountainside Treatment Center in honor of their 25th anniversary.
| This weekend was the "Weekend in Norfolk", which included loads of fun events. I had family in town that included both knitters and winter sports enthusiasts, so we visited the knitters at the Norfolk HUB (and made some excellent yarn purchases with proceeds benefiting the local food bank), and the curlers at the Norfolk Curling Club and got some great history and curling tips. |
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| After a busy weekend, I got to feed my family with the excellent pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage from the Kent Volunteer Fire Department and catch up with a lot of Kent residents. |
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| This week brings another full schedule of public hearings. In addition to the one I will be chairing today (Monday), there are a number of important bills being heard. The Environment Committee will hear bills on composting, waste management (including the Governor’s proposed plan to address the closure of the MIRA waste-to-energy plant in Hartford), and an environmental bill of rights; and the Public Health Committee will hear the aid in dying bill. For the week’s full schedule of hearings, see the section below. |
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Here’s a list of today’s topics:
- COVID-19 weekly update. Click here
- Public Hearing Schedule for this week. Click here
- Update from Salisbury Housing Committee. Click here
- Community Connectivity Grant Program Funding Open to Improve Pedestrian Safety. Click here
- Small Business Administration Approves HUBZone in Torrington. Click here.
- Pre-pandemic Medicaid eligibility requirements to resume. Click here
- Nonprofit providing free assistance to local startups establishes operations in Connecticut. Click here
- Connecticut will participate in newly launched Reproductive Freedom Alliance. Click here
| 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. |
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| Public Hearing schedule this week |
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| Please remember that you only need to register if you wish to provide testimony. If you want to observe the hearings, you can tune in to watch the proceedings live on the committee’s YouTube channel.
🌐 You can register to testify and find more detail on this week’s public hearings, including the bills that will be heard, in this week’s CGA Bulletin. Access the Bulletin here: https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/CGABulletin/Bulletin.asp |
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| Update from Salisbury Housing Committee
Holley Place Update:
Judge Rules in Favor of Salisbury Housing Committee
On Friday, February 17, 2023, Judge Andrew Roraback of the Torrington Superior Court released his decision upholding the Town of Salisbury Planning & Zoning Commission's granting of a special permit to the Salisbury Housing Committee. This ruling will allow the nonprofit housing organization to move forward with plans to build 12 affordable rental units in Lakeville.
Salisbury Housing Committee’s president, Peter Halle, said that the housing committee is relieved that the expensive, 20-month-long process is finally over. “Every month that we do not have available housing, we lose seniors, families, and workers. We have more than 100 households on our waiting lists for an affordable apartment. How long can they wait?" |
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| Community Connectivity Grant Program Funding Open for Connecticut Municipalities to Improve Pedestrian Safety and Access
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) announced a third solicitation for Community Connectivity Grants to towns and cities across Connecticut to fund municipal construction projects.
The Community Connectivity Grant Program (CCGP) is an infrastructure improvement program that provides funding for local initiatives to improve the safety and accessibility for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users in urban, suburban, and rural communities. The program goal is to provide equitable access to transportation by making conditions safer for all people and encouraging more use of these healthy and environmentally sustainable modes of travel.
Grant awards are contingent upon the State Bond Commission’s approval of $10 million. The funding limits for grants awarded in this solicitation are between $100,000 and $800,000 and can only be used to fund activities related to project construction. To be considered for this solicitation, municipalities previously awarded a grant under this program must have submitted and received approval of their final project design submission package by the application deadline.
Although not required for this round of solicitation, additional consideration will be given to municipalities that have developed a Complete Street Plan or Policy, ADA transition plan, or comprehensive safety action plan, as recommended by the state’s Vision Zero Council. For future solicitations, municipalities will be required to have an adopted Complete Streets Plan or comprehensive safety action plan to be eligible to apply for funding under the CCGP; this was a recommendation that came from the state’s Vision Zero Council.
Grant applications are available on the Community Connectivity portal and will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. on Friday, July 21, 2023. |
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Educators, this Civic Learning Week, join the Civic Life Project to learn how to bring "Effective Interviews & Active Listening for Civic Engagement" lessons into your classroom!
These FREE and editable lessons, developed in partnership with the National Council for the Social Studies, will help students use digital storytelling as a tool for active and engaged citizenship.
This free webinar takes place Wednesday, March 8, at 12:00 PM ET via Zoom. Learn more and register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/559744399567
| Small Business Administration Approves HUBZone in Torrington
Governor Lamont and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) New England Regional Administrator Mike Vlacich announced the approval of Connecticut’s newest governor-designated Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone). The SBA has approved Governor Lamont’s petition to add a HUBZone in Torrington, expanding access and eligibility to SBA’s HUBZone program to the small businesses in the covered areas. (Click here to view areas that the SBA has added to the HUBZone Map.)
The SBA’s HUBZone program fuels small business growth in historically underutilized business zones with a goal of awarding at least 3% of federal contract dollars to HUBZone-certified companies each year. The federal government limits competition for certain contracts to businesses in historically underutilized business zones. It also gives preferential consideration to those businesses in full and open competition. The HUBZone program makes businesses eligible to compete for set-aside contracts and get a 10% price evaluation preference in full and open contract competitions.
In the coming days, the SBA’s Connecticut District Office will host two HUBZone business opportunity events, including:
- Wednesday, March 8, 2023, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.: SBA meet and greet at Torrington Town Hall (140 Main Street, Torrington)
- Tuesday, March 14, 2023, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.: Connecticut HUBZone virtual information session (free registration at SBA.GOV/CT)
To qualify for the HUBZone program, businesses must be a small business according to SBA size standards, be at least 51% owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, a community development corporation, an agricultural cooperative, an Alaska Native corporation, a Native Hawaiian organization, or an Indian tribe, and have its principal office located in a HUBZone with at least 35% of its employees living in a HUBZone. |
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Pre-pandemic Medicaid eligibility requirements to resume
| There will be changes for some of our most vulnerable individuals and families who are on Medicaid. Starting on April 1, the COVID-19 public health emergency protection will be coming to an end. Medicaid enrollees who were continuously covered will again have to provide proof of eligibility to continue getting benefits.
If you get your healthcare through HUSKY or DSS, you have not had to do your annual redetermination since March 2020. But starting in April, you will have to prove your eligibility once every year. In addition, you will need to provide identification, address, and proof of income.
The Department of Social Services Field Offices are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8 am - 4:30 pm. |
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| In addition, extra SNAP benefits have come to an end. Since April 2020, some individuals and families received an extra SNAP payment on their EBT cards in the middle of each month. According to the Department of Social Services, it does not have control over when those benefits end since they are tied to federal legislation.
SNAP redetermination happens every six months. You will once again have to provide identification, your address, proof of income, and your social security information.
All households that are eligible for SNAP benefits will receive one payment starting in March. Those funds will arrive in the first three days of the month depending on the last name. Those in the program will receive their normal monthly benefit.
Households can now check their EBT balance in real-time by visiting www.mydss.ct.gov. On MyDSS, you can also update DSS with any case changes, complete renewals, view documents, or verify case status from a computer or mobile device.
To learn more as well as where to obtain resources for families dealing with the ending of the extra SNAP benefits, visit: www.ct.gov/snap/extracovidbenefits.
I am committed to helping everyone who needs assistance. My colleagues are continuing discussions on the termination of some of these expanded services. |
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Nonprofit providing free assistance to local startups establishes operations in Connecticut
FORGE – a nonprofit organization that connects startups creating physical products with the product development, manufacturing, and supply chain resources they need to grow and succeed – is establishing operations in Connecticut and will begin providing its services – free of charge – to local startups.
The staff at FORGE are experts in helping innovators navigate the journey from physical prototype to commercialization. They do this by connecting startups with experienced product experts, manufacturers, engineers, and the local supply chains to drive business relationships. Since its founding in 2015, the organization has operated in Massachusetts, where it has supported hundreds of creators of physical products, leading to the creation of more than 5,000 jobs and adding $34 million to the local economy.
In Connecticut, FORGE intends to replicate that success by identifying innovators and connecting them with manufacturers that have required resources and skillsets. FORGE will also leverage its expertise to help innovators ensure they are suitable for manufacturer consideration, ultimately accelerating the process of bringing product ideas to life.
The organization’s establishment in Connecticut is supported with joint funding from CTNext, a nonprofit organization that promotes entrepreneurship, and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development through its Manufacturing Innovation Fund.
FORGE will establish its Connecticut presence in Hartford. In the months to come, the organization will embark on a statewide roadshow and participate in multiple industry events to raise awareness of its services for innovators and manufacturers.
For more information on FORGE, visit www.forgeimpact.org. Inquiries about the services FORGE offers can be directed to Adam Rodrigues at adam@forgeimpact.org. |
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Connecticut will participate in newly launched Reproductive Freedom Alliance
Governor Lamont announced that he is committing Connecticut to join the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, a newly launched, nonpartisan, multi-state coalition of governors who are dedicated to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom in their states. At its launch, the alliance consists of 20 governors, becoming the largest such coalition ever convened.
The alliance will work to strengthen reproductive freedom in the face of an unprecedented assault on abortion access and other forms of reproductive health care by states hostile to abortion rights and judges who are advancing their ideological agenda. All governors who support reproductive freedom are welcome to join.
The 20 governors who have committed their respective states to the alliance at its launch include:
- California Governor Gavin Newsom
- Colorado Governor Jared Polis
- Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont
- Delaware Governor John Carney
- Hawai'i Governor Josh Green
- Illinois Governor JB Pritzker
- Maine Governor Janet Mills
- Maryland Governor Wes Moore
- Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey
- Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
- Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
- New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy
- New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham
- New York Governor Kathy Hochul
- North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper
- Oregon Governor Tina Kotek
- Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro
- Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee
- Washington Governor Jay Inslee
- Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers
Major funding to support the alliance’s mission is being provided by the California Wellness Foundation with additional support from the Rosenberg Foundation.
Joint Statement from the Governors
“As governors representing nearly 170 million people across every region of the country, we are standing with all people who believe in reproductive freedom and health care. We are standing with them to say, ‘enough.’
“In the last year alone, over 36 million women have lost access to critical health care with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Medication abortion – one of the safest forms of health care for decades now – may be stripped from our clinics and hospitals nationwide. Doctors face criminal prosecution for providing care. Extremists are trying to restrict access to contraception – and we know they won’t stop there.
“In the face of this unprecedented assault by states hostile to abortion rights and their enablers in the courts, we are pledging to work together to strengthen abortion firewalls across America. This fight isn’t over.” |
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| If you believe your teen or one of their friends is in danger – help is available. Individuals and families can contact CT Safe Connect from anywhere 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, to receive a thorough assessment of needs, emotional support, safety planning and options. Contact them by calling or texting (888) 774-2900, send a confidential email to safeconnect@ctcadv.org or use their web chat. All services are confidential, safe, free, and voluntary.
Find more information and useful resources on this issue below.
Interval House offers a large range of resources on teen dating violence. Resources are available in both English and Spanish.
CT.gov has a large range of resources covering teen dating violence and domestic abuse, as well as relevant legislation.
Click here to read President Joe Biden's proclamation on Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. |
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