Michelle L. Cook

The House was in session on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday. My colleagues and I were able to pass several pieces of legislation, including a few that I wanted to highlight: 

✅ HB 6918: Chambers of Commerce and business leaders cheered when we passed groundbreaking clean slate legislation… yesterday we passed mainly technical issues to get this policy moving forward.

✅ HB 6775: Expands protections for seniors by increasing the number of mandated reporters for suspected abuse, neglect, exploitation or when a senior needs protective services.

✅ HB 6872: Will ensure election officials and presidential electors do their duty as prescribed by law.

✅ HB 5314: Attention consumers! Under HB 5314 businesses will no longer be able to charge your credit card, debit card, or third-party payment account without your consent for automatic renewal or continuous services.

✅ HB 6746: Sadly, wrong-way crashes and deaths have been on the rise in our state. We took action to help reduce incidents and minimize fatalities.

✅ HB 5902: Food allergies can be life-threatening. H.B. 5902 establishes standards that restaurants must follow to ensure customers alert staff about their allergies. The bill will also require informational posters to be displayed in restaurants to ensure increased safety and awareness.

✅ HB 6561: Protecting our children is the most important part of youth athletic competition. HB 6561 creates a task force that will study safety measures for all sports.

✅ HB 6077: Connecticut has a rich history of remarkable stories. HB 6077 establishes a process to add additional statues outside the Capitol that reflect the diversity, character, and accomplishments of the state.

✅ Health care providers shouldn’t face out-of-state repercussions for doing what’s legal in Connecticut.
H.B. 6820 protects Connecticut providers performing safe and legal reproductive health care services to those who need it.

✅ The House approved HB 6898, which requires the Attorney General’s Office to submit a report on the settlement agreement with Juul Labs. In April, Juul Labs agreed to a $462 million settlement between six states, including Connecticut, for their role in marketing addictive nicotine products to teens.     

✅ Families who are tasked with taking care of loved ones need a lifeline. HB 6677 will require the Department of Social Services to develop a plan that will increase the number of residents eligible to receive adult day services.

Eversource and UI file to change rates twice annually, with the rates going into effect on January 1 and July 1 of each year. The cost of natural gas, which provides the fuel for most of the heat and electricity across Connecticut and New England, is subject to continued market volatility and international factors like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As a result, present bills were pushed as much as $80 higher on average since the beginning of 2023 and running through June 30.

While dropping electricity rates is positive news, PURA also recently took a significant step toward additional accountability for Eversource and UI by implementing performance-based regulation (PBR) starting in 2024. Connecticut is one of the first states in the country to establish such a system, which was part of the “Take Back Our Grid Act” we passed in October 2020.

PBR has the potential to align regulatory tools since there are certain goals Eversource and UI will be expected to achieve, including fulfillment of public policies, empowering customers, and providing reasonable, equitable and affordable rates as opposed to roller coaster increases and decreases.

Connecticut’s implementation of PBR signals a commitment to dually improving utility performance and customer outcomes. It is not an attempt to hurt the utilities. PBR will show residents, however, that the utilities will keep their best interests in mind within a specific operating framework.

Get your gavel to gavel coverage at ct-n.com.