Cristin McCarthy Vahey

This Memorial Day weekend, as we focus on community gatherings and the start of summer, I recognize the veterans who lost their lives so that we can continue to enjoy the freedoms and privileges we have. There are many community celebrations in Bridgeport and Fairfield.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I will share information about some of the legislation we passed this session, starting today with Public Health.

Public Health continues to make the news with heat advisories, measles cases reported in 38 states and the District of Columbia, and concerns about hantavirus and now ebola. We continue to learn more about outbreaks, how they are being handled, and what this means for us in the United States and even closer to home here in Connecticut. Often the work of public health is invisible, so I’d like to share more about what we passed this year in the legislature.

This year the Public Health Committee successfully passed three priority bills, one on vaccines, a second on the state’s certificate of need process, and the third to limit private equity control of hospital main campuses. We passed many other bills on a variety of topics. Below is more detailed information on these three priority bills, with a little more detail on the vaccine legislation so that you have accurate information about what the bill does and does not do.

Today the Connecticut Mirror featured an article about some of the work we accomplished in the Public Health Committee and beyond this year. It highlights the major bills we addressed, including Vaccine policy, Private Equity limits and what is called the Certificate of Need process, a major factor in addressing cost, access, and quality of healthcare in our state. I am proud that we were able to successfully advance policy in each of these areas, though the work is never finished.

As promised, you will hear more from me in the coming days and weeks about details of Public Health bills as well as some of the other critical legislation we have passed.

It has been one week since the legislative session concluded, and I am happy to share that we had some significant wins for Bridgeport and Fairfield, particularly when it comes to education funding. I will share some of the specifics in e-blasts over the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, we welcome you to join us in person to learn more about results from this session and hear your ongoing concerns and ideas. This Sunday, May 17 from 10-11:30am, Rep. Marcus Brown, Sen. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, and I will be at Nick’s Diner on Madison Avenue.

Public Health continues to remain in the news these days. From measles outbreaks and vaccines to Center for Disease Control governance, research funding, and the MAHA movement, there are many competing voices about who and what can help us keep ourselves and our family members healthy, safe, and strong. Today, I wanted to share some information about what has been happening at the national level related to vaccines, how that impacts Connecticut, and what we are doing this session in the public health committee to address vaccine access and affordability.

This week I joined my colleagues to support a new plan that strengthens the Education Cost Sharing program, the state's leading grant to local school districts. The plan redirects between $100-$170 million from our state's surpluses to flow back to cities and towns for education funding.

This proposal would prevent cities and towns from having to increase property taxes to cover the rising cost of education. It is our responsibility to make sure all children in Connecticut receive a proper education and learning environment, and this proposal goes a long way toward achieving that goal.

A reminder to please join me and State Rep. Marcus Brown for our legislative coffee hour tomorrow, Feb. 21 from 10am-noon at Nick Diner (2200 Madison Ave., Bridgeport).

This event will be a relaxed, informal conversation to discuss what is happening in the legislature, our top priorities this session, and the issues that matter most to you. We hope to see you there!

A reminder to please join me and State Reps. Jennifer Leeper and Sarah Keitt for a Fairfield Town Hall tonight from 6:30-8pm at the Egan School of Nursing (Second Floor, Fairfield University, 1073 N. Benson Rd., Fairfield).

We will discuss the legislative session and hear what issues matter most to you. You can use this link to RSVP. I look forward to seeing you there!