State Capitol Update For The Week Of January 27

January 31, 2020

This is my State Capitol update for the week of January 20. If you would rather watch than read, check out the link at the bottom of the page.

The 2020 legislation session will get underway on Wednesday, February 5. We will be working on many issues that affect the towns of the 64th District and the state, and I wanted to start off by providing resources everyone can utilize to follow particular bills and debates, see schedules for meetings and public hearings, and submit testimony on issues.

  • Check out the CGA website to view the General Assembly's schedule of events.
  • Follow CTN for live coverage of committee meetings and House and Senate floor debates.
  • Visit this website to register as a bill tracking user to track any bill as it makes its way through the legislative process. Once you are logged in, you will be able to enter the bill number into the system. Whenever the bill's status changes, you will receive an email informing you of this change.
  • For information on how to testify on a bill that is up for a public hearing, follow this link.
  • OpenConnecticut allows residents to track state government’s spending in real time and is operated by the Comptroller's office.
  • If you need any further clarification, please reach out to my office

Access Health CT Data Breach

For those of you who have health insurance through Access Health CT, I wanted to be sure you were aware of a recent data breach that affected some of their customers. Consumers affected will receive mail this week about their personal information and should review it carefully: be on the lookout for an orange envelope in the mail in the next few days. If you are one of those affected, you will need to take action to enroll in free services being offered to help protect personal information that may have been compromised.

In addition to the mailing, Access Health CT will be contacting these consumers in a multi-layer outreach effort including phone calls and emails to alert consumers to look for the orange envelopes in the mail.

Consumers can also call Access Health CT at 855-805-4325 if they have questions.

Transportation Hearing Today (Friday, January 31)

Many of you have been following the year-long conversation we’ve been having in Hartford (and throughout the state) on how to pay for critically necessary investments in our transportation infrastructure. The state of disrepair of our roads and bridges (we rank 46th out of 50 states) is a blinking red light in terms of safety concerns, the drag on our economy caused by delays for businesses and commuters, and the environmental damage inflicted upon vulnerable communities by traffic congestion, to name just a few. Various proposals to pay for this have been floated over the past year. The Governor led with an ambitious tolling program akin to that in place in the vast majority of East Coast states. His administration held forums, negotiated, amended the proposal, and came back for more forums and presentations. Over time, the scope of the Governor’s toll proposal, and the proportion of financing it represented in the overall package, became more modest.

Finally, after much negotiation and re-negotiation, we seem to have arrived at a final package, on which a public hearing is being held today in anticipation of a vote in the next couple of weeks. The package includes low interest federal loans, as well as tolls on 12 bridges, imposed only on tractor-trailers (that cause over 9,000 times the damage to our roads of the average passenger vehicle). It also enhances oversight on both setting of toll rates and of the projects undertaken by the Department of Transportation.

Over the course of this lengthy debate, I have heard from many of you. They have been thoughtful, pragmatic discussions, regardless of where you come out at the end, and I have valued that opportunity and learned from each of you. I encourage all of you who have reached out to me, as well as anyone who has reflected on the issue, to attend the hearing if you can, and/or submit written testimony if you can’t attend. I will also carry your views with me as I listen to the testimony at the hearing, which I will attend once my other committee responsibilities are finished for the day.

The hearing began at 1:00 pm today, with the order of speakers determined by a lottery earlier this morning. You may email testimony related to the proposed bill to TRAtestimony@cga.ct.gov.

A Few Recent Events

The past week has been full of legislative meals of various kinds. Along with other regional legislators, I have broken bread with the League of Women Voters, the Northwest Hills Counsel of Governments, EdAdvance, Litchfield County Realtors, the NW Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, and Northwestern Connecticut Community College. I also joined the Torrington legislative delegation and spent a morning with Torrington Mayor Elinor Carbone focusing on a current mixed-income development planned for Franklin Street, and out-of-state programs having an impact on the community.

Earlier this week, I worked with advocates and other legislators on getting funding for the towns downwind of the Cricket Valley Energy plant who have been establishing quality monitoring facilities, attended a meeting at DEEP on anaerobic digesters, and was on a panel of legislators speaking about effective advocacy to the CT Food System Alliance: it was great to see Janna Siller from Adamah Farm at Isabella Freedman in Falls Village among the advocates.

I had the pleasure to attend two powerful and fun events this week focused on women legislators, who now make up just short of one-third of the legislature (more than ever before, but still substantially short of the 50+% of the population we comprise). As part of the centennial celebration of women’s suffrage in Connecticut, Secretary of State Denise Merrill hosted a panel discussion about women in elected office, including Patricia Russo from the Women’s Campaign School at Yale, House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, and Brenda Choresi Carter of the Reflective Democracy Campaign, moderated by Lucy Nalpathanchil of Connecticut Public Radio. Later that day, the bipartisan Women’s Caucus gathered for some sorority, and war stories.

I started today with a legislator’s breakfast at Northwestern Connecticut Community College, joined by the NW Connecticut Chamber of Commerce. It was a special treat to hear Torrington High School Student Sam Erickson give an inspiring speech reminding us of our responsibility to make sure everyone has access to a good education.

Later in the morning, I attended a suicide prevention panel. This event was a follow up to Suicide Prevention Policy Summit, which was held in December. Today, we discussed the next steps we can take during this upcoming session.

Sports Betting

Over the last year, I have also heard from many of you about possibility of legalizing sports betting in Connecticut. This week, proponents announced a tentative deal for legalization. Representatives from the two tribes who operate the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort casinos, and a bipartisan group of legislators, announced a tentative agreement, and shared optimism that proposed legislation could be passed this year. Today, towns and cities get about $51 million a year from casino revenue, which would increase to $139 million if the proposed legislation is approved by the House and Senate and is signed into law.

Upcoming Events

  • Friday, 1/31 (tonight!) from 5:30-7:30 pm: Eversource will host one of several state-wide informational sessions regarding programs available to help customers who are having trouble paying their utility bills. The session will take place at New Opportunities, 59 Field Street, Torrington. You can also find more information at Eversource.com/BillHelp, or by calling 800-286-2828.
  • Congresswoman Jahana Hayes’ staff will host two more Casework on Your Corner events in the district, open to all residents of CT’s 5th Congressional District, to help address questions or challenges dealing with federal agencies:
    • Wednesday, 02/19/20 from 10am-1pm, at GEER Village Lodge in North Canaan, and
    • Friday, 02/28/20 from 1-4pm at New Opportunities of Greater Torrington

And don’t forget the Salisbury Ski Jumps on February 7, 8, and 9: think snow!

It is my honor to represent our district. I look forward to hearing from you about the issues raised in this newsletter, or any other topics you think I should know about. You can email me at maria.horn@cga.ct.gov or call me at (860)-240-8585. Thanks for reading, and I wish you a safe weekend.