March 12th Updates

CDC Guidelines
March 12, 2021

We are constantly working to provide updates and important news as it develops over social media and by email. This is a recap of some of this week’s highlights.

Below you can find information on the following topics:

  • New CDC Guidelines for Gatherings
  • American Rescue Plan Becomes Law
  • Testimony in Appropriations Committee on School Funding
  • Recent Bills Voted Out of Committees
  • Three Important Bills Signed Into Law
  • Latest COVID-19 Statistics
  • COVID-19: One Year Later
  • Registering to Testify at Public Hearings
  • Daylight Savings

For more information about the state's response efforts visit ct.gov/coronavirus. To receive text message notifications, sign up for CTAlert, the state’s emergency alert system. To subscribe, text "COVIDCT" to 888-777.

New CDC Guidelines for Gatherings
 

With roughly 20% of U.S. residents having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, many are wondering when life can return to a semblance of our pre-pandemic lives. It is understandable that people are eager to see friends and family in-person rather than through a screen, go out to eat, or listen to live music again, particularly in light of the upcoming loosening of certain restrictions in Connecticut.

To that end, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new guidelines on what kinds of activities are safe to resume after you and your family are fully vaccinated.

According to the CDC, once you are fully vaccinated:

  • You can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask.
  • You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
  • If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
    • However, if you live in a group setting (like a correctional or detention facility or group home) and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still stay away from others for 14 days and get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.

While this is certainly good news, the CDC does still recommend, however, that everyone, including those fully vaccinated, continue to wear masks and practice social distancing when in a public place or at a social gathering with unvaccinated people from multiple households. The CDC also strongly recommends avoiding medium and large sized gatherings, as well as extensive domestic or international travel.

A reminder- you are only considered fully vaccinated after two weeks following:

  • The second of two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine; or
  • The single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine

To read more about these new guidelines from the CDC, click here. As we work to get everyone vaccinated and finally put this pandemic behind us, make sure to wear your mask, practice social distancing, and wash your hands.

American Rescue Plan Becomes Law
 
Earlier this week, Congress officially passed the American Rescue Plan (ARP), and it was signed into law by President Biden on Thursday afternoon.
 
To help Connecticut residents understand the details of the bill and how it can potentially provide assistance during the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, see the graphic below of some of the law's highlights. You can also visit the new federal website dedicated to the ARP by clicking HERE.
ARP
Testimony in Appropriations Committee on School Funding
 
On Tuesday, I testified before the Appropriations Committee with our great Chairman of the Manchester Board of Education, Darryl Thames in favor of restoring equitable Education Cost Sharing (ECS) funding for Manchester Public Schools.
 
Click HERE to watch the public hearing.
Recent Bills Voted Out of Committees
 
With the 2021 legislative session halfway over, I wanted to update you on where several major pieces of legislation stand in various committees. Recently, we had several bills that were voted out of their respective committees for full consideration by the House. Below you will find where some of these bills currently stand, and I will continue to keep you updated on their status. Meanwhile, let me know your thoughts and opinions on these important pieces of legislation.
 
HB 6425, An Act Concerning Aid In Dying for Terminally Ill Patients: The Public Health Committee voted 24-9 to send a bill which would provide aid in dying assistance to terminally ill patients to the House floor.
 
SB 568, An Act Eliminating the Nonmedical Exemption To The Immunization Requirement: The Public Health Committee voted 22-11 last week to draft a bill which would eliminate the nonmedical exemption to the immunization requirement for individuals attending public or private school.
 
SB 842, An Act Concerning Health Insurance and Health Care in Connecticut: The Public Health Committee voted 12-6 to send this bill to the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee for approval. If passed, this bill would create a state-run health insurance option (also known as a public option) for small businesses and non-profits.
 
HJ 58, A Resolution Proposing A State Connotational Amendment To Allow No-Excuse Absentee Voting: The Government Administration & Elections Committee voted 13-6 to send this bill to the whole House.
 
HJ 59, A Resolution Approving An Amendment To The State Constitution to Allow For Early Voting: The Government Administration & Elections Committee voted 15-4 to send this bill to the whole House.
Three Important Bills Signed Into Law
 
Last week, Governor Lamont signed several bills into law that make great strides to moving our state forward.
 
H.B. 6514 offers incentives for data centers to locate in Connecticut. Data centers are buildings, a group of buildings or section of a building used to house computer networks, hardware and data storage systems. This bill will bring a new industry to our state and spark job and economic growth.
 
H.B. 6515 prohibits workplace discrimination based on hairstyles that are commonly associated with people of color, such as afros, Bantu knots, braids, cornrows, dreadlocks, and twists. A 2019 study found that Black women are 80 percent more likely to alter their natural hair to accommodate social norms or work expectations and 1.5 times more likely to be sent home from work because of their hairstyles. With the passage of the CROWN Act, Connecticut becomes the 8th state to ban discrimination on the basis of natural hair or texture.
 
H.B. 6516 addresses constituent concerns across the state with respect to inequitable taxation when working from home and unfair burdens on the poor.
 
The pandemic has changed the way people work. Many Connecticut residents who normally commute to Massachusetts or New York have been working from home. The bill creates a state income tax credit for the 2020 tax year for many residents who normally commute to another state and would apply to any resident who paid income tax to any other state that requires nonresident employees to pay nonresident income tax on income earned while working remotely from Connecticut due to COVID-19. Those residents will be allowed a credit against Connecticut state income tax for the tax paid to the other state.
 
The legislation also repeals the unfair practice of seeking repayment of state assistance by our family members, friends or neighbors who may have needed help in the past but have since lifted themselves out of poverty. The policy, known as a "welfare lien," treats public assistance as debt and is a huge roadblock to upward mobility and home-ownership.
 
H.B. 6516 also modifies the PILOT program formula (payment in lieu of taxes) that will bring economic equity to many of our cities and towns.
 
The bills signed by Governor Lamont mark the first in what I hope will be a productive session.
Latest COVID-19 Statistics
 
Covid Stats March 12th

Manchester Specific Updates

  • Total Cases (confirmed & probable): 4,149
  • Total Deaths (confirmed & probable): 146

Glastonbury Specific Updates

  • Total Cases (confirmed & probable): 1,899
  • Total Deaths (confirmed & probable): 103
COVID-19: One Year Later
 
COVID: One Year Later

It has been one year since the State of Connecticut declared Covid-19 a pandemic. Whether you’ve lost loved ones, struggled with mental health, lost your job, or have been fighting on the frontlines as an essential worker, I am thinking of you today and every day. It brings me hope to see that there is a light at the end of this tunnel.

Registering to Testify at Public Hearings
 
March 12th Public Hearings Schedule

As we continue to navigate the virtual legislative session, I wanted to remind you of the ways available to ensure your voice is heard. Though COVID-19 has closed the State Capitol and Legislative Office Building to the public, you can still testify and participate in public hearings from your home. (Please note that times and dates of public hearings are subject to change.)

Below, I have outlined the steps to testify at a public hearing:

  1. Review the bulletin daily and check to see which committees are having public hearings.
  1. Use the “On-line Testimony Registration Form” link in the notice to register to testify. You can also call the number listed if you do not have access to the internet.
    • Make sure you have noted the bill or resolution number(s) you plan to testify on because you will need that to complete the form.
  1. If you’re registering online, you’ll be taken to the Webinar registration page for the hearing at which you would like to testify. Make sure to review the details of the hearing closely to confirm that you are registering for the correct hearing.
  1. You will need to scroll down to find the registration form. The form requests the same information that committee staff would ask you if you were signing up to testify in-person.
  1. Once you submit the form, you’ll receive a pending approval notice to the email address you included in the form. Make sure to keep the information in this notice handy.
  1. Within 24 hours, after you have registered to testify, you will receive an email confirming that you have signed up for the hearing. If you need to cancel, there is the “cancel” link in the bottom left corner.
    • Please note that there is a deadline to register to testify. You can find the exact time and date that registration closes for a particular hearing listed in the bulletin.
  1. On the morning of the hearing, a speaker list will be generated and posted on the committee page. Go to “Public Hearings” and click “testimony” and select the hearing date. In the right corner, there will be a document labeled “Speaker Order.” Click to open and find your placement.
  1. Make sure to log onto Zoom before the hearing starts and turn off camera/microphone until it is your turn. You will have to wait to speak as if you are sitting in a hearing room.
  1. You can monitor every public hearing this session in real-time on each committee's official YouTube channel (accessible at cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/broadcastmedia.asp under the "CGA Live Streaming Feeds" heading). Some public hearings are also broadcast live on CT-N.
Daylight Savings
 
Don’t forget we are springing forward this weekend! Here’s a tip – when it’s time to change the clocks, it’s also time to change the batteries in your smoke alarms.