Newsletter
May 4, 2021In this edition we will touch on:
- HB5377, An Act Concerning The Removal of COVID-19 Related Layoffs From The Unemployment Compensation Experience Account
- Teacher Appreciation Week
- Good Economic News for Connecticut
- Stretching Broadband Access
- May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
- House in Session Tuesday
| HB5377 AN ACT CONCERNING THE REMOVAL OF COVID-19 RELATED LAYOFFS FROM THE UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION EXPERIENCE ACCOUNT |
Last week, we voted on HB 5377, An Act Concerning The Removal of COVID-19 Related Layoffs From The Unemployment Compensation Experience Account,
At its core, the bill protects employers from paying costly unemployment insurance for layoffs not related to COVID-19. It's an important first step and will hopefully be followed by fully-funding unemployment insurance—a deal was recently reached between CBIA and Labor to make this happen and will be critical for the majority of businesses in Connecticut.
The bill now moves on to the Senate where I hope it will be enthusiastically passed.
| TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK |
It's Teacher Appreciation Week! There has perhaps been no greater time in history than this week to stop and take a moment to thank your favorite teacher.
Whether it's a teacher one of your children has now or maybe it's a teacher that you had growing up.
I hope you'll take a moment to reach out to these teachers and thank them for their hard work, their long hours, and for the love and affirmation they pour into our children each and every day.
We LOVE our teachers! Tomorrow is the official "Teacher Appreciation Day," in case you want to shower our local teachers with praise.
| GOOD ECONOMIC NEWS FOR CONNECTICUT |
It seems good economic news is on the horizon again this week.
We continue to see our deficits downgraded for fiscal years '22 and '23, which is a huge step in the right direction. As of now, the projection to help pay down pension debt is $961 million — that's $900 million more than last year alone!
That number is partially represented by the $328 million surplus in our current budget. Add that to the booming housing market that isn't projected to slow down any time soon is providing a much-needed shot in the arm for our recovery!
| STRETCHING BROADBAND ACCESS |
The Emergency Broadband Benefit is an FCC program that helps struggling families and households afford internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This new benefit will connect eligible households to jobs, critical healthcare services, virtual classrooms, and more such as providing a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands.
Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.
Please click on the image below for more details:
| MAY IS ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH |
As a follow-up to the conversation of helping end Asian hate, I wanted to share some resources from a recent thread by Congressman Andy Kim. He suggested that during this awareness month, we each take action to get to know the heritage of our AAPI neighbors and friends.
One of his suggestions is the PBS Film Series, "Asian Americans," available on demand. Another is this article from TIME magazine, "A History of 'Exclusion, of Erasure, of Invisibility.' Why the Asian American Story is Missing From Many U.S. Classrooms." It's both interesting and timely as we look to make Asian-American history part of our curriculum in CT schools.
Another great suggestion is to support the Asian and Asian-American owned businesses in Canton and Avon. We have so many to choose from.
| HOUSE IN SESSION TUESDAY |
The House will be in session Tuesday beginning at noon. Please click on the image below to watch.
