Session Highlights

May 7, 2021
This week, we convened at the State Capitol on Tuesday and Thursday where we took vital steps in passing a number of significant pieces of legislation with bipartisan support. Below are a some of the bill highlights from the week:

HJ 59, RESOLUTION APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO ALLOW FOR EARLY VOTING

  • This Resolution is a proposed constitutional amendment that will allow voters to decide if the state should consider early voting in the future.
  • This is an overdue piece of legislation that addresses voter equity and accessibility by allowing a longer time-frame for individuals to vote.
  • 43 states plus the District of Columbia offer some form of early voting.

HB 5895, AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE ON THE REDUCTION OF STUDENT LOAN DEBT

  • This bill establishes a task force to investigate what tools are needed to address the burden of student loan debt on individuals.
  • The bill takes into consideration that this is a crisis and that many young people are living paycheck to paycheck with the cost of their loan debt making milestones like buying a house, achieving an advanced degree, affording a family, and so much more seem impossible to achieve.

HB 6105, AN ACT CONCERNING ACCESS TO ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATES BY ADULT ADOPTED PERSONS

  • This bill takes steps to allow adoptees 18 and older to understand the history of their biological families by allowing them access to their birth certificates.

HB 5596, AN ACT CONCERNING TELEHEALTH

  • This bill extends Telehealth benefits for Connecticut residents for the next two years. 
  • Telehealth services have been immensely beneficial to both patients and providers during this pandemic and have been crucial to our most vulnerable residents.
  • Because of the extension, individuals in the state will have access to in-depth healthcare from the comfort of their home as we transition out of the pandemic.

HB 5158, AN ACT CONCERNING BREASTFEEDING IN THE WORKPLACE

  • This bill makes modernizations to the current law to remove barriers and support the needs of breastfeeding, working moms.
  • This piece of legislation is extremely impactful and will ultimately make our state more accommodating to working moms, encourage more women to continue breastfeeding when they return to the workplace, and provide health benefits to mothers and babies while providing cost savings in the long term.

During yesterday's debate on the breastfeeding bill, I rose in the chamber to tell a personal story regarding my challenges while trying to breastfeed in the workplace. I was proud to speak out on behalf of women who have shared stories of challenging workplace conditions where they weren't provided proper accommodations for breastfeeding. Please watch below: