Christine Palm

This is the second in a series of bill round-ups. Because not all bills we pass in the House and send on to the Senate are written up in the press, my staff and I are sending these periodic bulletins to keep you informed of the work of the General Assembly. (Remember that for a bill to become law, it must pass both chambers – House and Senate – and be signed by the Governor.) Many of these bills were passed on a bipartisan basis; I voted “yes” on all of them.

Bills we voted on in the House this week include:

H.B. 6626, AN ACT CONCERNING REQUIRED HEALTH INSURANCE AND MEDICAID COVERAGE, AMBULANCE SERVICES AND COST TRANSPARENCY.



HB 6626 is a big win for people with breast cancer. It’s about early detection, which is critical to saving lives (as well as saving our state money). By expanding upon existing legislation which removed barriers to mammogram coverage, the House has voted to add ultrasound and other critical tests used to detect breast cancer. Connecticut has the unfortunate distinction of being second in the country for breast cancer incidents: more than 3,000 women and about 250 men are diagnosed in our state each year with this form of cancer. Early detection coverage will save lives.



CLICK HERE to read more about this bill.



H.B. 6355, AN ACT CONCERNING RISK PROTECTION ORDERS OR WARRANTS AND THE EFFECT OF THE ISSUANCE OF A PHYSICIAN'S EMERGENCY CERTIFICATE ON A PERSON'S ABILITY TO POSSESS FIREARMS.



We have a duty to protect our residents from gun violence. Contrary to the NRA narrative, this bill (sometimes called the “Red Flag” law) does not attack Second Amendment rights. Rather, it simply seeks to strengthen our existing Risk Protection statute by:

• Allowing family and household members to petition for a protective order;
• Allowing Medical professionals such as physicians, physicians assistants, APRNs, psychologists and clinical social workers to apply for an order; and
• Ending the automatic expiration of orders. (Currently, a warrant expires after one year, even if the person continues to pose a risk to themselves or others).

With the passage of HB 6355, the House has moved to bolster current statute to protect and save lives and avoid tragedies before they happen.



CLICK HERE to read more about the bill.



H.B. 6477, AN ACT CONCERNING VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND AMBULANCE COMPANIES AND THE DEFINITION OF EMPLOYER UNDER THE STATE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT.



The safety of our first responders should always be a top priority. HB 6477 makes necessary updates to ensure that volunteer fire departments and ambulance companies are subject to the same safety regulations as career professionals, allowing CONN-OSHA to protect all first responders.



CLICK HERE to read more about the bill.



H.B. 6602, AN ACT CONCERNING THIRD-PARTY DELIVERY SERVICES FOR RESTAURANTS.



HB 6602 protects restaurants’ reputations and brands. COVID-19 has increased our reliance on third party delivery sources – but that increased use has exposed some possible concerns with those delivery sources. Just passed by the House, HB 6602 makes clarifications to ensure small, local restaurants have a voice and that their brand is protected by ensuring these third party delivery sources cannot falsely suggest a relationship with a restaurant or take orders without first obtaining the restaurant’s written consent.



CLICK HERE to read more about this bill.



H.B. 6657, AN ACT CONCERNING HUMAN TRAFFICKING.



Human trafficking is a crime that remains largely underground, and it is a problem here in Connecticut, given that I-95 is a major interstate corridor. Even after the abuse ends, survivors of human trafficking often continue to bear the burden of a criminal record for acts they were forced by their trafficker to commit. This hinders their ability to rebuild their lives. HB 6657 makes critically needed changes to existing law by providing (with a judge’s approval) “vacatur,” or the cancelling of charges, and thereby giving trafficking survivors the opportunity to clear all criminal records related to their trafficking.



CLICK HERE to read more about this bill.



H.B. 6110, AN ACT CONCERNING THE ONLINE SALE AND DELIVERY OF ELECTRONIC NICOTINE DELIVERY SYSTEMS AND VAPOR PRODUCTS.



Obtaining e-cigarettes and vaping products online is often far too easy for our younger residents – exposing our youth to a harmful and addictive practice. HB 6110 is common sense legislation that will require online sellers of electronic nicotine delivery systems and vapor products to require ID and to ensure that the name on the ID matches the name on the method of payment.



CLICK HERE to read more about this bill.



HB 6491, AN ACT CONCERNING ELECTRONIC DEFENSE WEAPONS.



This bill will require owners of “tasers” to abide by the same rules as owners of guns. Although I believe the last thing we need is additional ways to harm one another, and am certainly not promoting the use of tasers, I would rather see tasers regulated, as firearms are, so I voted for this bill.



CLICK HERE to read more about this bill.



HB 5726,  AN ACT CONCERNING THE SEIZURE OF ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES.



I have heard from many of you complaints about all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) being driven where (and when) they don’t belong. This bill allows all municipalities that regulate ATV use by ordinance to provide now for their seizure and forfeiture. Please note that this new law does not change the existing population threshold (20,000 or more) for the seizure of dirt bikes and mini-motorcycles. And because the populations of the four towns in our legislative district (36) are all under 20,000, this new law does not include dirt bikes or mini-motorcycles. This bill was strongly bipartisan.



CLICK HERE to read more about this bill.



SB 753, AN ACT CONCERNING THE COUNTING OF INCARCERATED PERSONS FOR PURPOSES OF DETERMINING LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS.



This bill (also known as “prison gerrymandering”) was already passed by the Senate, so it will now go to Gov. Lamont to be signed into law. It will prevent the unfair practice of falsely inflating certain legislative district population numbers by counting incarcerated people as residents of the town in which the prison is located, rather than of the town in which they last lived. Our prisons are largely populated by men and women of color, and many prisons are located in largely white suburbs, so the racial element cannot be denied. As incarcerated people cannot vote, they are being used to artificially run up constituent numbers without the benefit of being able to vote, shop, or work in that town.



CLICK HERE to read more about this bill.



HB 5656, AN ACT DESIGNATING PIZZA AS THE STATE FOOD.



Well, I can already hear the blow-back on this one: With so much fallout from Covid-19, why are you wasting time on this? Every once in a while, a bill comes along that is designed to make people feel good. The entire vote took 15 minutes. I think a strong argument could be made for the Lobster Roll, but oh well…



CLICK HERE to read more about this bill.