Maria Horn

Dear Neighbor,

We voted on several Public Safety Bills so far this week, two of which were works in progress right up until the end, including many challenging conversations, and both passed with a combined total of one “no” vote between them.  It’s been a satisfying week.
 
One of these bills started with a simple proposition that everyone agreed with: that smoke detectors - inexpensive, widely available, and lifesaving - ought to be in every residence.  But it turns out that getting all the various stakeholders to agree on how to achieve that is actually quite complex.  It took countless zoom calls, phone calls, emails, and texts, including fire marshals, home inspectors, realtors, advocates for fire safety, legislators, and executive branch staff, among others, extending right up until minutes before the vote, get that bill HB 6600, over the line. 
 
The other Public Safety bill that was being edited right up until the last moment was HB 6597, which consists largely of modifications to the police accountability bill we passed this summer.  That earlier bill contained the explicit promise that we would revisit some of the issues, with input from a task force including police leadership, community advocates, and other stakeholders. We followed through in this bill, providing additional mental health protections for police officers, saving money for our towns by providing a more cost-effective path to police department accreditation and the ability to participate in bulk-purchases for certain police equipment, creating a training curriculum for police interactions with those struggling with mental health challenges, and closing a loophole ensuring that officers who commit serious misconduct cannot be hired by other departments.  Many knowledgeable and dedicated people contributed to that bill, and I was proud to watch it sail through the House when it finally came up for a vote. 
 
Now it’s on to the Senate for both of them!

Here’s a list of today’s topics:

• Voting Reform Bills Pass Through House. Click here.
• Human Rights Presentation from Housatonic Valley High School Students. Click here.
• Governor's Summer Reading Challenge. Click here.

For several additional graphs and tables containing more data, including a list of cases in every municipality, visit ct.gov/coronavirus and click the link that is labeled, “Data Tracker.”
 

Specific Updates for Our Community

 

Town	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Number of Tests	Number of Positive Tests
Canaan	13	0	856	18
Cornwall	49	0	2,343	60
Goshen	159	1	5,568	194
Kent	163	0	12,876	194
Norfolk	68	0	2,455	78
North Canaan	208	8	10,781	238
Salisbury	141	0	13,083	171
Sharon	111	1	5,581	149
Torrington	3,498	140	95,059	4,307

  Voting Reform Bills Pass Through the House

Under current law, caregivers and family members of those with a disability or illness are not eligible to vote by absentee, forcing them to choose between their right to vote and caring for a loved one. HB 6205 adopts a more general standard of sickness and disability, thereby allowing caregivers and family members the opportunity to vote by absentee.
 
Connecticut continues to work on voter protections to make voting as easy, safe, and accessible as possible. The House also passed two resolutions focused on voting rights earlier this month: HJ 58 which calls for no-excuse absentee voting, and HJ 59 which allows for early voting.
 
All three of these voting reforms are awaiting further action in the Senate.
 
While other states are passing legislation to disenfranchise voters, Connecticut is acting to support participation in the democratic process.

Here are a few other bills that have passed this week:

HB 6509
This past year has only further emphasized the need to better support the mental, emotional, and behavioral health of our students. HB 6509 expands student's access to these critically needed services through school-based mental health clinics. 
 
 
HB 5412
State Representative Linda Orange was a talented legislator and a good friend to many on both sides of the aisle, and her loss is still felt today. As a longtime member of the Public Safety committee, Representative Orange worked tirelessly to ensure our State Police, and specifically Troop K, had the funding needed to keep the doors open and the dispatch center adequately staffed. Today, we honor her legacy by moving to name the Troop K State Police Barracks in her memory.
 
 HB 6034
 
Project Longevity offers communities with comprehensive, evidence-based resources to work together with state and local partners to reduce chronic violence. A number of Connecticut's cities and towns have seen success in this program, but HB 6034 would work to begin steps towards expanding the community-based solution to statewide priority.
 
HB 6374
To more effectively combat sexual assault on our college campuses, we must work to gain a comprehensive understanding of student's insights and concerns. HB 6374 allows for a step toward this understanding by ensuring that universities regularly survey students to better understand campus climate and the accessibility of resources.

 
 HB 6441
Combatting and adapting to climate change must be a priority in the coming years – HB 6441 implements a plan from the Governor's Council on Climate Change to provide Connecticut's towns and cities with the resources needed to effectively fight climate change. 
 
HB 6344
Unemployment services became a vital necessity during the pandemic as an unprecedented number of workers turned to the CT Department of Labor for support and guidance. This increased need also exposed areas for improvement. HB 6344, would create the Office of Unemployed Workers' Advocate to better assist unemployed individuals with processing claims and understanding available programs and benefits.
 
HB 6476
Social and economic disparities have existed in our policies and budgets for years but have been recently highlighted by the ongoing pandemic. Just passed by the House, HB 6476 creates a study to better understand the difficulties these disparities have created, and the opportunities for change to create more equity moving forward.
 
HB 6528
Fuel cells can offer a cleaner, more efficient, and affordable option to supplying and storing energy. HB 6524 will require electric companies to solicit proposals for new fuel cell electricity generation projects. Further expanding the benefits of fuel cell technology is an essential investment in our state's environment and future.
 
HB 6205
No one should have to choose between staying healthy and accessing their right to vote – but COVID-19 exposed the rigidity of Connecticut's voting system, which without the emergency legislative action we took last year left voters with only those choices. To avoid this issue in the future, the House passed HB 6205 to update the language in existing statutes to allow voters to more easily access absentee ballots.

Housatonic Valley Regional High School students present “Issues in Human Rights” on June 3
 
Housatonic Valley Regional High School offers a class called ECE Human Rights, a dual credit with UConn taught by John Lizzi. The students in this year’s class are presenting Issues in Human Rights, on June 3 from 6:45 to 9:00 p.m. The presentation topics and links to join are below. 

2021 Governors Summer Reading Challenge
 
The 2021 Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge – an annual, statewide program encouraging students to read books during the summer months, was launched this week. This year’s theme is “Tails & Tales.”
 
Coordinated by the Connecticut State Department of Education in cooperation with the Connecticut State Library, the challenge is a statewide competition for schools based on student population and grade level. Students have read millions of books since the program began in 1996. The summer reading program also supports community initiatives run by local public libraries and recognizes “Outstanding Public Library-School Partnerships.”
 
Each year, the schools with the highest percentage of participating enrollment and the highest number of books read by participating students at the end of the summer are recognized for their accomplishments.
 
The top-performing schools in the 2020 Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge, “Imagine Your Story,” in which 9,576 students participated and read nearly 105,000 books, were also recognized this week. Among the top-performing schools were our own elementary school Lee H. Kellogg School in Falls Village, Regional School District 1, and Wamogo Regional High School - Grades 7 and 8, Regional School District 6.  Congratulations to both schools!
 
The Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge supports community programs run by local public libraries. Many public libraries will utilize the READsquared Reading Program, which allows students to access their summer reading logs anywhere they have an internet connection (including mobile devices). Schools that coordinate with their public library may choose to have students use this online reading log, rather than a paper one. To support summer reading, the Connecticut State Library’s statewide eGo eBook platform is now available through many local public libraries and provides access to digital resources for all ages. For a list of local public libraries currently offering eGo, visit egoct.org.
 
Student journals, district reporting forms, and all other materials related to the program are available on the State Department of Education’s website.
 
Those who have questions on the program can contact Joanne R. White, Ph.D., at joanne.white@ct.gov.
 
 
Providing information to Connecticut residents
 
For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus. Residents can also subscribe to text message alerts from the state by texting the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.
 
Individuals who have general questions that are not answered on the website can call 2-1-1 for assistance. The hotline is available 24 hours a day and has multilingual assistance. Anyone who is out-of-state or requires a toll-free number can connect to Connecticut 2-1-1 by dialing 1-800-203-1234. This is intended to be used by individuals who are not experiencing symptoms but may have general questions related to COVID-19. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms are strongly urged to contact their medical provider.