New Laws Going into Effect Today

laws
July 1, 2021
I hope this finds you happy and healthy after this brutal heat wave we experienced this week. July 1 is a meaningful day - the beginning of our fiscal year, the day many laws take effect, and personally the day my husband and I became parents.

One of the many laws that takes effect today is HB 6105, providing access to original birth certificates for approximately 40,000 adult adoptees born in Connecticut between 1944 and 1983. As the Planning and Development Committee co-chair, I had the privilege of working closely with fellow legislators, adoptees, and advocates including Karen Caffrey, who had been working on passage of this legislation for over two decades.

This morning, I had the privilege of joining Karen, an adult adoptee, and her husband up from Pennsylvania to get her original birth certificate, and a national advocate in from California. We gathered with documentary filmmaker Jean Strauss to witness Karen receiving her original birth certificate for the first time.

Every year on my children's birthday, we tell them the story of the day of their birth. Today, as Karen received her birth certificate, her birth parents were on speaker phone from Texas, telling her how proud they were of what she had done and how much they loved her. This is not the experience of all adult adoptees or birth parents. The day we passed this bill in the House, I posted about the stories shared and the variety of experiences. We all seek to know who we are and whose we are and that means something different for each individual. The law now recognizes that we all have equal access to that legal document regardless of those differences. I am grateful to all of you for your support and giving me the opportunity to help lead this effort.

Besides the birth certificate bill, over 100 new laws in Connecticut go into effect TODAY. Below I will highlight a few of those and in the coming weeks will provide updates in conjunction with various committee chairs. This was a unique session, one I hope we never duplicate, with a focus on addressing the impact of COVID-19 as well as the growing inequality here in our state.
Here are just a few of the laws and provisions taking effect today:

Baby Bonds:
  • HB 6690 - Passed in 2021 - will help so many families in poverty by setting aside and investing $3,200 for each child born after July 1 who is enrolled in Medicaid.
  • This is a small step in closing the generational education and wealth gaps that have blocked so many from accessing equity and the American Dream.
  • A first in the nation program, the measure has the state issue a bond to babies born in poverty, so they have a type of future savings account. Learn more about the program here.

Inclusion of Black and Latino Studies in Public School Curriculum:

  • HB 7082 – Passed in 2019 – requires public school curriculum to include Black and Latino studies to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of history.
  • Under the act, boards must offer the course in the 2022-23 school year, but they may do so in the upcoming 2021-22 school year.
  • The State Board of Education (SDE) will conduct an annual audit to ensure that the required courses are being offered and report their findings to the Education Committee.

Access to Birth Certificates:

  • HB 6105 – Passed in 2021 – takes steps to allow adoptees 18 and older to understand the history of their biological families by allowing them access to their birth certificates.

Plastic Bag Ban:

  • Another bill that we passed in 2019 and is reaching its second and final stage today is our single-use plastic bag law.
  • The first phase of this bill initiated a 10-cent charge for plastic bags back in August 2019.
  • Beginning today, you will either need to brig your reusable bags or pay a fee for paper bags, which will remain available at stores. One of the things I do is leave reusable bags in my car so they are handy for any shopping trips. 

Legalizing Adult-Use of Recreational Cannabis:

  • SB 1201 – Passed just a few weeks ago in a special session – is a multi-part bill that will take effect in annual increments with the first portion taking effect today. Here is some important information about the bill:
    • Possession: Possession of cannabis for recreational use will be legal in Connecticut for adults age 21 and over beginning July 1, 2021. Adults cannot have more than 1.5 ounces of cannabis on their person, and no more than 5 ounces in their homes or locked in their car truck or glove box.
    • Retail sales: Retail sales of cannabis are projected to begin in Connecticut by the end of 2022. The sale, manufacture, and cultivation of cannabis for commercial purposes requires a license from the state.
    • Homegrown: Patients who are participating in Connecticut’s medical marijuana program will be permitted to cultivate up to six cannabis plants (three mature, three immature) in their homes beginning October 1, 2021. All adults age 21 and over will be permitted to grow a similar number of plants indoors within their homes beginning July 1, 2023.
  • The bill erases convictions related to possession of less than 4 oz. of marijuana, for offenses occurring between 2015 – 2021 and erases convictions related to possession of any amount of marijuana for offenses occurring between 2000-2015.

Revenue from cannabis sales will be utilized to establish an Equity Fund as well as fund education and prevention regarding youth cannabis use, which remains illegal under the law.

These are just a few of the laws and provisions going into effect today. The full list of laws taking effect can be accessed by clicking the button below.
Laws Taking Effect Today
You can also find a full list of bills from the 2021 Legislative session which were effective upon passage.
Laws Effective from Passage
During the months between legislative sessions, work continues on those bills which did not pass and still need attention or bills that did pass and my need updating or improvements. Please continue to reach out, as your input via e-mails, meetings, calls, forums, testimony, and informal conversations out in the community (so glad to be having those again!) all inform the work we are doing in the legislature. Fairfielders, you are incredibly dedicated and active!

Fairfield's 4th of July Fireworks

The Fairfield Fireworks are back! Enjoy a 4th of July community celebration this Saturday July 3rd with a rain date of Monday July 5th. Fireworks start just after dark, usually around 9:15 PM, and can be easily seen from our Penfield & Jennings Beaches.

Inclement Weather: In the case of inclement weather, Fairfield Parks & Recreation will review weather conditions throughout the day and, if warranted based upon unsafe conditions, will make a decision by 2:00pm to cancel the fireworks.

Limited Parking: Beach Parking lots can be accessed either with a Season Beach Sticker or by purchasing a Daily Pass for $50.00 per vehicle (credit card only). Daily Passes will be limited to the first 300 vehicles at Jennings Beach and 100 vehicles at Penfield Beach.  A Daily Parking Fee will also be charged to park at the Ash Creek Open Space Parking Lot the day of the fireworks. Lots will fill. Plan on getting there early so as not to be disappointed.

Traffic Information: Police Press Release Here.

Restrictions: Please remember that Alcoholic Beverages, Smoking and Vaping Nicotine or Cannabis, Tents and Personal Grills are not permitted on Town beaches.
How to be a Better Recycler

Many of us learned how to recycle by separating paper, glass and plastic and looking for the number on the bottom of the container. The recycling marketplace has changed and instead of receiving money for recyclable materials, our town is now paying close to $700,000 annually. The Sustainable Fairfield Task Force recently sponsored an insert in the summer tax bills to help us all understand what can and cannot be recycled. Every residents can help. Our recycling processor says that close to 25% of our recycling is contaminated - sometimes it is as simple as residents putting their recycling into plastic bags (which the processor then treats as waste even though the materials inside might be good recycling containers).
 
Take a look at the flyer you received with your tax bill or the images above to see what can and cannot be put in your blue bins.
Affordable Housing Committee Survey

The Fairfield Affordable Housing Committee is updating the Town's 2014 Affordable Housing Plan. You can click here to view the most recent annual report to review progress that the Town has made on the action steps outlined in the Plan.

Please take some time to complete the survey to help the Committee better assess housing needs as well as to provide input on strategies that the Town might employ to provide more housing opportunities. To complete our survey, please click on the button below.
Affordable Housing Survey
Pollinator Pathway

Fairfield is proud to be part of the Pollinator Pathway. The Pollinator Pathway project is a volunteer organized project lead by town conservation organizations working together to establish pollinator-friendly habitat and food sources for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinating insects and wildlife along a series of continuous corridors.

This project began in 2017 in Wilton, CT. Since then, pathways have been established in over 200 towns in CT, NY, MA, NJ, PA and the list keeps growing. If you are interested in joining the Fairfield Pollinator Pathway, please fill out the pledge by clicking the image above. This is another opportunity for your individual actions to make a collective impact. 

You can also read more about the project by checking out this CT Post article here.