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I’m happy to share that I and State Senator Jorge Cabrera just got $2 million in state funds added to the Governor’s bond agenda to renovate a 175,000-square-foot building within the Ansonia Brass complex for economic redevelopment. This move will ready the site for developers and bringing jobs into this location.
This is HUGE and comes on the heals of securing $1 million last week from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development for environmental cleanup on a site adjacent to Ansonia Brass.
I and Senator Cabrera wrote and submitted our bond request at the start of session and have spent the year advocating for these specific funds through the legislature’s bond application process.
Click the buttons below to learn more:
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| Now back to our regular weekly update. |
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| Friends and Neighbors,
I hope this message finds you and yours well.
Keeping the lines of communication open with you is incredibly important to me and I value your feedback and insight, especially when it comes to state issues. By communicating with one another, I can better advocate for you in Hartford. While the 2021 legislative session was like no other, that didn't keep the Connecticut General Assembly from getting to work to make our state a better place for everyone to live.
This session, there were numerous wins for education, the environment, small businesses, families, and more. Over the next several weeks, I'm going to be highlighting the bills that will impact your life the most and set Connecticut on a path to prosperity and equity.
Due to great strides made this session, I will be highlighting economic development both this week and next. |
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| One major win for our communities' economic future is the allocation of a $120 million capital project by the Department of Transportation to make upgrades to the Waterbury Branch line including: modern bi-directional train service, signal and communications upgrades, repairs to three major rail bridges in the Naugatuck Valley region. For years I have fought for this kind of funding to improve our rail service. With this needed funding, our towns can see higher economic traffic with connections to New York City and Boston, kick-starting business through the Naugatuck Valley.
Below is a look at bills in the budget that help our economy. |
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SB 1202, An Act Concerning Provisions Related to Revenue and other Items to Implement the State Budget for the Biennium Ending June 30, 2023:
- Rebuilds our workforce and job creation pipeline with a new office in the Department of Economic and Community Development to ensure that we are being responsive to businesses, and training CT workers in the jobs of the future.
- Establishes the “Connecticut Essential Workers COVID-19 Assistance Program” to provide coverage for lost-wages and out-of-pocket costs to essential workers who then got sick with COVID-19.
- Creates a fund to help distressed municipalities afford to train volunteer firefighters.
- Requires call centers to return state financial assistance if they move their call centers out of the country, and requires all state-contracted call center work be done in Connecticut.
- Creates an Office of the Unemployed Workers Advocate to provide help to those on unemployment and struggling to figure out how the system works.
- Expands the successful Small Business Express Program to bring in more private capital and better target state assistance to small businesses.
- Provides $50 million in access to capital and low-interest loans to small businesses and start-ups over the next two years.
- Allows the Department of Economic Community Development to partner with our banking community to provide loans at a low-interest rate to underserved communities, supporting women and minority-owned businesses.
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Yesterday the House of Representatives met in a special session to extend Connecticut’s emergency declaration. Throughout the pandemic, our state has been a leader in responding to and navigating this public health crisis. We listened to the experts and scientists for guidance on and will continue to head their advice to ensure we emerge successfully. I know there is some confusion out there about what this means and the fact is this extension is not as broad and sweeping as some are portraying it.
The legislature passed a bipartisan bill this session to limit the Governor's powers in the case of a further extension. That bill would be in effect during any future extension and gives the legislature broad veto authority over executive actions.
In most cases, FEMA requires an active emergency declaration in order to continue federal funding and to help facilitate vaccine distribution.
Since May 20, the Governor's existing executive orders in place have been minimal and there have not been any completely new orders. The legislature has been in session and/or available to come into special session. With the exception of the eviction moratorium, which has now expired, I have not been made aware of any serious objections to the existing orders in place.
Here are the 11 executive orders (out of over 400 issued since the start of the pandemic) which would continue - certainly not things that I have heard widespread objection to, derogate the authority of the legislature, or impinge on anyone's rights:
- Facilitating the use of state commuter parking lots as vaccination sites (EO 10-4)
- Allowing for flexibility in procurement rules to assist state agencies, hospitals and other health care providers (EO 11D-2, EO 11D-3)
- Empowering the DPH Commissioner to follow the lead of the CDC in issuing guidance for the wearing of masks in public places (EO 12A)
- Encouraging landlords and tenants to apply for federal rental assistance before an eviction can proceed (EO 12D)
- Authorizing OPM to provide Coronavirus Relief Funding to health care providers (EO 7EEE-1)
- Housing homeless and domestic violence victims in non-congregate housing settings (with federal funding) (EO 7P-1)
- Requires health insurers to reimburse "out-of-network" health care providers for vaccinations at 100% of the Medicare rate (EO 9Q-3)
- Providing SDE and OEC, with DPH, the authority to issue rules for schools, child cares, and camps in order to ensure keep the children and staff healthy (EO 9-1)
- Extending municipal or other public agency directives that are currently in place to keep the public safe (EO 12B)
- Providing time for nursing home staff that have not yet completed their background check because they were hired at the height of the pandemic to complete the process (EO 7K-5)
As a member of the legislative branch, I can tell you that throughout this crisis we are doing our job as a co-equal branch of the government. We passed 350 bills this session, respond daily to constituent needs, and as mentioned passed a bipartisan bill in May that gives the legislature broad veto authority over executive actions.
With all of that being said, while I certainly would prefer a scenario where COVID-19 and the new variants have completely disappeared and we didn't need to consider this at all, I view this to be a very narrow and limited extension of the Governor's powers and I am supporting it today because I believe it is the responsible thing to do for our state government to operate efficiently as we work to finally emerge from this pandemic.
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| Connecticut is making smart fiscal moves to pay down 70 years of unfunded pension debt, and creating saving with our proactive approach. I’m proud to be part of this effort. To learn more about just how vital this debt pay down is, please click here to read an article in the CT Mirror where State Comptroller Kevin Lembo breaks down the significance. |
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| If you haven’t looked recently, prices for healthcare have PLUMMETED on AccessHealth thanks to new state and federal laws - including our new CoveredCT program.
I had one resident tell me she’s saving over $600/month on healthcare now.
Whether you have a current plan with AccessHealth or not, call 855-805-4325 to see if you qualify for the new savings. You do need to call to get qualified for the new rates and update your plan if you’re already with AHCT. |
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| Join me on Monday, July 19 at Copper City Bar & Grill. I would love to hear from you to better advocate for your needs in Hartford. |
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