As your state representative, when there is a problem, I work hard to solve it for Newington. This session, my priorities were to deliver tax relief to help people combat the rising cost of living, make our community safer, and grow Connecticut’s economy.
To help you and your family, we passed the largest tax cuts in state history, comprehensive and bipartisan public safety legislation, a massive expansion in children’s mental health programs, and delivered millions in funding to Newington. The work continues, and I encourage you to contact me directly to share your advice and ideas.
Sincerely,
Gary Turco
State Representative
2022 SESSION HIGHLIGHTS
- Cut Taxes to Provide Relief
- Increased Crime Prevention and Public Safety
- Addressed Children’s Mental Health Needs
- Protected Women’s Reproductive Freedoms
- Combated Climate Change
PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVES
I take the safety of our community very seriously and worked to responsibly address juvenile crime and car-related thefts in a bipartisan manner under the advisement of law enforcement and national experts
by passing legislation that:
- Toughens penalties for vehicle thefts and related crimes
- Makes it harder to resell stolen catalytic converters
- Expands use of GPS monitoring to help reduce repeat offenders
- Increases rehabilitation services, Youth Service Bureaus, Juvenile Review Boards, and employment opportunities for young adults
- Funds state and local task forces to address gun violence and auto thefts
- Improves training law enforcement for handling incidents involving individuals with mental or physical disabilities (PA 22-115, PA 22-43)
PROTECTING WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE
Health Insurance Coverage for Breast and Ovarian Cancer and Ovarian
Cancer Screening: Thanks to the help of Newington residents and cancer survivors Jan Kritzman and Audrey Carlson, we passed a new law that creates a major expansion of health insurance coverage for breast and ovarian cancer testing and procedures. (PA 22-90)
Protecting Reproductive Rights: With the U.S. Supreme Court’s potential decision to end protections for reproductive rights, we took action by bolstering and establishing protections for both those seeking abortions and the medical providers who deliver services. (PA 22-19)
SERVING THOSE WHO SERVED US
We owe our lives to our veterans and first responders. Doing more to support both groups was a top priority for me this session. As a member of the Veterans Affairs and Public Safety and Security committees, I worked on:
- Establishing a new, local-option property tax exemption equal to 10% of home values for more veterans (PA 22-34)
- Extending employment protections to police officers who seek and receive mental health care services (PA 22-64)
- Guaranteeing new CT veterans in-state college tuition rates (PA 22-101)
- Adopting higher fire department equipment standards, collecting better data on the prevalence of cancer among firefighters, and securing more local funding for firefighters who leave service with a cancer diagnosis. (PA 22-139)
- Providing funding to local volunteer fire departments who respond to emergencies on certain state highways (PA 22-18)
RESPONDING TO KIDS' MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS
Our children have been through so much these past few years. I took that seriously and worked this session to pass the largest and most comprehensive new investment to ensure that we address this crisis by:
- Providing grants to local schools to hire more mental health providers and funding the expansion of school-based health centers and the mental health services they provide
- Establishing a fund to help families pay for children’s medication or treatments that are not covered by insurance
- Creating new walk-ins for mental health emergencies and expanding 24/7 emergency response
- Providing mental health training to parents, students, and pediatricians, and recruiting and retaining more providers for our state
FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND PROTECTING CT'S ENVIRONMENT
We can no longer wait to do more to save our planet and protect our health. We made major strides this year by passing the CT Clean Air Act and other key environmental legislation such as:
- Setting a statewide goal of reaching zero greenhouse gas emissions from electricity by 2040
- Establishing grant programs for traffic signal modernization, zero-emission school buses, and zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks
- Modifying the Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Automobile Purchase Rebate (CHEAPR) program to expand eligibility to businesses, municipalities, nonprofits, and e-bikes
- Establishing the “right to charge” in condominiums, common interest communities, and rental properties by setting conditions under which residents can request the installation of EV charging stations
- Expanding financing to develop zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, build more solar power and fuel cells, and reinforce our electric grid against the effects of climate change