State Capitol Update for the Week of September 19th

September 23, 2022
Dear Friend,

This is my State Capitol update for the week of September 19th.

If you prefer to watch rather than read, click on the play button to hear about the issues contained in this newsletter.

 
 
Happy start of fall! 
 
By the usual calendar, fall begins today, on the autumnal equinox, though I recently learned that “meteorological fall” started September 1, and of course school is back in session, which is how most parents and students measure the change of season.  At least as of today, we’re all on the same page. 
 
This week included National Voter Registration day, so I wanted to encourage everyone to check to be sure you’re registered to vote. Whether you’ve just turned 18, recently become a citizen, or you’ve changed your name or address since the last election, it’s a good idea to double check and make you’re correctly registered.  You can check that and get registered at vote.org.
 
The Office of Health Strategy has scheduled a hearing on Nuvance’s application to shutter labor and delivery at Sharon Hospital.  The hearing, which will be held via Zoom, will take place on October 18, starting at 10am with public testimony scheduled to begin at 3pm.  Details on how to testify, and on community roundtables and a rally, can be found further in the newsletter. 
 
Though this is really national news, I wanted to make sure I highlighted some statistics that came out recently, about a dramatic reduction in child poverty nationwide.  Highlighted for me by local infant-toddler advocates, it demonstrates that well-tailored government programs can have a significant impact on our most vulnerable.
 
The Census Bureau uses two measures for poverty. The first measures only income, which did not change significantly between 2020 and 2021. The second, however, the “Supplemental Poverty Measure” (SPM) rate includes not only income, but also benefits from various governmental services including housing subsidies, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and refundable tax credits such as the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC). Under that measure, the child poverty rate dropped by 46 percent from 2020 to 2021. With these supports, the poverty rate for all children was at 5.2 percent, its lowest recorded level ever. Most important, the Census credits the expanded, fully refundable CTC alone for lifting 2.9 million children, including one million children under the age of 6, out of poverty.
Click Here for More Details
Finally, I want to recommend a podcast to everyone interested in combating climate change and in decarbonizing our economy.  Entitled The Single Best Guide to Decarbonization I’ve Heard” the title is pretty accurate.  In it, Ezra Klein interviews Jesse Jenkins, an engineering professor at Princeton, about the details of how to get to “net zero”.  As the relatively new owner of an electric vehicle, I’ve been paying more attention to the mechanics of how we get there, and the hurdles individuals face in trying to address the problem.  I found this interview really clear and thorough.  At an hour and 40 minutes, it’s also pretty long, so do it in pieces!
Here is a list of today's topics:
  • COVID-19 Weekly Update. Click here.
  • Bivalent vaccinations available at Community Health and Wellness Center. Click Here
  • Office of Health Strategy (OHS) hearing on Sharon Hospital will take place October 18. Click Here
  • $31.3 million in state grants awarded to 77 small towns for infrastructure improvements. Click here
  • $2.8 billion payment made toward state’s unfunded pension liabilities. Click here
  • Education campaign on responsible cannabis consumption launched . Click here
  • Connecticut launches grant program to assist communities with climate resilience . Click here
  • DEEP to host a virtual launch event and webinar on Friday, 9/23. Click here
  • Stand Down 2022 on Friday ,September 23: Serving those who served. Click here
  • Live from Ukraine at the Norfolk Hub, Saturday 9/24. Click here
  • Connecting Carbon, Climate and Conservation, Sunday 9/25. Click here
COVID-19 weekly update
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.”
 
Bivalent vaccinations available at Community Health and Wellness Center (CHWC)

CHWC is now offering the Bivalent COVID-19 booster that has protections against the latest Omicron variants as well as the original virus strain.
 
You do not need to be an established patient with CHWC to receive the vaccine, but call 860-387-0801 to schedule your booster.  For more information, visit them online anytime at https://www.chwctorr.org/ and on Facebook.
Office of Health Strategy (OHS) hearing on Sharon Hospital will take place October 18
 
OHS will conduct a public hearing on Nuvance’s application to close labor and delivery at Sharon Hospital on Tuesday, October 18.  The hearing will begin at 10am, with public testimony scheduled to begin at 3pm.  The hearing will be conducted via Zoom and the public can submit written and/or oral testimony.
 
Click here to access the Zoom meeting.
  • Written testimony: email ohs@ct.gov with your written testimony by Monday, Oct 17. Please reference Docket # 22-32511-CON.
  • Oral testimony: On Tuesday, October 18, sign up via the same Zoom link starting at 2pm. Public testimony starts at 3pm.

 
There are also several opportunities to learn more, and participate in community advocacy, in the weeks ahead.  Community roundtables featuring doctors at Sharon Hospital, including Dr. Howard Mortman and Dr. David Kurish, will take place on the following dates and places (no reservations necessary):

  1. Friday, September 23 at 6pm, St. Bernard Church, 52 New St, Sharon
  2. Thursday, September 29 at 4pm, Scoville Memorial Library, Wardell Community Room, Salisbury
  3. Wednesday, October 5 at 6pm, Northeast-Millerton Library Annex, Millerton

 
There will also be a rally organized by Save Sharon Hospital on Sunday, October 16 at 2pm on the Sharon Town Green, which will include public officials, doctors, and fellow community members.

$31.3 million in state grants awarded to 77 small towns for infrastructure improvements
 
$31.3 million in state grants for 77 small towns in Connecticut have been approved to complete a wide variety of infrastructure improvements, such as the road safety reconstruction projects, sewer and drainage upgrades, sidewalk and pedestrian safety enhancements, and other kinds of capital improvement projects.
 
The grants are provided through the Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP), a state program managed by the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) that delivers grants to small towns for economic development, community conservation, and quality-of-life capital projects.
 
Towns seeking funding under this round of STEAP grants were required to submit applications to the state by August 15, 2022, and will soon receive official award notification and instructions from OPM. Funding to support these grants was approved at the March 31, 2022, meeting of the State Bond Commission, a group that Governor Lamont leads as chairperson.
 
The grants awarded in this round include:
  • Norfolk: $500,000 in state funding is approved for a road improvement project on Maple Avenue. This will be matched by $2,258,000 from the town.
  • North Canaan: $83,471.62 in state funding is approved for renovations at the Canaan Child Care Center. This will be matched by $20,867.91 from the town.
  • Washington: $458,949 in state funding is approved for the renovation of a municipal building for the purposes of a daycare. This will be matched by $11,900 from the town.

$2.8 billion payment made toward state’s unfunded pension liabilities: the largest in state history
 
This week State Comptroller Natalie Braswell announced that her office is transferring $3.1 billion of Connecticut’s operating surplus into the budget reserve fund (commonly known as the rainy day fund) in a move that triggers a statutory threshold requiring a one-time, special payment of $2.8 billion to be made toward the state’s unfunded pension liabilities.
 
This payment is the largest in state history and will be made in addition to the state’s regularly required contributions to its pension liabilities.
 
In accordance with the budget bill signed into law earlier this year (Public Act 22-118, Section 229), this payment is anticipated to be made in the following manner:

  • A $1.9 billion payment will be made to the State Employees Retirement Fund (SERS); and
  • A $900 million payment will be made to the Teachers’ Retirement Fund (TRS).

Additional deposits to the pension funds will be made once the final fiscal year 2022 operating surplus has been certified later this calendar year.
 
The Office of Policy and Management (OPM) estimates that the payment will save Connecticut taxpayers approximately $6 billion over the next 25 years.
 
State statutes require that whenever the budget reserve fund accumulates to more than 15% of the net general fund appropriations for the fiscal year, any excess amounts must be transferred to the state’s pension liabilities. This is only the third time in state history and third year in a row this has happened. In 2021, a payment of $1.623 billion was transferred, and in 2020 a payment of $61.6 million was made.

Connecticut launches grant program to assist communities with climate resilience: launch event on September 23
 
This week the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Climate Resilience Fund, a state grant program that will help communities in the state plan and prepare for the effects of climate change, was launched. The fund is an historic state-level investment that will help communities initiate planning and envision projects for community climate resilience that can be implemented and constructed with federal funds.
 
A total of $10 million in state bond funding will be available in this first round. At least 40% of the funding will be prioritized for vulnerable communities, including environmental justice communities that will feel the effects of climate change first and worst.
 
The DEEP Climate Resilience Fund creates two funding opportunity tracks:
  • Track 1 – Planning: Will provide funding for comprehensive climate resilience planning at either the regional, municipal, or neighborhood (hyper-local) level.
  • Track 2 – Project Development: Will provide funding for municipalities and other related entities, to advance identified resilience projects to the concept stage and to be ready to apply for federal funding for implementation.

Together, these two funding tracks will create the climate resilience project pipeline, composed of plans and project concept designs that can win competitive federal grants to substantially fund implementation and construction. In fact, funding under this program may be used to prepare those federal grant applications. All grantees are also required to develop a local match funding strategy to meet the non-federal match requirements of federal funding opportunities. The local match strategy may include using the stormwater authority and climate resilience board expansions authorized under Governor Lamont’s Public Act 21-115.
 
Investing in climate mitigation and adaptation is critical. By 2050, Connecticut will experience stronger storms with stronger winds and heavier rain, longer, more frequent droughts, up to 20 inches of sea level rise along the coast, increased frequency of coastal flooding with levels like those seen in Superstorm Sandy every five to ten years, and an average of 20 additional days per year that are over 90°F. Connecticut is already feeling these impacts with heat waves experienced this summer and the record-breaking rainfall of storms last year.
 
The DEEP Climate Resilience Fund strongly encourages planning and project development that incorporates elements of nature to reduce flooding and erosion risks while protecting and preserving natural habitats. These “nature-based solutions” work at a neighborhood and community-scale and will preserve town and city coastal beaches for swimming, wetlands for birding and paddling, and rivers for fishing, while also giving flood water a place to go so that roads, homes, and businesses don’t flood.

DEEP to host a virtual launch event and webinar on Friday, September 23 at noon

A launch event and webinar for the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund will be held on Friday, September 23, 2022, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Remarks will be given by Commissioner Dykes and members of the Governor’s Council on Climate Change. Those who are interested in this state grant program are strongly encouraged to participate. To register for this virtual event, click here.
 
Several other webinars will be held throughout September and October to assist grant applicants. For a full schedule of webinars, click here.
 
Track 1 applications are due on November 10, 2022. Track 2 applications must be received by December 1, 2022.
 
For complete details on the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund, including application information, click here.

Stand Down 2022 on Friday ,September 23: Serving those who served


The Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) is preparing for the annual STAND DOWN event which will be held at five regional locations on Friday, September 23, from 8am to 2pm.   Locations are:

  • Danbury: Danbury War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive 
  • Bristol: Bristol Sports Armory, 61 Center Street
  • Bridgeport: University of Bridgeport, Wheeler Recreational Center, 400 University Ave.
  • Norwich: Easter Seals Veterans Rally Point, 24 Stott Ave.
  • Rocky Hill: CTDVA Main Campus, 287 West Street.

The DVA continues its commitment to serving Connecticut’s Veterans, Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve military personnel, and their immediate families by providing this “one stop” access to a range of programs and services offered by state and federal agencies, Veterans organizations, and community-based non-profits at these regional sites across the State.
To view the list of confirmed service providers by location please select link below:
Service Provider list by location
To view the transportation schedule please select link below:
Transportation Schedule
For additional information please feel free to call 860-616-3772, or see the DVA website

Live from Ukraine at the Norfolk Hub: September 24 at 1pm
 
On Saturday, September 24, the Norfolk Hub will be hosting “Live from Ukraine at the Norfolk Hub” at 1pm.
 
Ian Miller and Evan Platt have created a non-profit, “Zero Line,” actively working with the people of Ukraine to deliver supplies to support the Ukranians in their fight for their lives.  Zero Line has also, on occasion, partnered with Anne Garrels' grassroots organization “Assist-Ukraine” to ensure delivery of aid as well.  Ian will be at the Norfolk Hub, while Evan Platt will give updates live from Ukraine. 
 
For more information on Zero Line, see https://www.zero-line.org.
Connecting Carbon, Climate and Conservation: a discussion on September 25